Cha-Ching!
The Ottawa Senators became one of the beneficiaries of the burgeoning broadcast war between Rogers and Bell. The Senators local broadcast rights, having currently been held by Rogers for the past 16 years, will belong to the Bell (TSN) media empire starting next season.
Jan 25, 2014; Raleigh, NC, USA; Ottawa Senators forward Kyle Turris (7) is congratulated by teammates after his second period goal against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports
TSN was outbid by Rogers for the National rights a couple of months ago by signing a 12 year, $5.2M deal with the NHL. TSN has countered by snapping up many of the local broadcast rights of Canadian Teams, adding the Senators to the Jets, Habs and Leafs. Games will also air in French on RDS and continue to be on TSN1200 radio for the duration of the agreement.
It is not known how much Bell paid for the rights, but it is safe to say that they will get more than what Rogers has been paying in the future. That is good news for the Senators and their financial situation.
There was some initial concern in the public when this news was released that it would become an arrangement like the TSN Jets channel that covers the Winnipeg rights costs $10/month on at least one cable provider. Those fears were allayed at the press conference when it was stated that they would appear on the main network in a regional divide.
There will certainly be more to come on this in the near future, regarding the actual value of the deal.