The Devils on the YES network next?
It's funny, since when YES was first getting started and YankeeNets was still a thing, the Devils were supposed to be a part of that, since they were under the same ownership group to some degree for a bit.
Honestly, though, depending on how the next year goes I could more readily see SNY going for them, and I'm not just saying that because I'm a Mets fan. SNY is absolutely
starved for consistent content beyond the Mets; they get some Jets coverage (little more than a weekly show) and some Big East stuff, but it's all minimal.
As of now, SNY is still largely owned by the Wilpon family, who, while they still owned the Mets, set up a sweetheart deal where the Mets get very, very little money in TV rights fees since SNY basically acted as a glorified Wilponian slush fund. Well, now that the Wilpons have sold the Mets to Steve Cohen, the feeling is that Cohen wants to acquire SNY next: it'd raise his overall bottom line as owner (not that he needs any more pocket change) for a host of reasons. Having another team that provides at least 82 regular games worth of coverage to that network would be a massive boost for it in a tough NYC marketplace.
I've done some cursory glances at the TV deals of the other teams in this area; the Yankees, Nets, NYCFC, and Liberty aren't budging from YES, obviously (Nets owner bought the Liberty recently), the Mets obviously stay on SNY, the Rangers and Knicks are
super obviously not leaving MSG. Basically, if any area teams in any of the even remotely major sports are going to change broadcasting platforms it's the Devils, Islanders, or Red Bulls, and the Isles are with MSG for another good lengthy stretch of time, closer to the end of the 2020s (not sure on Red Bulls). I mean, I guess someone could try to woo the United NYC rugby team off MSG, but they're not exactly established yet...side note, I just learned I'm like a 10 minute walk from their field, I might go to their last home game tomorrow if the weather holds up.
So yeah, of all the teams in the area the Devils are the team whose rights are the soonest to come up for bidding/renegotiation, and they're one of the few teams that isn't anchored to one channel or another due to ownership. Harris and Blitzer had wanted to set up their own regional superchannel when they were bidding to own the Mets (would've been Mets, Devils, Sixers, and Steelers) but that obviously fell through. This leaves a few possibilities:
-MSG offers the Devils a ton to stay, since Dolan and company no doubt love cornering the market for NHL games in this region. This is basically what happened the last time the Devils' rights were up.
-The Wilpons remain cheap and don't offer the Devils a lot or get involved in bidding at all. ...I do not miss the Wilpons.
-The Wilpons DO decide to make an offer, since adding the Devils would increase SNY's overall selling value for whenever they give it up.
-Cohen acquires SNY ahead of time and looks to expand its offerings (would be the best chance of the Devils moving to SNY, most likely).
I'm just not too sure about YES getting the Devils unless they really expand into having a full time YES overflow channel, ala MSG with MSG+ and MSG2. You'd likely have a lot of conflicts with the Nets, NYCFC, Liberty, even Manchester City coverage. Not impossible, as I think I've heard of YES using an overflow channel before, but again SNY is in much more dire need of content than YES is at this stage, so I just figure they're in more of a position to try and outbid others. Again, MSG certainly has the motivation to offer a lot and remain this market's one shop for hockey, but we know how lacking the overall team coverage is there.
Random thought: if the Devils do move to a channel like SNY, I'd dig it if the Riveters got some air time, too.
