Maybe it's appropriate that Disney bailed out of the NHL, because
unlike the movie Aladdin's theme song "It's a Whole New World,"
the NHL new world should have Tina Turner standing outside a
steel cage singing "we don't need another hero ..."

Looking back, it was a beautiful moment when Bettman thanked the
fans after the lockout.

"It is the mandate of this new partnership, achieved at enormous
cost, to reconnect with our fans and refocus the spotlight where it
belongs: on the ice."

Aww, I'm blushing.

"The greatness of our game is best reflected by the character
and commitment of our fans. We appreciate the patience and the
support they have shown through this difficult time. It's time our
fans had some fun again, and our objective is to give them all they
can handle."

OK, group hug!

"We cannot discuss specific language within the NHL contract,"
said an OLN spokesman. "We can state with certainty that, while
it's our desire to resolve this issue prior to our first game, the
blackout guidelines previously communicated remain in effect."

Um, what?

OLN - Where Did The Dollars Come From?

So ESPN balks at the $60 million annual price tag for the NHL,
and OLN steps up to the plate. Fair enough, money talks.

But of course, Comcast is owner of the Flyers, who had a payroll
of $68 million dollars last season. With a $39 million hard cap,
the Flyers will save almost $30 million per year after this season's
salary write-offs of Amonte and LeClair.

So Comcast had been willing to spend an extra $30 million solely
for the Flyers, but now they get to leverage it against every team
in the league. Nice deal if you can get it.

But if OLN is willing to place the NHL as its lead programming,
that should be good for fans, right?

Invading On Your Teams

OLN has up-to eight games for each team to which it holds
exclusive rights, and playoff games (though I haven't
deciphered that part yet - as a Ranger fan, playoffs are
where the wild things are, not a real place).

Translation: OLN can take those games and black them out
from the customary cable channel, so that you need OLN
to see those games

Translation #2: If you live in a major television market with
a number of potential subscribers, get ready for OLN to dip
its hand heavily into your season. That means you New York,
Chicago and Boston.

Translation #3: Fans will now be caught in a struggle between
Comcast and other cable companies for pricing, channel
grouping, and which corporate monolith can have the bigger profits.

Conclusion: Just having cable isn't enough to watch the NHL. You
need to make certain that you'll have all appropriate channels,
and in some places you'll be asked by one corporate giant to
complain to another corporate giant about the lack of access
to their channel.

Advantage: Flyers?

Now Comcast is such a big company that surely these dollars
from the Flyers don't impact what Comcast is doing from a
league standpoint, right?

Well, in Philadelphia, Comcast says no Flyers games carried on
OLN will be blacked out locally, even to satellite customers.

Compare that to some correspondence hockeybird board
members have been getting in response to their questions ...

"OLN will be airing nationally televised NHL games on Monday
and Tuesdays. All games appearing on OLN will be exclusive
to OLN and will not appear on the regional sports networks
(MSG and FSN-NY). For the 2005-06 season OLN will air an
estimated 58 Nationally televised games. OLN had the right
to choose up to 8 exclusive airings from each of the Rangers,
Devil and Islanders schedules. Although these games have yet
to be selected, the October the Rangers season opener against
the Flyers is tentatively scheduled on OLN."

Bettman To The Rescue?

But surely this can't be acceptable to Bettman's new NHL, can it?
In the new era of fan outreach, Bettman and his fan-friendly
mantra will arrive to explain that everyone will have easy access
to the games, right?

Gary Bettman: "My guess is that by having us, OLN is anticipating,
as are we, subscriber growth"

Me: "This man would not know irony if it was gyrating in front of
him in a g-string. If people cared enough about the NHL to effect
OLN subscriber growth, there would be outcry about the set-up.
That no one cares is a hint about the prospects for future success
under Gary Bettman."

-Gabe

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