WME-IMG and the the NHL on Tuesday announced a multi-year agreement to market and distribute global media rights for the NHL outside the U.S., Canada and Nordic countries, beginning with the '16-17 season. In addition, IMG will work alongside the NHLPA and the NHL to make the 2016 World Cup of Hockey available to the same territories worldwide (NHL). SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL's Lefton & Ourand report the deal "is structured as two separate contracts." Sources said that the NHL "picked WME-IMG’s bid over competing bids from ESPN and MP & Silva." WME-IMG "already has a relationship with the NHL, producing media around the Winter Classic and the end-of-season NHL Awards show." Medge Consulting and Advisers Media Int'l "represented the league’s European rights previously." WME-IMG "convinced the league that it was best suited to help it expand its int'l business." IMG Media Senior VP Hillary Mandel said that a "main part of its pitch was its ability to have 'boots on the ground' in several markets that will help the league grow internationally" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 10/5 issue).
