Hockey is no longer a major sport in the US

[notyoueither]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui




ESPN making concessions? I wouldn't hold my breath. The NHL may have to come back with its tail between its legs to get ESPN to take them back.

Then **** ESPN.

Really.

Get over it.

There is more to US television than ESPN.

And what about local TV contracts? Local TV deals are not going to increase exposure of the league. It'll just show it in the bigger markets to where it already had an established base (ie, preaching to the congregation). Local TV channels ain't ESPN.

Why do we need wider exposure? There are teams in places they shouldn't be already.

Tickets available for a SC Final game in Carolina a day before the game says a lot.

Also,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_NHL_on_OLN

OLN averaged 611,000 households (or 610,836 to be exact) for Game 1 of the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals. That's fewer households than ESPN2 drew for an Arizona-Northwestern college women's softball game that same night. It is 39% fewer households than ESPN drew for the Stanley Cup series opener two years earlier. Game 2 was seen in an even less amount of households with 605,501.

Ouch! How can the NHL possibly see OLN as a plus after that is a mystery.

Show me the money!

You could play as a ***** for a poor owner, or you could get paid to play for a good owner.

What do you choose?

[KrazyHorse]

Tickets available for a SC Final game in Carolina a day before the game says a lot.

**** the 'Canes

[Imran Siddiqui]

There is more to US television than ESPN.

In sports cable television? Yeah, it's called Fox Sports Net (which is a big drop off from ESPN). Aside from that... not really.

Now if OLN could have gotten the NFL or MLB as well, then perhaps they may have had something, but without that, hah!

Why do we need wider exposure?

More exposure gives you greater growth & demand which gives you more money in the long run. And sports leagues are about money in the end.

How do you think the NFL makes its ton of money? Early on it realized everyone would make far more in the long run if they went with a nationalized deal, which would increase exposure and thus demand for the product. The NFL knew how to play TV and TV made the NFL into the richest sports league in North America and one of the richest in the world.

You could play as a ***** for a poor owner, or you could get paid to play for a good owner.

I think we disagree on who the 'poor owner' and who the 'good owner' is. Especially since I consider exposure to be far greater a value than short term cash.

[notyoueither]

Imran, more than half of the citizens of the US would be shocked to experience ice on their windshields, let alone something to move rapidly on and crush the man against the boards.

Just how much penetration do you think a sport that costs hundreads or thousands of dollars and special conditions to play is going to get in those markets?

[notyoueither]

Football... just need a ball and shoes.

Basketball... just need a ball, shoes, and a hoop.

Gridiron... just need shoes and a ball for the basics. High schools pay for the equipment for more advanced stuff.

Baseball.. shoes and ball and a glove. The glove is extra, and extraordinary, but everyone already loves the game. Baseball gloves are common in Canada, FWIW.

Hockey... you need skates, then you need all the rest of it. In more than half of the US you need ice that costs large amounts of cash per hour.

In Canada and Russia you need skates and then just a large flat area with water on it and normal temperatures. Boys and nature will do the rest. Equpiment required when you get competitive.

How big do you ever expect hockey to be in the US?

[DanS]

To be fair, roller blades and empty parking lots are handy throughout the country.

[notyoueither]

Well then the game might take off.

But in the mean time we need to look after the teams that represent cities that already support the game, and sucking ESPNs **** wasn't doing much good keeping teams going.

[notyoueither]

Oh, and who was blaming this on Edmonton being in the Finals?

Eat my shorts.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/martzke/2003-06-03-martzke_x.htm

Disappointing ratings have required ABC and ESPN to provide compensatory ads during the NBA and NHL playoffs, advertising and network officials said Tuesday.

ESPN's projection of a 3.7 cable rating for the NBA conference finals fell short by 32%, and ABC's projection of a 7.0 rating was off by 40%. In the Anaheim-New Jersey NHL Finals, ABC's two games have slipped 32% from last year to a 2.3, and ESPN's two games tumbled 55% to a 1.23.

Ed Erhardt, president of advertising sales for ESPN and ABC Sports, said, "We anticipated the rating challenges for the NHL and have been able to accommodate advertisers who have guarantees."

— Rudy Martzke

[notyoueither]

Ha! We beat arena football!

How does beach vollyball beat arena football?

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/martzke/2003-06-03-martzke_x.htm

NHL, NBC won't be sharing CBC's joy
Source : Toronto Star


June 2, 2006

In yet another year of mostly bad news involving this country's public network, there is much reason for excitement.

The Edmonton Oilers are in the Stanley Cup final and that can mean only one thing: great ratings for the CBC. When Calgary made the final last time around, audiences more than doubled and CBC recorded its highest Stanley Cup audiences since the ratings system went electronic in 1989.

"We're very happy," says CBC senior executive producer Joel Darling. "With Edmonton's long history of winning and the fact they're such underdogs, this could be an even better story than Calgary was."

The stage is certainly set for that possibility. Audiences for the Edmonton-Anaheim series were 6 per cent ahead of the 1.87 million average for Calgary's conference final victory over San Jose in 2004.

The prospects of setting another ratings record even overshadow the CBC's disappointment at having to sit out another Saturday night and wait until Monday for the final to open, mainly to appease the folks at NHL headquarters and NBC.

While there was some consternation in this country that the NHL was once again catering to American interests, the fact is the league has no choice. The CBC doesn't need much help in attracting hockey audiences; NBC needs every break it can get.

That and the other networks suffering simultaneous power failures during hockey games.

While CBC is barely able to contain its enthusiasm, the folks at NBC and the NHL have to be dreading the final match-up.

Whether it's Buffalo or Carolina taking on the Oilers, there's a good chance this series could score the lowest prime-time ratings in U.S. television history. That dubious distinction belongs to the XFL, which once brought a 1.6 prime-time rating to NBC.

Since the network is averaging but 1.1 for its Saturday afternoon playoff games this year, the possibility of a record certainly exists. NBC boss Dick Ebersol could top himself as the purveyor of America's least-watched show.

The reasons for that possibility are legion.

First, Carolina and Buffalo are among the smallest markets in the United States, so even strong local interest won't boost ratings.

Second, most Americans couldn't find Edmonton on a map, and many would have trouble finding Canada.

Third, NHL ratings in the U.S. have been in free fall since 2002 and the current TV configuration is doing nothing to prevent that from turning into a death spiral.

The decision to put games on little-watched OLN, while enriching the NHL's treasury, has done little to stir interest.

Several Canadians travelling in the U.S. last week told me they couldn't find the NHL on television because hotels didn't carry OLN and sports bars refused to show anything but baseball and basketball.

That's why NBC's last playoff broadcast on May 20 was beaten by the likes of beach volleyball and poker.

Its 1.2 rating, however, did manage to outpoint the Arena Football League, which like the NHL has to pay NBC for air time.

So the news isn't all bad.

© Toronto Star

And from the previous site, you could put the Moscow Monsters up against the Washington Capitols and Americans would yawn.

Well, **** 'em.

You can't force a horse to drink.

[notyoueither]

Well damn, it's more bad news.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_NHL_on_NBC

For Game 3 of the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals, NBC got a 1.7 overnight rating, with one point equaling 1% of the USA's 77 million overnight TV households. That was down from a 2.0 for Game 3 of the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals. Out of four television networks (NBC, ABC, CBS, and Fox) broadcasting programming on Saturday, June 10, NBC came in dead last. Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals earned a mere 2.88 million viewers, and a 1.1/ 4 among adults 18-49 from 8-11 p.m. Game 4 (June 12) earned NBC another fourth place (technically, fifth place if you count TNT the season premiere of The Closer) finish. Game 4 got a 2.6 rating (with a 1.5 in the 18-49 demo) with only 3.85 million viewers.

The only possible conclusion is that Yanks are retarded when it comes to sports.

Perhaps the men's hockey team can whip up a miracle at some near point in time, and then we can have another blip of support.

[mrboo123]

Originally posted by notyoueither
The Green Riders draw from the entire province (2 million) and they are fanatics. They'd pay per view til the cows come home.

A) Its the Roughriders

B) the province (Saskatchewan) has less than a million people right now (about, 900 000)

[KrazyHorse]

They're known colloquially as the green riders because of the colour of their uniforms and in order to distinguish them from the (semi) recently folded Ottawa team of similar name.

[KrazyHorse]

**** the US market, **** the NHL for pandering to them while getting nothing in return, and **** the 'Canes

[Ming]

Originally posted by KrazyHorse
**** the US market, **** the NHL for pandering to them while getting nothing in return, and **** the 'Canes

The US market is what allows the bigger saleries.
The NHL should focus on the US cities that will support hockey... get rid of the worthless warm weather cities that suck for hockey... and/or move a few to stong Canadian markets... Less teams, talent not as spread out... Hockey can be great again in the US.

[Ninot]

Originally posted by Ming


The US market is what allows the bigger saleries.
The NHL should focus on the US cities that will support hockey... get rid of the worthless warm weather cities that suck for hockey... and/or move a few to stong Canadian markets... Less teams, talent not as spread out... Hockey can be great again in the US.

AMEN!

Too bad it won't happen, under Bettman atleast.