DISNEY TO AIR NHL; TELEVISION RIGHTS SECURED IN 5-YEAR, $600 MILLION DEAL.

Byline: Associated Press 

The NHL has a struggle with television ratings, but the Walt Disney Co. is confident it will turn a profit on its new $600 million, five-year television contract.

The deal, announced Tuesday, gives the NHL 2.6 times more money than ESPN and Fox Sports paid under the contract that expires after this season. ESPN is paying $350 million for the cable rights and $250 million for the broadcast rights, which it is putting on ABC Sports, also owned by Disney.

``We will make money on this deal,'' said Steve Bornstein, president of ESPN and ABC Sports. ``We believe through exclusivity and cross-promotion that we will be able to increase ratings and ad rates.''

Improving ratings enough to make money will not be as easy as cross-promotion. Assuming ABC gets the maximum number of games allowable in the contract, it would need to average more than $50,000 for each commercial spot to break even. According to advertising sources, Fox was able to charge $45,000 for its one Stanley Cup Finals game and considerably less for its regular-season games.

``Maybe Disney knows something that we don't know,'' said Ron Frederick, a media buyer at J. Walter Thompson advertising agency. ``On the face of it, it looks like too much money. Why take a loss on low-rated sports? There are lots of justifications on high-rated sports.''

ABC will show four to seven regular-season games, six playoff games and up to five games in the Stanley Cup Finals. ESPN will produce the broadcasts, but there will be a different look and maybe different announcers on the two networks. ``But there won't be a glowing puck,'' Bornstein said in reference to Fox.

While the network package jumped 61 percent, ESPN is paying five times as much a year for the cable package of up to 200 games. ESPN is getting 26 additional late-night games on ESPN2 - meaning more broadcasts of the Disney-owned Mighty Ducks - and exclusivity on all 27 of its broadcasts on ESPN, eliminating local blackouts.

ESPN also will have exclusivity on four additional playoff games, rights to more than 100 games for ESPN International, programming for ESPN Classic Sports and use of footage at ESPN's restaurants and stores.

``All of television is fragmenting, but we believe sports is fragmenting less,'' Bornstein said. ``Our ability to cross-promote and complement coverage across our many lines of business will drive up viewership.''

The deal is a coup for the NHL, which many experts predicted would have a difficult time matching its previous deal much less becoming the third major sport in less than a year to more than double its national TV revenue. But commissioner Gary Bettman disputes the notion that Disney overpaid.

``I did not go into negotiations with a mask and a gun,'' Bettman said. ``This deal works for both sides even if we show moderate growth. It will be terrific for ESPN and ABC if our growth increases in the future.''

Hockey's growth on U.S. television has been stunted recently. Fox's ratings have fallen 33 percent since 1996. ESPN's regular-season ratings fell 13 percent last year and ESPN2's were flat compared to 1996-97.

``Hockey has a group of devoted fans, but it has never made it on television,'' Frederick said. ``Football fans will watch two teams they don't have an emotional stake in. Hockey fans only watch their teams. That's one of the problems.''

Bornstein and Bettman were quick to trumpet hockey's favorable demographics, but ratings among men 18-34 have fallen 41 percent in four years. Both attribute the fall to the Olympic break disrupting the season and putting the playoffs concurrent with the NBA and poor performances by teams in major markets like Chicago and New York.

THE DEAL

The Walt Disney Co. is paying $600 million for five-year broadcast rights on ABC and ESPN. ABC will show 4-7 games during the regular season, six playoff games and up to five Stanley Cup Finals games. ESPN will show over 200 games on its two channels.