NHL & MSG Close to Completing Website Battle

The Sports Business Journal reports that the NHL and Madison Square Garden are close to completing a settlement in their contentious, two-year-old legal battle over new media rights.

Sources familiar with the pending settlement, which is expected to be completed by the end of March, say that it will see MSG cover all of the league’s legal fees, which are more than $15 million. Additionally, MSG will receive a seat on the NHL’s digital committee, NHL governors will be given the right to motion for anonymous votes on issues put before the board, and ownership groups will be able to propose a 30-day waiting period before the board votes on an issue brought forward by the NHL.

This settlement will bring to an end a court case that began in September 2007 when MSG filed a lawsuit against the league, accusing the NHL of operating as an illegal cartel and violating antitrust provisions. MSG moved for a preliminary injunction to prevent the league from fining it $100,000 for its refusal to migrate nyrangers.com to a common league platform.

...can't wait to see how expensive tickets are next year now that MSG is covering more than $15 million in NHL league fees.