What NHL does

The National Hockey League is a private professional sports consortium that operates the premier ice hockey league in North America, comprising 32 member franchises across the United States and Canada. Founded in 1917 and headquartered in New York City, the league governs competition, officiating, and franchise licensing, while NHL Enterprises, L.P. centralizes commercial operations including media rights, merchandising, sponsorship, and digital products. The NHL serves hockey fans across multiple touchpoints: live game attendance, broadcast viewership, fantasy hockey participation, merchandise consumption, and digital collectibles engagement.

The league's product surface centers on NHL.com — a multilingual (eight-language) hub providing scores, schedules, statistics, news, video, fantasy tools, and ticketing — supplemented by specialized modules including NHL EDGE (proprietary Player & Puck Tracking-powered advanced statistics), NHL Network (24-hour cable channel), NHL Video (game recaps, highlights, and original programming such as THE GR8 CHASE), NHL Fantasy, NHL Stats, NHL Podcasts, NHL Shop (e-commerce plus a NYC flagship store), NHL Tickets, and NHL Breakaway (a digital collectibles marketplace). The technology backbone includes proprietary real-time Player & Puck Tracking telemetry deployed across every game, feeding advanced analytics, broadcast graphics, and fantasy data products.

Revenue is generated across five streams: media rights and broadcasting (ESPN, TNT, Sportsnet, DAZN, NHL Network); merchandise and e-commerce (NHL Shop, co-branded NHL Credit Card with Discover, auctions, licensed watches via Norqain, action figures via McFarlane Toys); ticket sales and live events (regular season, Stanley Cup Playoffs, NHL Draft, Heritage Classic, Global Series); corporate sponsorship and advertising (Tim Hortons Heritage Classic naming rights, Budweiser commemorative campaigns, Fanatics Games); and digital collectibles transactions through NHL Breakaway. Pricing models are mixed: subscription-based via third-party streaming platforms, transaction-based for merchandise and collectibles, and event-priced for tickets set at the franchise level. The customer base is a long tail of individual fans, fantasy players, and event attendees, with no concentration in any single account.

Name

NHL

Legal name

National Hockey League

Website

https://nhl.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1917

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

The National Hockey League operates the premier professional ice hockey league in North America, comprising 32 member franchises. It governs competition and centrally manages media rights, broadcasting, merchandise, sponsorship, digital collectibles, and live events for hockey fans across the U.S., Canada, and international markets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Sports League

NAICS

Sports Teams and Clubs (711211), Spectator Sports (71121)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Ice Hockey Leagues (MPAKAAAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Professional Live Sports Leagues & Tours (MPAGAMAA), Team Sports Matches (Club & National) (MPAGAMAB), League-Owned Media Networks (e.g., NFL/MLB/NBA/Club Channels) (MPABAJAC)

Keywords

• Professional ice hockey
• Sports media rights
• League merchandise
• Sports broadcasting
• Event ticketing

Headquarters

HQ city

Manhattan

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Media Rights & Broadcasting: Revenue from broadcasting deals with major networks including ESPN, TNT, Sportsnet, and international distributors like DAZN for NHL.TV streaming.
2. Merchandise & E-commerce: NHL generates revenue through NHL Shop selling team jerseys, apparel, memorabilia, photos, and watches. Also includes NHL Credit Card partnership with Discover and auction sales.
3. Ticket Sales & Events: Direct ticket sales for regular season games, Stanley Cup Playoffs, and special events including NHL Draft, Heritage Classic, and Global Series international games.
4. Sponsorship & Advertising: Corporate sponsorship arrangements including naming rights for events (Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic) and branded content partnerships.
5. Digital Collectibles: NHL Breakaway digital collectibles platform offering limited edition packs and officially licensed digital memorabilia commemorating historic moments like Ovechkin's 895th goal.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The NHL operates the premier professional ice hockey league in North America with 32 member clubs, and monetizes the league through media rights, official merchandise (jerseys, apparel, memorabilia), ticket sales for games and special events (Stanley Cup Playoffs, Heritage Classic, Global Series), corporate sponsorships, and a digital collectibles marketplace (NHL Breakaway). The league delivers live game coverage, advanced statistics via the proprietary NHL EDGE Player & Puck Tracking platform, fantasy hockey tools, video content, and podcasts.

Product overview

NHL operates a unified digital platform anchored by NHL.com, supplemented by specialized modules including NHL EDGE for advanced analytics with Player & Puck Tracking technology, NHL Video for comprehensive video content and original programming, NHL Fantasy for fantasy hockey engagement, NHL Stats for statistical data, NHL Draft for prospect coverage, NHL Shop for merchandise, NHL Breakaway for digital collectibles, NHL Tickets for event ticketing, and NHL Podcasts for original audio content. The platform also offers multilingual international sites and streaming resources.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• NHL Edge (EDGE): Advanced stats platform using Player & Puck Tracking technology
• NHL Network
• NHL Fantasy on Ice
• NHL Breakaway

Products and services

• NHL.com The official website of the National Hockey League providing scores, schedules, statistics, news, video content, fantasy hockey, team information, and multilingual access for hockey fans globally.
• NHL EDGE

Quantifiable outcome

• Alex Ovechkin became NHL's all-time leading goal scorer with 895 goals on April 6, 2025
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Tim HortonscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerTim Hortons serves as the official sponsor of the NHL Heritage Classic outdoor game event, with naming rights to the annual event.
• ESPNcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorESPN distributes NHL content through ESPN+ streaming platform and ESPN television networks in the United States.
• SportsnetcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSportsnet distributes NHL content through Sportsnet+ streaming platform and television networks in Canada.
• DAZNcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDAZN distributes NHL.TV content internationally through its streaming platform.
• Turner Sports (TNT)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTNT broadcasts NHL games including the Stanley Cup Playoffs and Finals in the United States.
• FanaticsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNHL partnered with Fanatics for the Fanatics Games initiative to showcase fans competing against athletes.
• BudweiserminorGTM or Marketing PartnerBudweiser created special commemorative cans for goalies Alex Ovechkin never scored against, celebrating his goals record achievement.
• DiscoverminorGTM or Marketing PartnerDiscover offers the NHL Credit Card as an official co-branded financial product.
• NorqainminorGTM or Marketing PartnerNorqain is the official watch partner of the NHL, featured in the NHL Shop.
• Photos.comminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPhotos.com provides official NHL photography available through NHL Shop.
• McFarlane ToysminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMcFarlane Toys produces officially licensed NHL action figures, including a special figure commemorating Ovechkin's 895th goal record.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Premier League: The Premier League is the world's most valuable soccer league and a direct peer for international media rights monetization, league branding, and global fan engagement — particularly relevant given the NHL's international growth ambitions.
• MLB (Major League Baseball): MLB is one of the 'Big Four' North American professional sports leagues with a comparable team/franchise structure, media rights model, and merchandise business. It is a direct peer for league-level commercial operations comparison.
• Formula 1: Formula 1 is a global sports league with a strong international calendar, premium media rights distribution, and multi-platform digital engagement. It is a direct peer for international expansion, media rights inflation, and digital-first fan monetization.
• NBA (National Basketball Association): The NBA is one of the 'Big Four' North American professional sports leagues, operating a similar league/franchise model with centralized media rights, merchandise, and digital platform structure. It is the most direct peer given comparable scale, governance, and revenue mix.
• NFL (National Football League): The NFL is the largest North American professional sports league and operates a structurally similar league/franchise model with national media rights, digital platforms, and team-based spectatorship. It is a direct peer despite the different sport.
• KHL (Kontinental Hockey League): The KHL is the principal professional ice hockey league outside North America, primarily serving Russia and several European/post-Soviet markets. It is a direct peer for ice hockey-specific competition, though its geographic concentration limits head-to-head overlap.
• MLS (Major League Soccer): MLS is a North American professional sports league with a similar league/franchise model and a growth-oriented international strategy. It is a direct peer, especially for international expansion and emerging-league growth dynamics.

Others

• IIHF (International Ice Hockey Federation): The IIHF is the international governing body for ice hockey that organizes the Ice Hockey World Championships and oversees Olympic ice hockey. It is an adjacent/ecosystem partner to the NHL rather than a direct competitor, but operates in the same sport.

Broad incumbents

• UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship): UFC is a major sports entertainment property with comparable pay-per-view, media rights, sponsorship, and merchandise revenue mix. It is a broad incumbent peer for digital fan engagement and sponsorship monetization comparisons.

Emerging players

• PWHL (Professional Women's Hockey League): The PWHL is an emerging professional ice hockey league operating in the same sport. It is comparable as a direct hockey peer at an earlier stage of growth, and represents both a competitive and complementary asset for the broader hockey ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat7 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/nhl
• YouTubeyoutube.com/nhl
• Facebookfacebook.com/NHL
• Instagraminstagram.com/nhl
• TikToktiktok.com/@nhl?lang=en
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/national-hockey-league

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about NHL