ESPN Insults the NHL With Recent Decision

Many fans were disappointed when the NHL and ESN came to an agreement on the league's television broadcasting rights. It wasn't ESPN's first time holding the TV rights to NHL hockey, and the first time didn't go over so smoothly, prompting the NHL to look elsewhere. Fans were naturally cautious when the two reunited; we can now see why.

ESPN completely humiliated the NHL recently with their decision to broadcast a Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) on their main channel. This channel is usually reserved for programs or games that draw in the largest amount of viewers, and the network continuously refused to feature NHL games on the channel throughout this past season.

While it is late July, and very few high-profile sporting events are currently taking place, it seems odd that ESPN would give a premium time slot to a sport such as pickleball.

There's no doubt that pickleball is one of the fastest-growing games around the U.S. right now due to its accessibility and low cost. We can understand why ESPN might want to help grow the game by exposing it to a wider audience, but it comes off as insulting to the many hockey fans who looked forward to seeing NHL games in prime air time slots.

While this is upsetting, fans are going to have to get very used to this reality. The NHL and ESPN's current broadcasting deal is in effect through the 2027-28 NHL season, meaning fans have at least five more seasons of being looked over by the cooperation.

At the end of the day, the blame falls on NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman for allowing this deal to go through in the first place. He knew that ESPN would overlook NHL games for other sporting events, and allowed the league to enter a long-term deal that would stifle the growth of hockey.

We sincerely hope that ESPN reconsiders their approach to NHL hockey, as we think more sports fans would appreciate the beautiful sport of ice hockey.

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