NHL/NBC Release On New Ad Sales Agreement

NEW YORK (July 11, 2011) – Following April’s landmark, 10-year media rights

agreement with NBC, the National Hockey League (NHL®) and the NBC Sports

Group announced today that the two companies are strengthening their

relationship even further by creating a unique, groundbreaking sales

venture that will streamline national U.S. NHL media sales for the next

five years.

 

NHL media sales for all national platforms — NBC, VERSUS, NBCSports.com,

NHL Network™, NHL mobile and all official NHL digital sites, including

NHL.com — will be sold by the NBC Sports Group Sales Department, which

will be bolstered by absorbing NHL media sales employees. All traffic

generated by official NHL digital sites, including NHL.com, will now be

attributed to NBC Sports Digital.

 

The agreement excludes current and future NHL official marketing partners,

who will continue to purchase media through the NHL Integrated Sales

Department. Financial terms of this new agreement, which continues through

the 2015-16 season, were not disclosed.

 

“Joining forces with NBC enables us to go to the marketplace with

unprecedented strength,” said NHL Chief Operating Officer John Collins.

“We’ll be able to accelerate the growth of our business by providing our

sales talent to the strong sales team at NBC, which is already selling the

NHL across NBC and VERSUS as well as the Olympics, the Super Bowl and other

gold standard events. This venture creates an efficient, powerful way for

us to bring the young, tech savvy NHL demographic to advertisers across

multiple platforms.”

 

“This agreement is the archetype for a sports property and its national

media partner, and it speaks to the strength and long-term commitment of

our partnership,” said Seth Winter, Senior Vice President, NBC Sports Group

Sales & Marketing. “Sports marketers will benefit because of the

unprecedented single voice that allows them to purchase national network

television, cable television and digital media for one major sports

property in only one place.”