Hockey Guy: NHL shuns ESPN again
BY JEFF GORDON STLtoday.com | Posted: Tuesday, April 19, 2011 12:57 pm | No Comments Posted Font Size:Default font sizeLarger font size
Unlike the NFL, Major League Baseball, the NBA and college football and basketball, the NHL opted not to strike a television deal with ESPN.
So hockey will remain out on the fringe, getting good coverage from Versus and NBC – but not 24/7 multi-platform push that the World Wide Leader provides.
The plus side for the NHL: It will be a big player as the Comcast/NBC merger takes shape. New sports initiatives will spawn from that coupling, including a reshaping of the Versus channel.
Comcast and NBC have done well by the NHL separately, so this union does offer some promise. The NHL signed a 10-year deal, so the growth potential is great.
Still . . . like it or not, ESPN drives the sports conversation in this country through multiple TV channels, radio, Internet products and its magazine. The power of the WWL is undeniable.
The NHL would have been a secondary property for ESPN. It would have been relegated to the kids table. But it would have been part of the family, which has value.
Hockey Guy will continue relying heavily on the Center Ice package for his pucks coverage, so Gary Bettman’s TV strategy won’t have much impact in this corner of cyberspace.
But will Comcast/NBC give the NHL the massive push it needs at this critical juncture? Several U.S.-based teams face uncertain futures due to ownership uncertainty.
We could see a couple of teams migrate out of the Sun Belt back to the Great White North, where Don Cherry still lords over the sports like a crazed dictator.
Or we could see the NHL catch its breath, stabilize as the economy improves and move ahead. The success (or failure) of the new TV deal will play a big hand in all that.
The NHL got a nice bump in fees for its franchises, but the real story will come on the marketing side. Will this new arrangement help hockey raise its profile with casual fans in the Lower 48?
AROUND THE RINKS: The Rivermen lost their first three games to Houston and face elimination from the American Hockey League playoffs. Goaltender Jake Allen failed to hold a 3-1 lead and the Aeros roared back to a 5-3 victory. T.J. Hensick scored twice for the Rivermen . . . Watching the Lightning and Penguins exchange head shots in their playoff series, you wonder if the players will ever really respect the concussion issue . . . Puck-rushing defensemen are advised to keep their heads up in these playoffs. Forecheckers are looking to make big hits . . . Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick is threatening to send the Sharks to still another big playoff disappointment . . . Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo wasn't eligible for the Calder Trophy, so we'll never know if he would have been among the three finalists . . . It's no surprise that teams scoring first are having a lot of success in these playoffs . . . When you look at the list of potential unrestricted free agents, you don't see a lot that appeals to the Blues beyond Brad Richards. And it's tough to imagine this franchise winning a bidding war for the top UFA while its ownership remains in limbo.
BY JEFF GORDON STLtoday.com | Posted: Tuesday, April 19, 2011 12:57 pm | No Comments Posted Font Size:Default font sizeLarger font size
Unlike the NFL, Major League Baseball, the NBA and college football and basketball, the NHL opted not to strike a television deal with ESPN.
So hockey will remain out on the fringe, getting good coverage from Versus and NBC – but not 24/7 multi-platform push that the World Wide Leader provides.
The plus side for the NHL: It will be a big player as the Comcast/NBC merger takes shape. New sports initiatives will spawn from that coupling, including a reshaping of the Versus channel.
Comcast and NBC have done well by the NHL separately, so this union does offer some promise. The NHL signed a 10-year deal, so the growth potential is great.
Still . . . like it or not, ESPN drives the sports conversation in this country through multiple TV channels, radio, Internet products and its magazine. The power of the WWL is undeniable.
The NHL would have been a secondary property for ESPN. It would have been relegated to the kids table. But it would have been part of the family, which has value.
Hockey Guy will continue relying heavily on the Center Ice package for his pucks coverage, so Gary Bettman’s TV strategy won’t have much impact in this corner of cyberspace.
But will Comcast/NBC give the NHL the massive push it needs at this critical juncture? Several U.S.-based teams face uncertain futures due to ownership uncertainty.
We could see a couple of teams migrate out of the Sun Belt back to the Great White North, where Don Cherry still lords over the sports like a crazed dictator.
Or we could see the NHL catch its breath, stabilize as the economy improves and move ahead. The success (or failure) of the new TV deal will play a big hand in all that.
The NHL got a nice bump in fees for its franchises, but the real story will come on the marketing side. Will this new arrangement help hockey raise its profile with casual fans in the Lower 48?
AROUND THE RINKS: The Rivermen lost their first three games to Houston and face elimination from the American Hockey League playoffs. Goaltender Jake Allen failed to hold a 3-1 lead and the Aeros roared back to a 5-3 victory. T.J. Hensick scored twice for the Rivermen . . . Watching the Lightning and Penguins exchange head shots in their playoff series, you wonder if the players will ever really respect the concussion issue . . . Puck-rushing defensemen are advised to keep their heads up in these playoffs. Forecheckers are looking to make big hits . . . Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick is threatening to send the Sharks to still another big playoff disappointment . . . Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo wasn't eligible for the Calder Trophy, so we'll never know if he would have been among the three finalists . . . It's no surprise that teams scoring first are having a lot of success in these playoffs . . . When you look at the list of potential unrestricted free agents, you don't see a lot that appeals to the Blues beyond Brad Richards. And it's tough to imagine this franchise winning a bidding war for the top UFA while its ownership remains in limbo.
second tier? I have to disagree. . . just because its not watched by the masses and every joe blow doesnt mean the sport is second tier. If you want to watch hockey and are interested in it you will have a package or verses/fox sports channels. ESPN sucks , the only thing good about that channel is sports center and even I find ours on TSN is way better
I am not saying the sport is second-tier in terms of effort and quality by the players, I just think the States don't really do the sport justice with this setup. Versus shows hockey maybe one or two nights out of the week during the regular season, and NBC doesn't commit itself to a full series. I am sure Canada does a much better job than we do.
the league is inferior to the rest. if it was so good, people would watch. the stanley cup won't even get half the number the nba all star game got.
the product prides itself on violence instead of showcasing talent. im not interested in seeing thugs on ice. lemieux even agreed, saying this isnt the nhl i used to be proud of.
season is also too long for a minor sport, should be 40 games.
Fuck ESPN. After the strike I thought the NHL was stupid for not signing a deal with ESPN but Versus carries the games along with the local FoxSports affiliates and if you want to watch the game it is on. ESPN is getting too powerful. They have the ability to push whatever sports they show. They are now trying to shove soccer down our throats and they spend too much time on auto racing.
Your stupidity never ceases to amaze.
First of the all, the reason hockey isn't that popular nationwide, is because so many people live in climates that do not support the game in their backyard, like hoops/baseball/football. Second, the cost removes the vast majority of people from participating in the sport.
Hoceky equipment when I was growing up was nearly a grand for goalies and that was 25 years ago. Also, people do not embrace the sport because it is primarily made up of Canadians and foreign-born players. Trust me if everyone in the MLB was from the DR, Americans would not watch.
How were the ratings for the Canada-USA Gold medal game in the 2010 Winter games?
Steve Lepore of Puck The Media passed along the first glimpse of the enormous ratings success in the U.S. for the gold medal game against Canada: 17.6/33 overnight rating, via Sports Business Daily, and 27.6 million viewers on average. Writes Lepore:
This is up 46% from the 2002 USA/Canada showdown, and will very likely be the highest-rated hockey game since 1980. The share means that 1 in every 3 Americans with a TV were watching the game. This is, to put it professionally, out of this world.
Sports Media Watch offers further perspective on the hockey numbers:
Sunday's game drew a higher overnight rating than every World Series game since 2004 (including every game of Yankees/Phillies last year), every NBA Finals telecast since 1998, and every NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four game since at least '98.
GTC, should be banned for being such a fucking moron.
GTC, should be banned for being such a fucking moron.
Anyone can cherry pick a game and showcase its ratings. Let alone basically the game of the century (USA v. Canada for the gold medal). Horrid move on behalf of NHL to stay with NBC (nothing but crap) and Versus (channel #1028 on directv?). NHL will stay irrelevant to another American generation. For anyone to argue that the NHL isn't on the second tier is being very disingenuous.
1 Hockey's more popular than its ever been
2 Versus coverage>Espn coverage
3 Ratings are up
4 Versus is one of the fastest growing cable networks
5 ticket sales are up and the same as NBA ticket sales
6 Local channels like Fox Sports and comcast have all the local games
7 Versus is very easy to find amongst the HD channels. (If you're not watching sports in HD then you're missing out)
Hockey is a 2nd tier sport? Tell that to the 20k+ fans that will be at the Staples Center tonight to watch the L.A. Kings play the SJ Sharks, that's right L.A.
2 Versus coverage>Espn coverage
3 Ratings are up
4 Versus is one of the fastest growing cable networks
5 ticket sales are up and the same as NBA ticket sales
6 Local channels like Fox Sports and comcast have all the local games
7 Versus is very easy to find amongst the HD channels. (If you're not watching sports in HD then you're missing out)
Hockey is a 2nd tier sport? Tell that to the 20k+ fans that will be at the Staples Center tonight to watch the L.A. Kings play the SJ Sharks, that's right L.A.
