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The Toronto Maple Leafs.
This really combines the awesome journalistic skills of The Toronto Star with the spot-on analysis from Maple Leaf Sports Entertainment.
Isn't that all kinds of awesome? Now I'm going to put my university degree to good use and speculate on a couple of factors that could contribute to slower Maple Leafs ticket sales, lower viewership, and general apathy:
1) One can buy a HD gaming console + NHL 10 for less money than a pair of nosebleed seats for a single game
2) Toronto is one of THE worst teams in the league (27th out of 30 teams)
3) The Leafs have not won a stanley cup since 1967, when the league only had six teams
But no, I'm probably wrong. The reason kids these days don't care for the Leafs probably has to do with the fact that they ****ing text on their cell phones, they're doing "the twittering", and they play video games.
Well done, MLSE & The Star.
This really combines the awesome journalistic skills of The Toronto Star with the spot-on analysis from Maple Leaf Sports Entertainment.
Leafs losing young fans to video games
Hockey club losing young fans to gaming, texting, Twittering
The Toronto Maple Leafs have identified a threat to the hockey club's future – and no, it's not lousy goaltending.
It's the distracted Canadian boy.
A youthful couch slouch who'd rather tweet, text, flirt on Facebook or, when it comes to hockey, get his NHL fix from video games. A Boy at (Virtual) Leafs' Camp perhaps – a pixelated twist on the classic Canadian hockey novel by Scott Young.
"Compared to watching a Leaf game, playing a video game is way more fun because you're more involved – and the Leafs don't always lose," said 18-year-old Scott Macdonald, a Toronto house league hockey player who hasn't watched an entire televised Leaf game since before Christmas.
Today's distracted boy is quite unlike previous generations of loyal local lads, who worshipped Teeder, Red and Wendel: He's not a lock to buy tickets, watch every game on TV or empty his wallet on clothing, beer and gear marketed through the Leaf brand.
That's why the hockey club – quicker to react to trouble in the front office than on the ice these days – has launched a digital power play for his attention.
"Boys are more easily distracted (and) harder to reach than young girls, and for us they represent a very important advertising market," said Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment president and CEO Richard Peddie, defining that market as mostly teens and young men.
"We worry that they'd rather consume their sports virtually as opposed to participating," said Peddie.
One recruiting tool? Free stuff on cellphones.
In September, iPhone and BlackBerry users began downloading the free Maple Leafs "Mobi" program for scores, news, blogs, standings and video (such as postgame news conferences with coach Ron Wilson).
Chris Hebb, MLSE's senior vice-president of broadcast and content, said while the age of smart phone users is unclear, the Leafs know this much: 63,954 downloads were for iPhones – the device of choice for younger people, he said – while 36,250 were for BlackBerrys.
"That's 100,000 people walking around with the Leafs in their pocket every day," said Hebb. (Mobi is the NHL's No. 1 downloaded team application; it recorded 2.7 million page views in December.)
Though the Leaf presence is heavy on Toronto streets – the logo was even painted on downtown sidewalks briefly in December until city hall ordered the stencils removed – Peddie says there's concern over studies showing declining youth interest in traditional sports.
Research by University of Lethbridge sociologist Reginald Bibby found Canadian teens have been tuning out major sports steadily since 1992. The data, based on 5,500 interviews, shows fewer boys and girls are following Major League Baseball, the NBA, the NFL and the CFL, a Canadian staple, than two decades ago.
Bibby, in his new book, The Emerging Millennials, notes teen interest in the NHL has dropped from 45 per cent to 35 per cent since 1990. He theorizes that the action enjoyed by dad – baseball, for instance, with three-hour games played within baselines stretching to infinity – has, in the explosion of digital entertainment, become a slow-paced bore for his kids.
In a wired-up world, the distracted boy is attracted to bursts of intensity, which a sport like Ultimate Fighting Championship delivers.
UFC's mixed martial arts contests are quick, violent and bloody. Most bouts are three five-minute rounds, with championship events capped at five rounds. The matches are so physically demanding the contestants often don't go the distance. And UFC's core audience, males aged 18 to 35, have pushed the sport into the mainstream.
Peddie takes research like Bibby's seriously. He also cites Malcolm Gladwell's book The Tipping Point as inspiration to protect the Leaf brand now – even though Peddie says season ticket renewal rates are at 99 per cent annually.
Gladwell argues the tipping point is the moment an idea, trend or social behaviour crosses a threshold and tips, very quickly, like the rocketing popularity of a new toy or a plummet in crime rate.
"Everyone says (the Leafs) are really rich but we're pouring it back into our business to make sure we come out of this recession in really good shape," Peddie said, adding the club is "working much harder" than ever to maintain renewal rates.
The MLSE executive said weathering the poor economy, investing in local sports facilities and engaging ethnic communities are crucial.
"Toronto's changing so much you might not be relevant in the new Toronto of one or two decades from now," said Peddie. "So you have to do things now."
MLSE has hired new staff to operate its digital arm. The group's projects include social networking sites on Facebook and MySpace, Twitter accounts, Leafs TV Interactive (51 games are streamed at $1.99 each), Leafs Mobi (the cellphone application), Leafs Insider (an internet fan forum) and mapleleafs.com, the NHL's No. 3 website.
"We're trying to be as wired as possible. It's an area you just have to be in," said Peddie.
Other MLSE clubs – the NBA Toronto Raptors, the AHL Toronto Marlies and the MLS Toronto FC – have their own digital supports.
"It's tough to make money off it. It takes a lot of people and expense," said Peddie.
"But what did (Wayne) Gretzky say? `You go to where the puck's going, not where it's been.' And we're going to where the puck's going."
Bibby said the "distracted boy" might pay more attention to an exciting, winning team – especially one with affordable, available tickets.
"Will the trend change? It can, providing the Maple Leafs become a far more attractive entertainment option than they are now, complete with ticket prices that allow young people and others to at least get in the doors," Bibby wrote in an email.
Hebb said plugging into how young males consume their media as potential fans requires building a relationship over time.
"Is it going to be an immediate pot of gold? We don't think so," said Hebb, whose 17-year-old son tweets, texts, streams video and checks stats on his laptop while watching NHL games on TV with his dad.
"We think it's going to take a long time to develop ... but we have to be where they are. That's really the message."
Hockey club losing young fans to gaming, texting, Twittering
The Toronto Maple Leafs have identified a threat to the hockey club's future – and no, it's not lousy goaltending.
It's the distracted Canadian boy.
A youthful couch slouch who'd rather tweet, text, flirt on Facebook or, when it comes to hockey, get his NHL fix from video games. A Boy at (Virtual) Leafs' Camp perhaps – a pixelated twist on the classic Canadian hockey novel by Scott Young.
"Compared to watching a Leaf game, playing a video game is way more fun because you're more involved – and the Leafs don't always lose," said 18-year-old Scott Macdonald, a Toronto house league hockey player who hasn't watched an entire televised Leaf game since before Christmas.
Today's distracted boy is quite unlike previous generations of loyal local lads, who worshipped Teeder, Red and Wendel: He's not a lock to buy tickets, watch every game on TV or empty his wallet on clothing, beer and gear marketed through the Leaf brand.
That's why the hockey club – quicker to react to trouble in the front office than on the ice these days – has launched a digital power play for his attention.
"Boys are more easily distracted (and) harder to reach than young girls, and for us they represent a very important advertising market," said Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment president and CEO Richard Peddie, defining that market as mostly teens and young men.
"We worry that they'd rather consume their sports virtually as opposed to participating," said Peddie.
One recruiting tool? Free stuff on cellphones.
In September, iPhone and BlackBerry users began downloading the free Maple Leafs "Mobi" program for scores, news, blogs, standings and video (such as postgame news conferences with coach Ron Wilson).
Chris Hebb, MLSE's senior vice-president of broadcast and content, said while the age of smart phone users is unclear, the Leafs know this much: 63,954 downloads were for iPhones – the device of choice for younger people, he said – while 36,250 were for BlackBerrys.
"That's 100,000 people walking around with the Leafs in their pocket every day," said Hebb. (Mobi is the NHL's No. 1 downloaded team application; it recorded 2.7 million page views in December.)
Though the Leaf presence is heavy on Toronto streets – the logo was even painted on downtown sidewalks briefly in December until city hall ordered the stencils removed – Peddie says there's concern over studies showing declining youth interest in traditional sports.
Research by University of Lethbridge sociologist Reginald Bibby found Canadian teens have been tuning out major sports steadily since 1992. The data, based on 5,500 interviews, shows fewer boys and girls are following Major League Baseball, the NBA, the NFL and the CFL, a Canadian staple, than two decades ago.
Bibby, in his new book, The Emerging Millennials, notes teen interest in the NHL has dropped from 45 per cent to 35 per cent since 1990. He theorizes that the action enjoyed by dad – baseball, for instance, with three-hour games played within baselines stretching to infinity – has, in the explosion of digital entertainment, become a slow-paced bore for his kids.
In a wired-up world, the distracted boy is attracted to bursts of intensity, which a sport like Ultimate Fighting Championship delivers.
UFC's mixed martial arts contests are quick, violent and bloody. Most bouts are three five-minute rounds, with championship events capped at five rounds. The matches are so physically demanding the contestants often don't go the distance. And UFC's core audience, males aged 18 to 35, have pushed the sport into the mainstream.
Peddie takes research like Bibby's seriously. He also cites Malcolm Gladwell's book The Tipping Point as inspiration to protect the Leaf brand now – even though Peddie says season ticket renewal rates are at 99 per cent annually.
Gladwell argues the tipping point is the moment an idea, trend or social behaviour crosses a threshold and tips, very quickly, like the rocketing popularity of a new toy or a plummet in crime rate.
"Everyone says (the Leafs) are really rich but we're pouring it back into our business to make sure we come out of this recession in really good shape," Peddie said, adding the club is "working much harder" than ever to maintain renewal rates.
The MLSE executive said weathering the poor economy, investing in local sports facilities and engaging ethnic communities are crucial.
"Toronto's changing so much you might not be relevant in the new Toronto of one or two decades from now," said Peddie. "So you have to do things now."
MLSE has hired new staff to operate its digital arm. The group's projects include social networking sites on Facebook and MySpace, Twitter accounts, Leafs TV Interactive (51 games are streamed at $1.99 each), Leafs Mobi (the cellphone application), Leafs Insider (an internet fan forum) and mapleleafs.com, the NHL's No. 3 website.
"We're trying to be as wired as possible. It's an area you just have to be in," said Peddie.
Other MLSE clubs – the NBA Toronto Raptors, the AHL Toronto Marlies and the MLS Toronto FC – have their own digital supports.
"It's tough to make money off it. It takes a lot of people and expense," said Peddie.
"But what did (Wayne) Gretzky say? `You go to where the puck's going, not where it's been.' And we're going to where the puck's going."
Bibby said the "distracted boy" might pay more attention to an exciting, winning team – especially one with affordable, available tickets.
"Will the trend change? It can, providing the Maple Leafs become a far more attractive entertainment option than they are now, complete with ticket prices that allow young people and others to at least get in the doors," Bibby wrote in an email.
Hebb said plugging into how young males consume their media as potential fans requires building a relationship over time.
"Is it going to be an immediate pot of gold? We don't think so," said Hebb, whose 17-year-old son tweets, texts, streams video and checks stats on his laptop while watching NHL games on TV with his dad.
"We think it's going to take a long time to develop ... but we have to be where they are. That's really the message."
1) One can buy a HD gaming console + NHL 10 for less money than a pair of nosebleed seats for a single game
2) Toronto is one of THE worst teams in the league (27th out of 30 teams)
3) The Leafs have not won a stanley cup since 1967, when the league only had six teams
But no, I'm probably wrong. The reason kids these days don't care for the Leafs probably has to do with the fact that they ****ing text on their cell phones, they're doing "the twittering", and they play video games.
Well done, MLSE & The Star.
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