CPHL to announce new 3 year TV deal? 
Comcast opts out of CPHL agreement
There won't be as much channel-surfing to find the
CPHL next year, the start of a three-year deal that includes only one cable channel and gives
Spike TV exclusive cable rights for 3 years.
and 
The announcement Tuesday culminates a major shake-up in the structure of
CPHL programming, which also revamped by adding two expansion teams in 2005-2006, to create a season-long points race and a blockbluster finish designed to get higher ratings and a larger fan base.
While financial terms with
Spike TV were not disclosed, commissioner Dayel Peterson conceded that rights money was not something easily garnered in a market flooded by Online Fantasy sports.
"I think it's fair to say that the market is saturated and Networks arent tossing money out like in the past " Peterson said in a conference call that was short on specifics.
It was the most taxing negotiation since Peterson, Schuler and Linn started the
CPHL in 2002, and negotiated a TV deal with Comcast Media One Group that sent the league cap to 65 Million dollars over the first 3 years of its existence.
Comcast walked away from negotiations late last month, and cable partners followed. That keeps the
CPHL away from the biggest sports brand on cable, relegating all games -- to a cable channel that still doesn't reach every market.
"With only one network, people know where to tune in for Fantasy Hockey," Kris Fernet said. "But you might lose the casual fan who might not subscribe to
Spike TV. I know we've been pushing hard to grow the league, and we've had a tough economic environment. I think we did a good job."
Others were skeptical, saying they wanted more time to look at the deal.
Except for the five Commissioners and four Player Agents, GMs and players weren't aware of the deal.
More pieces of the puzzle are to follow in the next few weeks, such as how the TV deal is structured, whether the league will institute new rule changes, and whether the infamous Cheese rule will be modified.
Along with announcing a television deal, Peterson said The
CPHL would position itself for a better deal in 3 years time, dependant on league structure. He also said
Spike TV would have no more than five minutes of commercials every hour during game play, leaving fans to concentrate solely on the game itself.
It was also announced that
Pamela Lee Anderson would provide the between period analysis of Saturday Night games, with a new feature called,
"Between the Lines, keeping abreast of Fantasy sports".
The
CPHL already has over two dozen sponsors signed up through 2010. Peterson did not say whether the league would have to rework its schedule with games that might interfere with the networks broadcasts of Ultimate Fighting Championships, which are shown exclusively on the cable outlet.
The deal was a boon for
Spike TV, which celebrated its 2-year anniversary in 2005.
Spike TV made a major investment in the
CPHL, by its standards. It will double the current 3 games a week on Network TV to 6 games a week for the next 3 years.
"We're particularly thrilled with the upscale nature of the
CPHL,"
Spike TV executive Vice Chairman,
Pancho Mansfield said on the conference call.
Peterson said one reason for a three-year deal instead of the traditional five years is to allow the new expansion teams to take root before having to negotiate another deal.
March 07, 2006
New TV deal for the CPHL?
ME TOO.
