The NHL will become the first major North American sports league to use a major streaming service as a key part of its new television contract.
Per an official release Wednesday, the NHL announced a seven-year rights deal with the ESPN family of networks starting with the 2021-22 season.
The Stanley Cup Final will be broadcast on ABC in four of the seven years. ABC and ESPN will broadcast half of all Stanley Cup playoff games each year over the lifetime of the contract. The two networks will also exclusively air 25 regular-season games every year for the next seven seasons.