Bettman Loses The Remote Control
October 16, 2007 by Tyler
Filed under Hockey Columns
If a game is played in the NHL and nobody watches it, does it still make a sound?
Should we be surprised that Americans don’t watch hockey? Not a chance.
In order to watch a hockey game in most cities you actually have to go out of you’re way to find a game on TV. This obviously excludes big markets like New York, Boston, Philly, etc.
The NHL television coverage wasn’t going too great even when ESPN 2 carried games. So, when they dropped their coverage and Versus picked it up, it didn’t take a rocket scientist to know the viewing numbers were not going to rise.
On top of it all…in some states, if you don’t subscribe to Versus or your cable company doesn’t offer it, you just don’t get any hockey. No NHL hockey at all…it’s as simple as that.
Last year in the U.S. only about 600 000 thousand folks tuned in to Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Versus. A dreadful 40% decrease from 2 years earlier when ESPN showcased the Stanley Cup Final opener.
Versus’ All-Star game ratings saw a drop of 76% from 2004 when it aired on ABC. Is Versus doing that bad of a job? I for one actually think they do a pretty good job; they just don’t get into many households.
But that’s how it seems to be for NHL hockey in the United States. Stuck on page 7 of the sports section and hidden away on Versus. Every Wednesday ESPN generously gives viewers 4 minutes of analysis by Barry Melrose to make us feel better. But blink and you will miss it.
What you won’t miss is the World Series of Poker. You’re kidding right? No, I am not… Americans know who Greg Raymer is, but have no idea who Sidney Crosby is.
What a shame.
Take a look around. The Ducks won the Stanley Cup and it barely made news in Anaheim, let alone the rest of the country. However, when pitcher Curt Shilling gets a little blood on his sock its front page news nationwide!
Heck, even NBC cut away from a overtime playoff game last year between Ottawa and Buffalo to go to (insert drum roll here)……wait for it…Horse racing! And not even the actual race, just some lame pre-race coverage. If that doesn’t tell you something, I don’t know what will. American television networks would rather air poker and horse racing than hockey.
Hockey only makes the news when someone uses his stick to injure another player or a big fight breaks out. Unlike other leagues, the NHL just doesn’t have any huge scandals going on. The biggest off-season rumblings were when Eric and Jordan Staal had a couple too many beers and the cops showed up.
Compare that to the delinquent NFL who boast players like Michael Vick and Pacman Jones…the scum of society. Or MLB, where apparently anyone who played the game during the 1990’s was juiced up.
What a disgrace.
B.W. McAdams on Tue, 16th Oct 2007 12:44 pm
Unfortunately, not even Philly seems to have access to the games. I was home visiting family this past weekend; my mom has Comcast and the Flyers game just flat wasn’t on (Unless you by the $8 billion “NHL Center Ice” crap).
NY has the MSG channel, which seems to be the only reason alot of the Rangers games get aired – it’s a dedicated channel for their rink.
It’s kind of sad when the only way you can hear the Flyers play is on AM radio
Bob on Wed, 17th Oct 2007 8:42 am
Hockey coverage really does suck.I just moved to Knoxville and actually get better coverage in a city with no team than I did in Tampa,a city that had a Stanley Cup winner.I get TV coverage from Versus,I get the Predators from Nashville,and the Thrashers from Atlanta.ESPN dropped the NHL because of poor ratings.Well maybe if they would have televised games people really wanted to watch the ratings may have been better.I will never understand the lack of support the NHL gets here in the states.
Berbs on Wed, 17th Oct 2007 10:40 am
Your totally right …its a complete shame. Not many teams have the luxury of a MSG Channel and Versus isn’t widely known enough for most people.
Kevin on Mon, 29th Oct 2007 4:29 am
I’m proud to say that I probably live in the most hockey-influenced place in the nation: University of Minnesota. The twin cities truly accept hockey as a major sport and I can go to a sports bar, and there is almost always a hockey game on.
I think there is a long road ahead. We have a good start, getting rinks in non-hockey markets. Now we need legitimate programs nationwide. The stars have arrived in the NHL. I think it will take one more generation to turn things around, providing someone doesn’t screw things up even worse.