Catastrophe Strikes Again as NHL to Lose Another Regional Sports Network Partner
In the wake of bankruptcy filings for Diamond Sports - parent company for Bally Sports - news broke of another regional sports network set to cut ties with the NHL.
Warner Bros. Discovery has notified its NHL partners that it wants out of the regional sports network business entirely, per John Ourand of The Sports Business Journal. Warner Bros. Discovery acts as the parent company for AT&T Sportsnet, who carries NHL games for 3 NHL teams: the Pittsburgh Penguins, Vegas Golden Knights, and Seattle Kraken. AT&T Sportsnet also carries 4 MLB teams and 3 NFL teams.
The looming concern for the NHL is obviously the collective collapse of Bally Sports - who carries games for a dozen NHL clubs - and now AT&T. Diamond Sports missed a $140 million payment to the NHL which kickstarted their bankruptcy filings.
What this means for the NHL's immediate future is not fully understood, but the impacts are expected to be significant.
The NHL's salary cap was projected to increase after this season, but those plans have possibly been scrapped as a results. As far as replacing the broadcast partners for the 15 teams now without a host, nothing has been noted as of yet.
Surely, the league is still reeling from the news.
This is singularly horrible news for the NHL, which already has a laundry list of financial problems stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. Gary Bettman and company will need to act swiftly and decisively in order to avoid further catastrophe.
Source: The Sports Business Journal
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Mitch Marner | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Logan Cooley | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| William Nylander | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jack McBain | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Dylan Guenther | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Michael Kesselring | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Fraser Minten | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Mikhail Sergachev | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Chris Tanev | - | 1 | 1 | |
| John Tavares | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Simon Benoit | - | - | - | |
| Nick Bjugstad | - | - | - | |
| Michael Carcone | - | - | - | |
| Ian Cole | - | - | - | |
| Lawson Crouse | - | - | - | |
| Connor Dewar | - | - | - | |
| Oliver Ekman-Larsson | - | - | - | |
| Barrett Hayton | - | - | - | |
| Pontus Holmberg | - | - | - | |
| Clayton Keller | - | - | - | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 21 | 17 | 4 | - | 34 | |
Wild | 20 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 30 | |
Devils | 23 | 14 | 7 | 2 | 30 | |
Hurricanes | 20 | 14 | 5 | 1 | 29 | |
Golden Knights | 21 | 13 | 6 | 2 | 28 | |
Maple Leafs | 21 | 13 | 6 | 2 | 28 | |
Capitals | 20 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 27 | |
Flames | 21 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 27 | |
Stars | 19 | 13 | 6 | - | 26 | |
Rangers | 19 | 12 | 6 | 1 | 25 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||