NHL Ratings down

[mjb2124]

Quote: Originally Posted by SPTO

The NHL would like to have put the game on NBC but guess what? NBC declined. You know your product is pretty much worthless in the US when your mainstream broadcast partner doesn't want the ASG.

I didn't know NBC declined. That's pretty sad.

I always enjoyed when ESPN did the ASG. I enjoyed the on ice interviews during the skills competition and stuff like that. It brought the fans closer to the game IMO.

[Money99]

Quote: Originally Posted by SPTO

The NHL would like to have put the game on NBC but guess what? NBC declined. You know your product is pretty much worthless in the US when your mainstream broadcast partner doesn't want the ASG.

I actually think the main problem with the NHL is it's trying TOO hard to be a top sport in the states. It's never going to be.
In the NFL, MLB and NBA, fans will tune in to watch games that don't feature their hometown team. NFL ratings go up in the playoffs despite 75% of the teams not in it. It's the opposite in the NHL. It's an extremely regional sport to the point if you're teams not playing, you're not watching (for the majority of fans out there).
I'm a diehard Wings fan but I'm an NHL fan first. When I go to Joe Louis Arena I hear some of the dumbest crap possible. I've heard grown men ask "Who's #5". Or "Is Nashville any good? Who plays for them?".
The local sports radio station here WDFN had a segment where they asked callers where certain players were playing at now. I think 1 out of the 10 callers got it right. Nobody had a clue where guys like Forsberg, Thornton, Chara were playing at. And this is supposed to be Hockeytown?

I don't think the NHL will ever be the sport they want it to be in the States. You're never going to get Louis Gomez in New Mexico turning into the Versus game of the week. It's just not going to happen.
And you know why? Because Americans only follow sports they're good at. Please don't misconstrude this as an insult, I'm not meaning it to be. Baseball ratings have suffered over the years due to the Hispanic influx. It wasn't until Mark McGuire started hitting bombs that ratings went up.
Soccer, Hockey, Rugby are all afterthoughts in the States despite being 3 of the most popular sports in the world. Again, it's because foreigners are better at it.
Even golf. When American Tiger Woods started dominating, the ratings went through the roof. Tennis? Only when Sampras and Agassi were on top did anyone in the States care. I know lots of American friends that could carry on an intelligent converstation about pro Tennis during their reign but now none of them have a clue who the #1 or #2 are. Boxing? Same thing. Nothing but former Soviets are champs (Briggs recently won I know). If it was an American that held all the belts, it'd be a lot popular.

I guarentee you if Europeans started dominating American Football, the ratings for the NFL would go down. When you'd have guys like Nick Forsberg quarterbacking the Cowboys to superbowls, or Vladimir Krutov breaking rushing records, American's would start shutting their TV's off.

And I can say inequivically, if Sidney Crosby was born in LA and was playing for the Rangers, NHL ratings would be a lot higher and their would be a LOT more interest in the NHL.

[Money99]

I wanted to add that if the NHL was really interested in making the NHL more popular in the states they should start jamming the sport down their throats.

Start buying 30 second ads showing highlights of the week, profiles of young players, top 10 goals. Put those ads during "The Office" and "CSI".

Start buying billboard signs and plastering the faces of the top stars all over them.

Start paying top celebrities to come to games or even get some of the US's most recognizable faces do funny commercials that showcase the game.
Remember when Bill Murray had those hilairious basketball ads? Those were great! Imagine if you had Dave Chappelle or Dane Cook doing similar things with hockey?

Like I mentioned about that book "Powerplays", the owners, as a whole, have no clue. If they did expand and received $200 million in expansion fees, ALL of that cash should go towards heavy marketing. Ram it down the publics throat! The NBA did exactly this and it resurrected itself. I think a lot of people forget that the league was in serious trouble before Jordan came along. The league promoted the poop out of him and it was resurrected.

[SPTO]

Good point there Money.

Personally I think the NHL needs to strengthen their regional deals with FSN and Comcast. If you look at the regional numbers they're quite strong compared to the national numbers. If the NHL brass would just realize that it's more of a regional thing in the US then they'd be smart to strengthen ties to the regional sports networks and have one national "game of the week"/playoffs+Stanley Cup Finals national broadcast then they'd be fine.

[mjb2124]

Quote: Originally Posted by Money99

And you know why? Because Americans only follow sports they're good at.

Truth be told, I think that could be said about many different sports in many different countries. I'd be willing to bet I could go to Canada or England and ask some NFL questions and people wouldn't know anything about it.

I do agree that the NHL has to do a much better job of marketing in this country. I can't recall the last time I saw an NHL commercial....seriously. When MLB/NFL are starting their respective seasons, one can't turn on the TV without seeing an advertisement for games. That's just not the case with the NHL.

Quote: Originally Posted by Money99

I guarentee you if Europeans started dominating American Football, the ratings for the NFL would go down. When you'd have guys like Nick Forsberg quarterbacking the Cowboys to superbowls, or Vladimir Krutov breaking rushing records, American's would start shutting their TV's off.

I don't really agree with this. Baseball is still going strong and it's become less of an American product and more of a Latin product. Been that way for a while now and is still increasing. If anything is hurting MLB's ratings right now it's the steroid scandal and poor economic system where one team can spend 200 MIL while another can only afford to spend 50 MIL.

You mentioned that baseball ratings were hurting due to the Latin influence, but that's just not true. It was hurting for a number of years due to the long strike in 1994 that angered many fans. You were correct that McGwire's HR chase brought many back, but you also left off the other guy who was mashing them with him....Sammy Sosa. He was as popular as McGwire during that time and is Latin. I think it's a stretch, at best, to say that the Latin influence had Americans turning of their sets.

[Donovan]

Where has it been written or shown that the NHLs numbers in the US are better than the NBAs? Has anyone said that besides Cuban? Link me if possible, because I find that astonishingly hard to believe.

[SPTO]

Quote: Originally Posted by Donovan

Where has it been written or shown that the NHLs numbers in the US are better than the NBAs? Has anyone said that besides Cuban? Link me if possible, because I find that astonishingly hard to believe.

You're reading it wrong:

The NHL's numbers are better overall in NORTH america then the NBA's not in the country of USA.

got it?

[DrJones]

Quote: Originally Posted by SPTO

You're reading it wrong: The NHL's numbers are better overall in NORTH america then the NBA's not in the country of USA. got it?

It's a little apples-and-oranges, as Cuban is comparing HNIC's Saturday numbers (plus the dozens who watch on Versus) vs. TNT's mid-week NBA games. When it comes to the playoffs, more people in North America are watching the NBA (Heat-Mavs averaged an 8.5 rating, which topped the combined Canadian and American audiences for Oilers-Canes, though not by a great margin).

Cuban's point (and it's a good one) is that the NHL might be rinky-dink in the US, but it's NFL-big in Canada, and maybe the NHL should respect its Canadian fanbase and tradition more than it currently does.