Rumours have been out there for the past couple days but today the Ottawa Senators made it official, announcing a historic (and apparently lucrative) deal with Bell Media and TSN.
The deal is 12 years in length and according to Bruce Garrioch, could be worth more than $30 million a season. If those numbers are accurate, this certainly should help to expand the internal budget that has been talked about so much the last couple seasons.
The organization knew these regional rights were going to be a hot commodity and by the sounds of things, they cashed in big time. Sportsnet has been a loyal partner to the Senators over the years but the sense I’m getting from most Sens fans today, is that the shift to TSN is a welcome one.
They have some excellent on-air talent and with the recent news that Sportsnet obtained the NHL’s National broadcasting rights, the Senators now become a central piece for TSN.
(UPDATE 7:51 PM)- Really interesting to hear just how fast this deal came together once Sportsnet’s negotiating window closed. It was clear TSN wanted to make this happen as soon as possible and the timing obviously worked for the Senators who just kicked off a season ticket holder renewal campaign. Good stuff from James Gordon over on SenatorsExtra about how the two sides worked out an agreement in such a short period of time.
