With more than half a season already completed,
officials from the NBA and NHL, as well as cable operators,
"are content with the performances" of the two leagues' out-
of-market PPV sports packages, "despite the relatively low
prospects for major revenue gains," according to R. Thomas
Umstead of MULTICHANNEL NEWS. After "working exclusively"
with DBS services in previous years, the NBA and NHL
launched their respective PPV packages to cable operators
this season. Although they are currently "available only in
about" 2 million cable HHs, both leagues said that the PPV
packages "will allow them to better serve their core fans
without hurting ratings from their existing cable- and
broadcast-network agreements." NBA TV & New Media Ventures
President Ed Desser: "I would say that we are pleased thus
far with the performance [of NBA League Pass].
Industrywide, (buy-rates) have been right where we expected
them to be." NHL VP/Business Affairs Mike Perlman
"intimated" that the decision to distribute NHL Center Ice
"on cable was based more on its promotional value for hockey
than on it being a revenue generator." While "generating
incremental revenue for operators," League Pass "also
provided systems with an opportunity to extend promotional
reach and opportunities beyond traditional PPV markets."
One example is Cox Communications in San Diego, which
sponsored a Lakers-Warriors exhibition game in the city
earlier this season to promote League Pass. Meanwhile, some
network execs feel the out-of-market packages could cut into
ratings and ad revenue for cable broadcasts of NHL/NBA
games. ESPN is watching the cable performance of Center Ice
"very carefully." ESPN VP/Distribution & Development Bryan
Burns: "We're looking at our aggregate number of users
compared with the number of buys that these packages
generate, because the assumption is that the purchasers are
the sport's best fans" (MULTICHANNEL NEWS, 3/13 issue).
