Sports

NHL, MLB digital arm strike content partnership

NHL and MLB form digital partnership
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NHL and MLB form digital partnership

Major League Baseball's digital arm and the National Hockey League have reached a six-year digital content partnership, giving the MLB exclusive rights to distribute certain NHL games.

Under the deal announced Tuesday, MLB Advanced Media will provide live, out-of-market NHL matchups in the U.S. and certain international markets. It will also handle the NHL Center Ice subscription service with broadcasters.

NHL and MLB league logos.
Getty Images

The leagues did not disclose the financial terms of the agreement. However, Dow Jones reported that the NHL will receive $100 million per year from MLBAM while taking a 10 percent stake in its technology unit.

MLBAM has "incredible capacity to deal with all the digital platforms and and by using our content we think we can provide a better experience for fans in both sports and really work together to grow both games," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in an interview with CNBC's "Closing Bell" Tuesday.

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MLBAM will operate the NHL's website as well as those for its franchises. The MLB Network will also offer studio space and production resources to the NHL Network.

"We think there is room for tremendous growth and we think the partnership with the NHL will help realize that growth," MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred told "Closing Bell."

MLBAM is equally owned by the league's 30 teams. In July, the branch's head Bob Bowman told CNBC that it would not offer shares to the public, refuting an earlier report from the New York Post.

"We're going to carve out our technology business, and we're talking to about dozens of strategic investors," Bowman said at the time.

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The MLB is expected to launch its NHL offerings in January.

—CNBC's Michelle Fox contributed to this report.