Gary Bettman just hit a real home run, and he's got some big news

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Jeff Drouin
July 3, 2022 (10:03)

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As the 2022 NHL Draft approaches in Montreal, Bettman officials are extremely pleased with the excitement surrounding the event.

Commissioner Gary Bettman has just received some great news.

They made a risky move last summer by switching official broadcasters (from NBC to TNT/ESPN), but obviously it was a home run.

"From NBC in 2020-21 to TNT and ESPN in 2021-22, this season marked the biggest increase in overall average viewers ever.

The NHL's new media (and broadcast) rights deal has attracted more new viewers watching hockey than ever before. With the Stanley Cup playoffs consisting of nearly 25% of new NHL viewers. That's big.

Overall, the 2021-22 season averaged 52% more viewers per game than last season.

The hype around the NHL was real this season, and the new TV deal was the main factor." - PuckEmpire

Basically, the popularity of the NHL has increased significantly, in the past year, in the United States mainly because of the new TV deal.

More and more new fans were watching hockey games, and the NHL is taking more and more of the media spotlight.

A great success for Gary! Now he has to continue this trend and keep these new fans.

Remember also that in the last few weeks, the NHL announced record revenues for 2021-22.

More details will follow!