The frozen stream

NHL left NBC programming at the exact right time. For whatever reason, Peacock angers more people as a streaming service than any other. It might be because NBC just doesn't have as much to offer so nobody feels the need to pay for an entire streaming service just to rewatch The Office again. I went to Purdue (The Big Ten's best school without a hockey program), and the Big Ten's rights are partially owned by NBC. No school appears on Peacock more than Purdue.

There isn't a chance in hell I am paying for Peacock.

ESPN reclaimed the American rights to the NHL, and has put a bunch of games online through their ESPN+ package. It's a much more palatable streaming service for most, because it pairs with Disney and Hulu for most people as part of a bundle. Even if I wasn't paying for ESPN, I'm not sure the house would survive without Bluey for a day. Might as well get ESPN, too.

The NHL is going to be able to lean into the streaming market a little bit more, it appears, at least in many markets. Major League Baseball has received the most attention regarding the ongoing bankruptcy of Diamond Sports, the company behind regional sports network brand Bally Sports. As part of the financing to bring the group out of bankruptcy, Amazon is stepping in and purchasing the streaming rights.

If a lot of people have Disney+, and subsequently ESPN+, the number must be higher for Amazon Prime. You don't even need to have an interest in television to make Prime worth it, given the discounts on shipping and what not. And now you may be able to watch several in-market NHL games on Prime. Who knows, maybe out of market?

MLB, NFL, NBA and MLS are all packaged through their own proprietary or exclusive streaming platforms, with a handful of games accessible in other venues. The NFL's streaming option is tied to Youtube (with a game or two on Amazon), while the MLS is on AppleTV but only the NHL will be the only major North American league with games available to stream on ore than one streaming platform once Amazon takes over Diamond Sports, and two of the most popular options at that.

Through good fortune and a forced adaptation, the NHL has found itself well positioned for the new era of sports media. After years mired in the cable backwaters, hockey is positioned to be more widely available than nearly any other sport to the next generation of fans. Now it's up to the league to seize that opportunity.