How NHL's Media Partnership with MLB Benefits Hockey Fans

The NHL signed a six-year partnership with MLB Advanced Media that is geared primarily toward enhancing the league’s digital media.
According to a report in Sports Business Daily, the NHL gets $1.2 billion, along with a small ownership stake in MLBAM. All revenue from the deal goes towards the growth of the salary cap.

MLBAM takes over the websites of the league and all 30 teams, along with all mobile applications. The NHL retains editorial control over all platforms. MLBAM owns the rights to distribute live out-of-market games through the GameCenter Live streaming video service and NHL Center Ice in the United States and select international markets (not including Canada). It will oversee the NHL Network, helping the league with programming and production after moving the channel’s facilities from Manhattan to MLB Network’s studios in Secaucus, N.J. MLB will reportedly pay the NHL $100 million a year in rights fees for the move. The deal begins January 2016.

For hockey fans this partnership is good news. Highlights and updates will be more quickly available. Streams will be more reliable. We will see upgrades to the NHL app. There will also be production upgrades to NHL Live, NHL On The Fly and NHL Tonight.