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NHL REFUTES FORBES REPORT ON LEAGUE'S TV DEAL WITH DISNEY

          Disney paid $600M for the TV rights to the NHL through
     the 2004 season and it "promises not to repeat the mistakes"
     of Fox, which "lost money on the league five years running,"
     according to Robert La Franco of FORBES.  Part of Disney's
     strategy is to "improve game coverage" on ESPN, ESPN2, 20
     int'l cable networks and ABC, as well as "cross-promote
     hockey through ESPN's TV, print, Internet and restaurant
     outlets."  But La Franco writes, "Unfortunately, hockey is
     bad business," as teams are "losing money and on the block,"
     and he questions the strength of the league's TV ratings. 
     La Franco: "The new deal costs double ESPN's previous hockey
     deal and is two years shorter.  While the agreement gives
     ESPN international rights and access to footage for its ESPN
     Classic network for the first time, the shortcomings are
     more significant: the deal offers exclusive rights to only
     the 56 games that will air on ESPN and ABC.  ESPN2 will air
     101 games, up from 75 under the old contract, but has to
     share those games with local sports networks and in some
     cases is blocked from airing them in the home markets, where
     hockey's true value lies.  ESPN's best hope of recovering
     its outlay may be to regionalize its broadcasts by
     exploiting digital cable's expanded capacity.  That's at
     least a few seasons off."   La Franco claims that Fox is
     "still owed money from" the NHL for '98's Stanley Cup
     broadcasts, "when it had to make concessions to advertisers"
     to compensate for a "shortfall in viewers" (FORBES, 11/1). 
     Fox Sports Senior VP/Media Relations Vince Wladika would not
     comment on the financial particulars in the Forbes report. 
     Wladika said only, "Let's just say that hockey was not a
     successful national property for us" (THE DAILY).
          RESPONSE: NHL Group VP/Communications Bernadette Mansur
     said in a statement that the Forbes piece is "filled with
     inaccurate points."  Mansur: "The NHL does not owe money to
     Fox, nor has Fox requested money from the NHL surrounding
     Stanley Cup broadcasts.  In addition, the Forbes article
     refers to hockey as 'bad business,' yet, in a recent report
     analyzing the NHL season, Forbes Magazine itself estimated
     that NHL teams averaged a $2.3 million profit" (NHL).  

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