The NHL is seeking an increase of between 50% and 100% in its national television rights fees, according to CNBC, as it prepares to negotiate new deals with Disney/ESPN and Skydance, the new owner of TNT Sports. The league's exclusive negotiating window with both incumbents opens on January 1.

The current deal, a seven-year, $4.5 billion agreement signed with ESPN and TNT Sports in 2021, runs with ESPN holding 100 exclusive games in the 2026-27 season — 53 on ESPN or ABC and 47 streaming exclusively on ESPN.

Both companies have engaged in preliminary conversations in recent weeks, and there is reportedly mutual interest in renewing the partnerships.

The NHL enters the marketplace with its strongest ratings evidence in years. Last season's playoffs were its most-watched on record, averaging 1.8 million viewers per game, and the Stanley Cup Final drew 5.2 million viewers — the largest audience since 2019.

The regular season averaged 546,000 viewers across ESPN/ABC and TNT Sports, up 25% and the highest in more than a decade, per CNBC.

International hockey has exploded too: the 2026 Olympic gold medal game between the U.S. and Canada averaged 26 million viewers on NBC and Peacock, the most-watched U.S. sporting event with a start before 9 a.m. ET.

Commissioner Gary Bettman told CNBC the league has "the best content" and views itself "in a very strong position."

The biggest roadblock may be TNT's new ownership. Skydance executives are prioritizing debt reduction and saving for what could be a $1 billion-plus per season NFL rights increase.

CEO David Ellison said this week, per CNBC, "As it relates to future rights, we'll be disciplined. Every right has to earn its place."

That could open the door to new partners: Fox News reports industry insiders have floated Netflix bidding on marquee events like the 4 Nations Face-Off and Winter Classic, fitting its strategy of event-driven sports rights after adding MLB's Opening Night, the Home Run Derby and NFL games in 2026.

Amazon Prime Video would be the likeliest suitor for a weekly streaming package, while CNBC's parent Versant would also be interested in a slice of games.

How much the NHL extracts will likely set the bar for other media rights coming to market, including MLB's, per CNBC — making hockey the first public test of how media companies value non-NFL properties in this era.

The bull case is real: the NBA nearly tripled its national rights revenue with an 11-year, $77 billion deal, and the NHL's Canadian renewal with Rogers Communications rose more than 100% annually.

But the league's regular-season audiences still trail prominent UFC, golf, tennis and boxing events, and Skydance's discipline could squeeze budgets further. The expectation, per Fox News, is that the NHL secures a significant increase even if it falls short of the 50% to 100% it seeks.