Pegula Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Sabres, has hired N.Y.-based consultant Allen & Co. to "deal with the team’s media issues," according to Alan Pergament of the BUFFALO NEWS. PSE Exec VP/Media & Content Mark Preister said Allen & Co., led by Managing Dir Steve Greenberg, has been hired to "evaluate the best path and strategy for media rights moving forward in TV and digital." The primary concern of Greenberg’s company "is the Sabres TV plans." The Sabres' deal with MSG Network "has two more seasons to run." Sources said that the team will get a $10M rights fee in the contract’s final season and "keep all advertising revenue, which could approach" another $3-5M annually. The $10M "would be a lot for a small market team to walk away from to start a new regional sports network, which would be an extremely expensive venture." Additionally, the Sabres "stand to get much more from MSG, Fox Sports, or some other cable partner after the current deal ends." The team’s ratings reportedly "remain in the top six" in the NHL. As for the team's radio rights, the Sabres "have some time to decide if it is best to have a deal with the same company, Entercom, to carry the games on the same radio station or if it would be better to have two separate deals with different companies" (BUFFALO NEWS, 5/17).
