Our Take:

MLB Advanced Media, Major League Baseball’s tech unit, has made a $600 million deal with the National Hockey League for the digital and TV rights to out-of-market games, reports the Wall Street Journal. NHL gets $100 annually for the 6-year deal and will take a 7-10 percent stake in MLBAM for $300 million. MLB’s tech arm already powers HBO Now, WWE’s online network and Sony Corp’s Vue, which suggests that with this NHL deal it’s pushing hard to become a player in the online video world.

Interestingly, MLBAM has acknowledged it could create a combined streaming service with baseball, hockey and golf (since it owns rights to all 3 pro sports), but for now it’s all about a-la-carte. MLB’s president of business and media Bob Bowman said the company is interested in becoming a web TV distributor. “The people who run these media companies even in the pay TV world recognize that [over-the-top] is not an uninvited guest to dinner,” Bowman said. “This is going to be a key element and we hope we are part of these conversations.” For NHL’s part, it was looking for a partner that could place the business on a global stage. John Collins, the NHL’s chief operating officer: “In an environment where [Disney Chief Executive] Bob Iger is talking about ESPN going ‘over the top’ and Viacom is getting thrown off cable operators, what’s the future of a single-sport linear network like NHL Network?”

Hockey league to take stake in MLBAM’s tech unit Major League Baseball’s fast-growing technology arm struck a $600 million deal with the National Hockey League for digital and television rights to its out-of-market games, a pact that sets up MLB’s tech unit to become a bigger player in the burgeoning online-video world.

Read More at The Wall Street Journal

The Daily

Subscribe

Xfinity Mobile Embraces Unlimited Plans

Xfinity Mobile unveiled new unlimited plans that it hopes will simplify its data options and save consumers money. Unlimited and Unlimited Plus plans start at

Read the Full Issue
The Skinny is delivered on Tuesday and focuses on the cable profession. You'll stay in the know on the headlines, topics and special issues you value most. Sign Up

Calendar

Apr 25
2024 Cablefax 100 Awards Magazine Release: April 25, 2024
Jun 13
2024 American Broadband Congress Conference Registration is Open!
Jun 26
2024 FAXIES Awards Nominations Are Open!
Full Calendar

Jobs

Seeking an INDUSTRY JOB?
VIEW JOBS

Hiring? In conjunction with our sister brand, Cynopsis, we are offering hiring managers a deep pool of media-savvy, skilled candidates at a range of experience levels and sectors, The result will be an even more robust industry job board, to help both employers and job seekers.

Contact Rob Hudgins, [email protected], for more information.