I am sure that in the future if the NHL was to cease to exist, we will all be looking back and pointing to the one game that was moved from ESPN to ESPN2 - oh wait, “possibly” moved - to accommodate a historic WNBA game as the beginning of the end of the league.
NHL possibly getting bumped for a WNBA game
- Thread starter joelef
- Start date
GindyDraws
I will not disable my Adblock, HF
The WNBA will see a bump, and already has seen a bump, in viewership, ticket/jersey sales, etc. thanks to Clark. They will capitalize on it and try to milk it for as long as they can. Once the dust settles as the novelty/lustre wears off, the WNBA will continue to carve its niche, albeit one that quite possibly will be a bigger slice of the pie than the NHL.
If anything, now with a generational talent coming through and talks of expansion, at least the WNBA should be on more solid ground than ever bigger. Especially with the appetite and desire for women's sports likely higher than it has ever been before. Will be an interesting case study to follow, similar to the PWHL, not just short term, but over the next 3/5/10 years to see just how far they have come along and what kind of dent (if any) they can put into the male-dominated sporting share.
If anything, now with a generational talent coming through and talks of expansion, at least the WNBA should be on more solid ground than ever bigger. Especially with the appetite and desire for women's sports likely higher than it has ever been before. Will be an interesting case study to follow, similar to the PWHL, not just short term, but over the next 3/5/10 years to see just how far they have come along and what kind of dent (if any) they can put into the male-dominated sporting share.
Bear of Bad News
Your Third or Fourth Favorite HFBoards Admin
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I’m not saying it’s going to cease to exist. I’m saying that cultural and demographic changes of both Canada and the USA are working against hockey and being more popular would help alleviate both of those problems.
My understanding is that some of ESPN's playoff games are going to air on ESPN2, so how many of you would have even really noticed or cared if the round 2 schedule came out and the game was shown as being on ESPN2?
As mentioned in the article, it's always possible that ESPN arranges for the Indiana Fever game to be moved to 6 pm and the NHL game scheduled for after that. And of course, as the article points out, May 14 would be around game 5 of round 2, so there might not even be a NHL game in that slot.
As for ratings, I kind of agree that the NCAA tourney ratings may not be an indicator of the ratings for Clark's first WNBA game, but the 24M who tuned into the WNBA draft on Monday night would certainly seem to show an interest in people following her post-NCAA career.
The thread title is a little misleading because "getting bumped" sounds like the game would not be broadcast at all. But I guess a title like "NHL Game May Move to ESPN2 Because of WNBA Game" would probably attract fewer iewx.
As mentioned in the article, it's always possible that ESPN arranges for the Indiana Fever game to be moved to 6 pm and the NHL game scheduled for after that. And of course, as the article points out, May 14 would be around game 5 of round 2, so there might not even be a NHL game in that slot.
As for ratings, I kind of agree that the NCAA tourney ratings may not be an indicator of the ratings for Clark's first WNBA game, but the 24M who tuned into the WNBA draft on Monday night would certainly seem to show an interest in people following her post-NCAA career.
The thread title is a little misleading because "getting bumped" sounds like the game would not be broadcast at all. But I guess a title like "NHL Game May Move to ESPN2 Because of WNBA Game" would probably attract fewer iewx.
RogerRoger
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Slats432
Registered User
She is very reminiscent of Steph Curry style of play. She is great to watch. The only reason this thread exists is because male/hockey fan ego gets hurt. You don't want to get bumped? Have more viewers.
The NHL used to be a $700M a year venture in 1993. Today it is $6 Billion. Moving a game because of a wave of popularity in another sport isn't a speck on a blip on a microbe to me.
And good for women's sport that could use more attention.
TheMoreYouKnow
Registered User
You're posting on a hockey forum..I mean that may be a hint as to why this thread exists. You're of course free to post on WNBA forums all you want, but don't act surprised when hockey fans prefer hockey over women's basketball.
Sorry guys who are hurt by this news, but hockey is still a niche sport in the mold of cricket. Neither are world-wide sports, even though both have huge loyal followings. Hockey is #1 in Canada (and maybe Finland and Latvia).
Basketball is more popular in the States, and it's popularity has seen a huge growth with regards to female amateurs and fans.
ESPN is rightfully trying to take advantage of a debut that will probably have more eyes on it. NHL may have to reschedule it's game.
Boof***inghoo.
Basketball is more popular in the States, and it's popularity has seen a huge growth with regards to female amateurs and fans.
ESPN is rightfully trying to take advantage of a debut that will probably have more eyes on it. NHL may have to reschedule it's game.
Boof***inghoo.
PositiveCashFlow
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The NHL was the premier televised sport on OLN / VS / NBC Sports network. It didn't work, the league just wants to be part of the cultural conversation regarding sports to sell tickets. They know it's hopeless, it's a niche sport in most of America and always will be a niche sport due to the relative unavailability of ice rinks compared to Canada among other factors.
Svechhammer
THIS is hockey?
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If we're going down that path, ESPN rejected the NHL deal because they had just agreed to a billion dollar deal with the NBA and they were going to do whatever it took to prop that league up over its direct competition, the NHL. So that left the NHL, at the worst possible time coming out of the lockout, with nowhere else to go, and settled with a very niche network trying to make a name for itself in OLN. At that same time, ESPN went out of its way to pretend the league didn't exist over the next 15 or so years, with their on-air personalities widely pushing an agenda that the sport of hockey was a joke, going so far as to say it doesn't count as a sport because there weren't any black players. Over time, when this is repeated enough times by the largest sports broadcasting company in the world, fiction becomes reality.
Of course as we all now know, those high dollar contracts that ESPN signed never really paid off and now they're hemorrhaging money, very much at risk of going bankrupt by the end of the decade. They're actively trying to kill collegiate athletic conferences to get out of paying TV deals, and cutting jobs left and right. Wouldn't shock me to see them cancel the NHL contract in the next couple years, and just sell it over to Turner. Best case scenario is for the NHL to be able to eventually in-house everything and sell a streaming platform to all fans without blackout restrictions. Cutting out the middle-man could end up making the league far more money in the long term.
KCbus
Registered User
The level of insecurity and inferiority from hockey fans in this thread is embarrassing.
And I say that as an American soccer fan.
And I say that as an American soccer fan.
Anybody who has watched March Madness (including if they only watched the men's edition) the past five years would prove you wrong. The women's side has become a major fixture. Sabrina Ionescu's shoe is becoming very popular among NBA players, there was just a major flood of news stories about it. Clark, Ionescu (who just competed shooting 3 pointers against Steph Curry in the all star game), Cameron Brink, Angel Reese, have become pretty famous names. For example, Clark has twice as many followers on instagram as McDavid. Ionescu has roughly the same. Kucherov is going to win the Art Ross and MANY times more people would know of Clark or Ionescu than him in the US. 20 to 1 wouldn't be out of the question, maybe even more.
You're out of touch I'm afraid. Moving forward, big name women's college and WNBA players will be more bankable in the US than big name NHL players, no question about it. That doesn't mean the WNBA will suddenly start drawing more fans than the NHL, but girls need role models too, basketball is way bigger than hockey, and social media ensures they can find and follow them and their careers.
And who cares if they are? More power to 'em.
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the whole world cares a lot more about clark than mcdavid lol:
yes, you're right, mcdavid is probably more widely known in russia.
sorted for clark...
the nhl is a niche hobby interest while basketball as an entire sport is a global phenomenon.
as someone who loves the sport of hockey (i've been posting on this board for nearly 2/3rds of my life lol) - it's an embarrassing reality that it is very poorly marketed, regardless of how many dudes from saskatchewan or pei post that they've never heard of caitlin clark lol
btw - wanna see what the map looks like when you check low search volume regions?
Machinehead
GoAwayTrouba
I get it, but they shouldn't take it that way. People have different tastes. It's cool that you have the ability to step outside the mainstream.
I hear the off color comments about the WNBA all the time. I still leave my heart and soul on Atlantic Avenue every game. I'm proud to f*** with the Liberty. If they don't "because it's not real basketball," they're missing the fun imo. If you don't like basketball, great. Do what makes you happy.
Slats432
Registered User
Judging by how long I have been watching hockey, I am pretty sure I know where I am, but the whining of hockey fans never ceases to amaze me. I watched NCAA Women's basketball for the first time this year. I have watched 10,000 hockey games.
My response is:
1. Hockey is fantastic.
2. There is room for other sports
3. TV networks only care about money not your feelings
4. It's ok to like Women's sports
5. Don't be so sensitive
TheMoreYouKnow
Registered User
One would have to be pretty naive to think that's down to organic interest or even related to the relative popularity of women's basketball. The U.S. media can generate global interest in things it wants to push, whether it's a new pop star or a new sports star. The simple reality is that if the U.S. media decides someone is a 'celebrity' then that has an echo effect across the globe.
final copy-paste spam (sorry, i find this shit fascinating)
for anyone who wants to argue it's just about hockey being too expensive, a cold country sport, etc. let's look at the best american nhl player in the biggest american market, the best american player in the league, the aforementioned wnba mvp - breanna stewart, who is a non-household name - and... tiktok boy trevor zegras
this is on the NHL to market players better
for anyone who wants to argue it's just about hockey being too expensive, a cold country sport, etc. let's look at the best american nhl player in the biggest american market, the best american player in the league, the aforementioned wnba mvp - breanna stewart, who is a non-household name - and... tiktok boy trevor zegras
this is on the NHL to market players better
And? It's not about an ideological agenda - it's about who and what can sell product. And celebrity women's basketball players can sell more product than any hockey player nowadays. To be clear: I'm not making your point for you, I'm separating the reality from your ideological narrative. This isn't about people forcing diversity on us. It's about diversity being a reality, and businesses recognizing that, in an era when it is easier than ever to reach specific audiences with their messaging, differentiated marketing can make them money.
And btw: what the hell even is "organic interest" in your view, and what could it possibly have to do with modern professional sports, which are driven by profit-seeking businesses?
100%, absolutely no disagreements there. i posted on an earlier page how the nhl still beats the wnba on most metrics.
but the US media has made clark a star and as a result her debut game may push an nhl playoff game.
why hasn't the US media decided any NHL players are celebrities?
TheMoreYouKnow
Registered User
(1) sure though it's no longer as good as it once was (2) sure, but sports are competing for attention (3) I agree they don't care about *my* feelings but they certainly are affected by *their* feelings (4) sure (5) it's not really a sign of extreme sensitivity to be concerned that NHL *playoff* coverage is affected by early regular season coverage of a league that is generally giving away tickets for free and has struggled with public attention for pretty much its entire existence.
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