National Hockey League involved in heated legal battle in an attempt to break a legally binding contract
It's not everyday that a major sports league like the National Hockey League looks to break a contract with a major partner, but that's exactly what the league is doing. During March of last year, Diamond Sports Group filed for bankruptcy protection. In this process the NHL found themselves with more questions than answers, as Bally Sports, a subsidiary of DSG held the rights to 12 different regional NHL team's television viewing rights.
Now the NHL is in court and is attempting to convince a judge to allow the league to break their contract, something he has been unwilling to do at this time. DSG has been given until September 30th to reorganize their funds.
The NHL is hoping to have a resolution in place well before the start of next season, which will allow them to offer these teams to seek out new viewing rights deals. Currently the following teams have deals with the Bally Sports Network, Arizona Coyotes, Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers, St. Louis Blues, Minnesota Wild, Columbus Blue Jackets, Anaheim Ducks, Carolina Hurricanes, Nashville Predators, Dallas Stars, Tampa Bay Lightning, and the Los Angeles Kings.
A failure to find a resolution could leave the NHL in some financial trouble as these teams will be guaranteed to lose out on revenue. Only time will tell what resolution the league will come to.
| POLL | ||
Should the NHL be allowed out of their deal with Bally Sports? | ||
| Yes, they can't pay their bills | 294 | 76.8 % |
| No, they signed a contract | 52 | 13.6 % |
| Just let the judge decide | 37 | 9.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
