ESPN Dumps NHL

[Dr Love]

And after the NHL cuts prices to get their fans back, if they do come back, tickets will not be cheaper. I don't get why people think this will be the case. Gee if the teams start spending less, they'll want to cut ticket prices. No, they'll want to increase profits and will leave ticket prices the same.

They're going to have to. Attendance will drop so severly they'll have no choice.

Ed Snider has already said he's going to drop prices.

 

[GKJ]

They're going to have to. Attendance will drop so severly they'll have no choice.

Ed Snider has already said he's going to drop prices.

Ed Snider doesn't have a problem filling his building, however.


They'll make it up, how much you wanna bet the concessions get jacked up

 

[Dr Love]

Ed Snider doesn't have a problem filling his building, however.

This is true.

They'll make it up, how much you wanna bet the concessions get jacked up

If they are, it won't be by much. Maybe 50 cents at most. At some point people will stop buying food. And once JR's contract is up they're not going to have anyone making a ton, so the payroll (as it stands now, which it won't for long) won't be too high. People will come see the Flyers and watch them on TV, they'll get plenty of money from ads.

 

[Jarqui]

I guess if there is less TV expsoure, the player endorsements in the US will also go down ...

When you look at the other major sports broadcasting arrangements, it really has to hit home to both sides of this dispute when a network doesn't even want to give each team $2 mil to broadcast their games over a season. At the NFL level, that isn't even a meager tip on their broadcasting rights.

 

[Dr Love]

I guess if there is less TV expsoure, the player endorsements in the US will also go down ...

When you look at the other major sports broadcasting arrangements, it really has to hit home to both sides of this dispute when a network doesn't even want to give each team $2 mil to broadcast their games over a season. At the NFL level, that isn't even a meager tip on their broadcasting rights.

Ah, the NFL comparison. Because the NHL and NFL are so analogous in terms of TV contracts.

The NBA and MLB are the litmus test, because like the NHL they have regional and national broadcasts, unlike the NFL.

 

[hockeytown9321]

The problem is you just say you know things, you haven't backed it up so i know i'll atleast continue to question you until you back up what you say.

How would you like me to back it up? I read industry trade journals weekly. I follow it closely. Ignore all you want. The NHL winding up on Spike TV, or any other cable network is wishful thinking. Not gonna happen. The only option is ESPN at a much, much reduced rate.

 

[SkateLikeTheWind]

I guess if there is less TV expsoure, the player endorsements in the US will also go down ...

When you look at the other major sports broadcasting arrangements, it really has to hit home to both sides of this dispute when a network doesn't even want to give each team $2 mil to broadcast their games over a season. At the NFL level, that isn't even a meager tip on their broadcasting rights.

Thats the bottom line...no matter how much we wish and want hockey to be on the same tier as the other sports in N.A,. it will never happen. There was quite a distance between hockey and the "major" N.A. sports before the lockout, now the two aren't even on the same globe.

 

[GKJ]

If they are, it won't be by much. Maybe 50 cents at most. At some point people will stop buying food. And once JR's contract is up they're not going to have anyone making a ton, so the payroll (as it stands now, which it won't for long) won't be too high. People will come see the Flyers and watch them on TV, they'll get plenty of money from ads.

I already don't buy food. Although the last 2 Phantoms games I did, but that isn't the norm.


3.25 for a bottle of water is insane

 

[Dr Love]

3.25 for a bottle of water is insane

Yes, but buying water is even more insane.

 

[GKJ]

Yes, but buying water is even more insane.

When I go i buy soda anyways, but i almost live off of water.



Might change after July 5 though.

 

[Randy May]

Two words: Steve Levy.

 

[Sixty Six]

How would you like me to back it up? I read industry trade journals weekly. I follow it closely. Ignore all you want. The NHL winding up on Spike TV, or any other cable network is wishful thinking. Not gonna happen. The only option is ESPN at a much, much reduced rate.

thats what i'm looking for, why do you say you know so much and so on, thats all man i'm not looking to start anything

 

[PredsFan77*]

who cares hockey sucks anyways...Long live Poker and bass fishing

 

[Icey]

They've put in on TV for starters! They've had NHl tonight. This league can't afford to not have as much exposure as possible

Had was a good word to use here because NHL was cancelled at the end of last season.

It doesn't seem to hurt Nascar to be broadcast on TNT so maybe the NHL will end up there.

 

[cassius]

I don't care what anyone says.. this is a HUGE hit to the game.

The little exposure that hockey got was through ESPN, now that is no longer available.

To me, this is like cutting off life-support to the game (in the US anyway).

 

[futurcorerock]

Granted it's 60 million, but aside from this... the NHL can distance itself from the Cancer that is Disney. The past few years ESPN has done nothing but further taint the product and fail to promote the sport. As I see it, ESPN has as much to do with the fall of the NHL as rising player salaries. IMO i'd rather have the glowing puck than Eisner and Co. ruining the sport.

eff ESPN

 

[SkateLikeTheWind]

Granted it's 60 million, but aside from this... the NHL can distance itself from the Cancer that is Disney. The past few years ESPN has done nothing but further taint the product and fail to promote the sport. As I see it, ESPN has as much to do with the fall of the NHL as rising player salaries. IMO i'd rather have the glowing puck than Eisner and Co. ruining the sport.

eff ESPN

I think you have it wrong. It's not ESPN's responsibility to do what your asking it to. That job falls to the marketing geniouses of the NHL. I don't see how you can blame a cable company for the downfall of a sport. I don't know how many times I am going to say ESPN is a business, it's not their duty to make hockey a better sport.

I say eff Gary, Bob, and the NHLPA.

 

[danaluvsthekings]

They're going to have to. Attendance will drop so severly they'll have no choice.

Ed Snider has already said he's going to drop prices.

Ed Snider said he's going to drop prices but he did not say he was going to drop prices permanently. Of course they're going to drop prices to win fans back. Teams will probably offer coupons like "Buy one hot dog, get a medium soda free" and things like that as well. But like others have said, the prices of concessions, parking, other merchandise will rise to try to offset the loss in ticket revenue. Especially if the way revenues are defined in the new CBA and the players get a portion of the concessions and parking money. Prices for those items will go up if the the players are going to get a portion of those revenues. If you havn't been to the arena in a year odds are you're not going to notice the price of hot dogs went up from $3.25 to $3.50 or $3.75. Not to mention there are people that don't buy food at games. But now they have these coupons and instead of paying $6 for the hot dog and soda, its only $3.50. People might be more willing to spend $3.50 than the $6 they wouldn't spend. If you didn't buy any food at games before you gave them no money but now because people have the coupon and they think its a bargain, they're now buying food.

Plus say the Flyers were selling out at an average ticket price of $45. They know that's what the market can bear. So to win fans back they lower prices to an average ticket price of $35. Well then the next year they raise prices to $37. Fans keep coming, the next year tickets are $40 and so on and in 4 or 5 years from now prices will be back to exactly where they were before the lockout. But now you're paying higher prices for concessions and parking. It's wishful thinking to believe that the lockout is going to cause a permanent drop in ticket prices.

 

[futurcorerock]

I think you have it wrong. It's not ESPN's responsibility to do what your asking it to. That job falls to the marketing geniouses of the NHL. I don't see how you can blame a cable company for the downfall of a sport. I don't know how many times I am going to say ESPN is a business, it's not their duty to make hockey a better sport.

I say eff Gary, Bob, and the NHLPA.

That's a warped way of thinking about it. ESPN is a business, indeed.. they're in the business of broadcast. What would Survivor be if they didn't have a CBS-sponsored media on it's channels in the form of advertisements. ESPN's broadcasting package was subpar to say the least when it came to how the product was marketed on the channel. Any business that has an elastic product like broadcast television wouldn't even exist without R&D/Advertisement.

Now let's look at ESPN... you have sports competing with sports for airtime and ratings. Why does the NHL need this coming back in? The NHL needs to find a cable company that will broadcast the sport alongside the major network deal and not have to incur such a competition with the other sports.

The idea here is not to throw a weakened product into the foray with the heavyweights, but to nurture it's growth on a more grassroots level and allow it to grow on a more natural level.

 

[Dr Love]

Ed Snider said he's going to drop prices but he did not say he was going to drop prices permanently.

Well, duh, prices will eventually go back up again. I never pretended to think otherwise.

 

[Jarqui]

Ah, the NFL comparison. Because the NHL and NFL are so analogous in terms of TV contracts.

As I said:

When you look at the other major sports broadcasting arrangements, it really has to hit home to both sides of this dispute when a network doesn't even want to give each team $2 mil to broadcast their games over a season. ...

The NBA and MLB are the litmus test, because like the NHL they have regional and national broadcasts, unlike the NFL.

Each MLB team was getting about 10 times what the NHL got for their national deal in the US before ESPN bailed out on the NHL today.

Each NBA team was getting about 12.5 times what the NHL got for their national deal in the US before ESPN bailed out on the NHL today.

Each NFL team was getting about 38.5 times what the NHL got for their national deal in the US before ESPN bailed out on the NHL today.

The money that the NBA and MLB get for their national deals alone close to doubles every dime of broadcast revenue and news media revenue that the NHL receives. (which is not an apples to apples comparison but favors the NHL - the spread is worse).

 

[SkateLikeTheWind]

That's a warped way of thinking about it. ESPN is a business, indeed.. they're in the business of broadcast. What would Survivor be if they didn't have a CBS-sponsored media on it's channels in the form of advertisements. ESPN's broadcasting package was subpar to say the least when it came to how the product was marketed on the channel. Any business that has an elastic product like broadcast television wouldn't even exist without R&D/Advertisement.

Now let's look at ESPN... you have sports competing with sports for airtime and ratings. Why does the NHL need this coming back in? The NHL needs to find a cable company that will broadcast the sport alongside the major network deal and not have to incur such a competition with the other sports.

The idea here is not to throw a weakened product into the foray with the heavyweights, but to nurture it's growth on a more grassroots level and allow it to grow on a more natural level.

Yeah I understand what your saying. But you still seem to have this idea that ESPN owe's hockey something. Yes it's ESPN's job to market the games that they are going to broadcast. But it's beyond ESPN to market and nurture the game into a thriving existence. Sure they would love for that to happen, because the better ratings they get means more money.

As much as you and I wish it were different, hockey will never get the money or airtime dedicated to it as other sports. Whose fault is that to blame?

 

[Chileiceman]

This is terrible for every hockey fan in latin america. ESPN was the only place to watch hockey and now we have nothing. My only hope is that NHL.com doessomething like MLB.com where you can watch the games online.
Thank you very much Bob and Gary.

 

[Dr Love]

As I said:

Funny, you left out the part where the only sport you sited was football.

Each MLB team was getting about 10 times what the NHL got for their national deal in the US before ESPN bailed out on the NHL today.

Each NBA team was getting about 12.5 times what the NHL got for their national deal in the US before ESPN bailed out on the NHL today.

Was it that hard to mention in the first place? In a literal sense, if baseball truly is 10 times more popular than hockey, then it's not out of whack. It doesn't matter though... the market dictates what the NHL will get. The market has dictated a no-pay contract with NBC, and it's dictated a contract with ESPN of lower than $60M.

 

[London Knights]

Hey, maybe now I won't have to watch Saturday afternoon hockey again.