“Came through an extraordinarily challenging time” – Commissioner Gary Bettman highlights recent NHL developments


“Came through an extraordinarily challenging time” – Commissioner Gary Bettman highlights recent NHL developments

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman

The National Hockey League (NHL) Store in New York hosted the Brand Innovators Sports Marketing NHL Upfronts on Thursday attended by many of the organisation’s business partners. They went on to talk for panel discussions about how the game has grown on and off the ice and how it will continue to do so.

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The all-day event commenced with NHL Network and ESPN analyst Kevin Weekes and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman discussing the current state of the game. The latter stated that he’s proud of how the League and its partners have handled the coronavirus pandemic.

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“We’ve come through an extraordinarily challenging time, and I don’t just mean in sports,” Commissioner Bettman said, as quoted by NHL.com. “We’ve had to reevaluate a lot of the things we do, how we conduct relationships, how we conduct business, and for us, it’s all been about getting through this difficult time as a business and as a sport to get to the other side. We felt not only did we owe it to people who earn a living from the game, but to all of our business partners.”

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“The way games are being presented is outstanding…couldn’t be more pleased”

NHL
NHL

The commissioner further highlighted the fact that the NHL has signed two new incredible media partnerships in the United States with Walt Disney Co and Turner, which is more than they had asked for.

From a corporate standpoint, the culture of our business relationships is — and this may make us a little different — it’s not just about us,” Commissioner Bettman said. “It’s about how do we collaborate, how do we put our brand together with our business partners. … We want to make sure that we are making both of our brands stronger.

“We have two new incredible media partnerships in the United States (Walt Disney Co., Turner). The promotion, the coverage, the way the games are being presented is outstanding, and we couldn’t be more pleased.”

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