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(Reuters) -The
National Hockey League (NHL), which took a revenue hit last year
due to the COVID-19 outbreak, said on Tuesday it has sold the
naming rights to its divisions for the first time.
The move to sell naming rights to divisions that were once named
after some of the founding fathers of the league before taking
on geographical designations, follows a recent decision by the
NHL to allow small advertisements on player helmets.
For the new season, which begins on Jan. 13, teams will play in
the Scotia NHL North Division, Honda NHL West Division, Discover
NHL Central Division and the MassMutual NHL East Division, the
league said in a news release.
The NHL did not say whether having corporate sponsorships for
divisions will be the new norm or simply a one-year-only
campaign but marketing experts suggest they are here to stay.
"While some fans may protest the over-commercialization of the
league, the majority understand the importance of finding new
revenue streams, especially now," Bob Dorfman, a sports
marketing expert at Baker Street Advertising in San Francisco,
told Reuters.
"I'm sure this won't be a one-timer for the NHL. Whether it's
naming rights, logos on uniforms, or most any other new
sponsorship deal bringing in much-needed revenue, fans will get
used to it and leagues will keep pursuing it."
Due to COVID-19 and the closure of the U.S.-Canada border, the
NHL sought to minimize team travel as much as possible and the
56-game regular season, down from the usual 82, will shift
exclusively to intradivisional play.
To accommodate this plan, the NHL's 31 teams will be split among
three U.S.-based divisions and one all-Canadian division.
The current plan is for all games to be played in teams' home
arena even though most venues will not, at least in the initial
part of the abbreviated season, be able to host fans.
Last month, Forbes said the average value of NHL franchises
declined for the first time since 2001 as the COVID-19 pandemic
robbed teams of critical revenue.
The NHL held 85% of its regular season games with fans last
season before suspending the campaign in March due to COVID-19.
Play resumed nearly five months later with a post-season held at
neutral sites and behind closed doors.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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