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Stickman

Gary Bettman, now in his fourth decade running the NHL, has seen it all—labor headaches, expansion, media existentialism, and more. Here, he talks candidly about the league’s distribution strategy, the decaying R.S.N. picture, new markets, and technological changes. Thankfully, he doesn’t make any puck jokes.

Gary Bettman
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman says that some NHL teams that left R.S.N.s are reaping similar rights fees through deals with local broadcast TV stations owned by Scripps and Tegna. Photo: Jeff Bottari/NHLI/Getty Images
John Ourand
September 30, 2024

The regional sports network market hasn’t completely collapsed, but it’s certainly taken on some water. MLB teams, like the Padres and Diamondbacks, left Diamond Sports Group and have seen significant drops in their local TV revenue. NBA commissioner Adam Silver has consistently warned owners of shortfalls in their local media markets. The NHL, however, has a slightly different view of the R.S.N. ecosystem, which has always paid its teams less than franchises from the other major professional leagues. In fact, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman says that some NHL teams that left R.S.N.s are reaping similar rights fees through deals with local broadcast TV stations owned by Scripps and Tegna.