Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news.
Speaker 2: We know that political tensions as we keep talking about
Speaker 2: US China, they are definitely high. They're also high between
Speaker 2: the United States and Canada. Pretty tense on the ice
Speaker 2: as well as tonight's Game two of the Stanley Cup
Speaker 2: Finals between the Edmonton Oilers and the defending champion Florida Panthers.
Speaker 2: And that, of course was Game one, the Oilers leading
Speaker 2: the best of seven series thanks to a win in
Speaker 2: Game one. Our next guest was watching. Of course, he'll
Speaker 2: be watching it again tonight, we assume, as he has
Speaker 2: watched all other finals and guided and growing the league
Speaker 2: for the last thirty two plus years. He's the National
Speaker 2: Hockey League's first ever commissioner, making him the longest serving
Speaker 2: executive chief executive among major North American pro sports leagues.
Speaker 1: With us, we've got a Gary Badman, Commissioner of the NHL,
Speaker 1: joining us from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Also joining us to
Speaker 1: our in house hockey experts, Scarlettfew. She's a Bloomberg TV
Speaker 1: anchor of The Close. She's back in our New York studio.
Speaker 1: Mische Beman, Welcome to the program.
Speaker 3: It's good to see you.
Speaker 1: No Canadian team has one just thinking, are the Canadian
Speaker 1: fans a bit more edgy considering the political tensions between.
Speaker 3: The US and Canada right now? Can we talk politics
Speaker 3: a little bit? We can do that. Thank you for
Speaker 3: having me. It's good to be with you. Our fans
Speaker 3: are passionate for the teams that they root for, there's
Speaker 3: no question about that. But there seems to be a
Speaker 3: little bit of movement towards Edmonton being Canada's team because,
Speaker 3: as you said, the Stanley Cup hasn't been awarded to
Speaker 3: a Canadian team in the last thirty plus years, Montreal
Speaker 3: being the last club to win it in nineteen ninety three.
Speaker 3: In terms of the tensions, initially and it was around
Speaker 3: the same time as our Four Nations tournament, which Canada
Speaker 3: won back in February, there was some booing of anthems
Speaker 3: in both countries. That's all simmered down. People are focused
Speaker 3: on playing hockey, rooting for their team, and the competition
Speaker 3: throughout the end of the regular season and into the
Speaker 3: playoffs has been terrific. And the question that I get
Speaker 3: most frequently asked is well, what does that do for
Speaker 3: the Canadian clubs with respect to the tariffs and everything else,
Speaker 3: because our players in Canada still get paid in US dollars.
Speaker 3: And the answer is the Canadian dollars actually up a
Speaker 3: little bit since all this started a few months ago.
Speaker 3: I think three four months ago, the Canadian dollar was
Speaker 3: at seventy cents.
Speaker 4: It's now it's seventy three.
Speaker 3: And so we'll watch what goes on. But I think
Speaker 3: what the great thing about sports is it brings people
Speaker 3: together and even if there's a little political tension around
Speaker 3: the edges, ultimately fans get into and focus on for
Speaker 3: their favorite team.
Speaker 2: So you just answered a question I was going to
Speaker 2: ask you about, you know, the possible negative implications of
Speaker 2: US Canada tariffs and on the Canadian dollar. It does
Speaker 2: feel like things have settled down, but are you still
Speaker 2: a little bit on pins and needles about concerns about
Speaker 2: how this could escalate again. We know from the White
Speaker 2: House Commissioner that things can change rapidly and we have.
Speaker 3: To be flexible and adaptable, and we always are, and
Speaker 3: you know that's been something that I've dealt with over
Speaker 3: three decades. The issue on the Canadian dollar, which is
Speaker 3: where any sort of league issue would come, is really
Speaker 3: a function of what happens with the Canadian economy, and
Speaker 3: if the Canadian economy stays stable and the dollar relative
Speaker 3: to the U Canadian dollar relative to the US dollar
Speaker 3: doesn't change traumatically, things should be fine. I think what
Speaker 3: we've seen worldwide is a little bit of softening in
Speaker 3: the US dollar and the Canadian dollar has been holding
Speaker 3: its own. If that changes, if it becomes a problem,
Speaker 3: we'll address it.
Speaker 4: But so far, so good.
Speaker 3: And again the good news is people are focused on
Speaker 3: the hockey, which has been sensational, as you mentioned, Game
Speaker 3: two tonight, and so you know, we're looking forward to
Speaker 3: a really terrific conclusion to what has been a great season.
Speaker 5: All right, well, let's talk about the hockey for a
Speaker 5: moment here, because this will be the sixth straight year
Speaker 5: that a Florida based team is participating in the Stanley
Speaker 5: Cup Final. And of course, a lot of people will
Speaker 5: talk about the state's tax benefits as a reason why
Speaker 5: Florida teams are doing so well. I know that you
Speaker 5: and Bill Daily have kind of dismissed that as a factor,
Speaker 5: but I'm curious, mister Commissioner, what is it about Florida's
Speaker 5: operating environment that enables its teams to consistently outperform.
Speaker 3: Well, that's of recent vintage, since we had the salary
Speaker 3: cap in the economic system we have in two thousand
Speaker 3: and five six, nobody was talking about this for the
Speaker 3: first fifteen in eighteen years. Players choose to go to
Speaker 3: teams for lots of reasons, and maybe there's a little
Speaker 3: element of local state taxes, but the fact is they
Speaker 3: look to go to a market they want to live in,
Speaker 3: where they want to raise their families, where.
Speaker 4: Their kids will go to school.
Speaker 3: They look at the organization, they look at ownership, they
Speaker 3: look at the coach, they look at the general manager.
Speaker 3: There is the cost of living. And by the way,
Speaker 3: if the players are getting paid in US dollars and
Speaker 3: they're living in Canada, that sort of offsets any differences
Speaker 3: in local taxes. And as I think, you know, players
Speaker 3: get taxed by the jurisdictions that they play in on
Speaker 3: the road. So I think that gets a little overblown.
Speaker 3: I think it's too much of an excuse for clubs
Speaker 3: that may not be performing as well.
Speaker 4: As they'd like to.
Speaker 3: And I think it's a little bit of an injustice
Speaker 3: to the great job that the ownership and organizations have
Speaker 3: done in South Florida in Tampa, and of.
Speaker 5: Course the Florida teams were expansion teams, and there's always
Speaker 5: going to be a lot of talk as our commissioner
Speaker 5: about expansion into other markets like Houston, like Phoenix again,
Speaker 5: and like Atlanta again. The NHL currently has thirty two teams,
Speaker 5: which is kind of considered the sweet spot because the
Speaker 5: structure creates this really consistent and clear format for competition
Speaker 5: and scheduling. You've got two conferences each with two divisions
Speaker 5: with eight teams each. What are team owners specific concerns
Speaker 5: about balance if you do pursue expansion in that format changes.
Speaker 3: Well, the answer to that question is we're not focused
Speaker 3: on a formal expansion process. Yes, we've been getting interest
Speaker 3: from a number of places, including the three you mentioned,
Speaker 3: but we've said we're not going to announce a date
Speaker 3: and if you want an expansion team, everybody apply the criteria.
Speaker 3: At ten thousand feet. We look at our first and
Speaker 3: foremost ownership market arena and what does it do to
Speaker 3: make the league stronger. And we've told the interested parties
Speaker 3: if you're ready to come in and make a presentation
Speaker 3: to check those boxes, come talk to us and we'll
Speaker 3: focus on what needs to be done in terms of
Speaker 3: what it would do to our structure, our format of
Speaker 3: the schedule. That's not something we're even focused on right
Speaker 3: now because at the present time, expansion is in front
Speaker 3: and center on our agenda.
Speaker 4: For sure.
Speaker 1: I want to ask about the media relationships and the
Speaker 1: way that people here in the US are watching and
Speaker 1: consuming hockey and the way that they're not. Why does
Speaker 1: the NHL Network in your view, not have a streaming
Speaker 1: option or a digital app that you can authenticate with
Speaker 1: a third party cable sign on. Does it feel like
Speaker 1: you're leaving money on the table by not offering streaming
Speaker 1: availability like other leagues do at this point?
Speaker 3: Well, actually, we do have a streaming capability. Warner Brothers
Speaker 3: Discovery streams the games that they have on Max, ESPN
Speaker 3: streams US on ESPN Plus. As it relates to the
Speaker 3: NHL network itself, we're kind of in a transition period
Speaker 3: and we're looking at our options. But ninety nine percent
Speaker 3: of our games are available either linear or streamed in
Speaker 3: the United States, and frankly, to us, the most important
Speaker 3: thing in the short term is always making sure that
Speaker 3: our games are available to the most number of people,
Speaker 3: and we think we do a good job of that
Speaker 3: what we do with the NHL network, which relative to
Speaker 3: everybody else, has far fewer games. That's something that will
Speaker 3: evolve over time with the changing landscape.
Speaker 4: But we do have.
Speaker 3: A large, full breadth capacity for streaming, both in the
Speaker 3: US and Canada.
Speaker 2: Hey, one of the things I do want to ask you,
Speaker 2: I mean, there's just so much I feel like on
Speaker 2: your plan. And you talked about this in your Mister Commissioner,
Speaker 2: in your Status of the League address prior to Game
Speaker 2: one of the finals, and you talked specifically about the
Speaker 2: status of collective bargaining talks that are going on. I'm curious,
Speaker 2: what are you hearing, where are you What are the
Speaker 2: priorities for the league, and what do you expect to
Speaker 2: be the sticking points? And can you get something done
Speaker 2: before the current agreement expires in September.
Speaker 3: Actually, the current agreement expires a year from September twenty
Speaker 3: six forget me. Yes, yes, so we have plenty of time.
Speaker 3: We started having conversations with the union probably end of
Speaker 3: February early March. I think we're having good, constructive discussions.
Speaker 3: I think for the most part, we're on the same
Speaker 3: page that it's important to work together. We get together
Speaker 3: on a regular basis. We even got together yesterday here
Speaker 3: in Edmonton, and I'm very optimistic that we're going to
Speaker 3: get this done in relatively short order. I don't mean
Speaker 3: today or tomorrow, but at the end of the day,
Speaker 3: the relationship between the NHL and the NHL Players Association,
Speaker 3: which is now under executive director Marty Walsh, was I
Speaker 3: think many of you know him as former mayor of
Speaker 3: Boston and former Secretary of Labor. We're in a good
Speaker 3: place and I think we're going to get it done,
Speaker 3: and I think the best the beneficiary from all of
Speaker 3: that will not just be the clubs and the players,
Speaker 3: but our fans. I'm not anticipating any fundamental problems or
Speaker 3: issues that are going to cause us to have fundamental problems.
Speaker 5: Are you on the same page when it comes to
Speaker 5: international competition? You guys had a very successful for Nations tournament,
Speaker 5: and we know the NHL players are going back to
Speaker 5: the Olympics next year, so I'm sure there is a
Speaker 5: desire on both sides to keep the energy of international
Speaker 5: competition going once the Olympics comes and.
Speaker 3: Goes, there's no question about that. So going back in
Speaker 3: ancient history because the pre day it's me, the League
Speaker 3: and the Players Association have been joint partners in the
Speaker 3: execution of international competition, particularly best on best, which is
Speaker 3: the Olympics, the World Cup and things like Four Nations
Speaker 3: that we did to an outstanding result in terms of
Speaker 3: fan interest and the competition itself. Prior leaders of the
Speaker 3: Players Association, Warrant is immediately focused as Marty is in
Speaker 3: terms of understanding the importance of moving this effort forward.
Speaker 3: We know that our players, third of which come from
Speaker 3: outside of North America, love representing their countries. It's important
Speaker 3: to them, which is why the competition at Four Nations
Speaker 3: was so good, so competitive, and so compelling, and so
Speaker 3: he is focused on not just doing that in terms
Speaker 3: of building interest, but it also speaks volumes of how
Speaker 3: well we're working together. And so we're looking forward to
Speaker 3: having in the Olympics two years later, to the World
Speaker 3: Cup two years after that, the Olympics and so on
Speaker 3: a regular basis because we know it's great for the game,
Speaker 3: it's great for fan interest, and again we know how
Speaker 3: important it is for our players to represent the countries
Speaker 3: they come from. And I don't think there's anything that
Speaker 3: really compares in the international landscape to best on Best
Speaker 3: in Hockey. Hey, one thing I.
Speaker 2: Do wonder, Commissioner, is where does women's hockey fit into this?
Speaker 2: And we've seen, you know, certainly interested in women's sports
Speaker 2: skyrocket on so many different levels, and we've certainly seen
Speaker 2: some early success, initial success with the Women's Hockey League,
Speaker 2: the PWHL. I'm curious about the involvement by the NHL
Speaker 2: specifically when it comes to women's sports and what kind
Speaker 2: of investment and solid investment are you guys looking to
Speaker 2: maybe do in that area.
Speaker 3: Well, certainly at the grassroots level, we're fully supportive in
Speaker 3: our programs, are very, very inclusive and welcoming. The PWHL,
Speaker 3: which is the Women's Professional Hockey League, is off to
Speaker 3: a terrific start. They launched very quickly two seasons ago.
Speaker 3: We help them get off the ground using our infrastructure
Speaker 3: and resources.
Speaker 4: And we work well with them.
Speaker 3: We try to include them in our major events, and
Speaker 3: they just recently announced a two team expansion, so they're
Speaker 3: off to a great start. And again we're thrilled and
Speaker 3: fully supportive. It's great for the game of hockey.
Speaker 5: Commiser, Let's just return to playoffs for this year. When
Speaker 5: you look at viewership numbers, they're actually down about twenty
Speaker 5: percent from last year's playoffs. To what extent does that
Speaker 5: concern you and do you believe it has any kind
Speaker 5: of I don't know, future implications, does it suggest anything
Speaker 5: about the future of the league?
Speaker 3: Actually on a North American basis, which is how we
Speaker 3: look at these things, because we're a little bit different
Speaker 3: than baseball, basketball, and football, because seven of our thirty
Speaker 3: two teams are in Canada and they don't show up
Speaker 3: in US ratings.
Speaker 4: But when you look at North America.
Speaker 3: As a whole, we're about flat. And you have to
Speaker 3: take into account that this may be the first time
Speaker 3: in the history of the NHL where none of the
Speaker 3: four original six US teams were in the playoffs.
Speaker 4: And that's Chicago, Detroit, New.
Speaker 3: York, and Boston, all of which rate extraordinarily well. And
Speaker 3: Boston and New York the Rangers had great runs last season,
Speaker 3: even though they didn't make it to the Stanley Cup final.
Speaker 3: So it's a little bit of apples and oranges. But
Speaker 3: when you look at it on a North American basis,
Speaker 3: it's fine. When you look at, for example, Game seven
Speaker 3: in last year's Stanley Cup final, which was this is
Speaker 3: a redo this year Edmonton and Florida. I think we
Speaker 3: drew sixteen or seventeen million fans North American wide, and
Speaker 3: I think we had about nine million in the United States,
Speaker 3: and the final game of four Nations was at about
Speaker 3: the same level, and so our ratings are strong. We
Speaker 3: tend to be a little bit variable. But don't just
Speaker 3: look at the US. We won't.
Speaker 2: We won't. Thank you so much, busy time for you.
Speaker 2: Good luck with Game two.