The NHL has a PR problem....

[cowboy82nd]

For those making jokes about the Ringer, I wish that they covered the NHL. They certainly have their niche and can lean into the whole "blog boy" schtick too much, but they also produce some interesting & entertaining content for NBA fans...and they broke (probably) the craziest NBA story of the decade.

Hasn't the Ringer been booming?


That's just not true though. Despite being the most inept NBA franchise since 2001...no mean feat in a timeframe that included "the Process" 76ers out-tanking even the Oilers; a Nets team that traded a mountain of 1st round picks, which Boston built a powerhouse off of, for the corpses of Garnett & Pierce; and a spectacular run of failure from the Kings; Knicks fans still dwarf any NHL fanbase in both size & spending.

We may all suffer from abused-spouse syndrome, but we still buy way too much merch & spend way too much on knicks tickets.

Do you think Knicks have a bigger fan base then Toronto?

 

[PJGooch]

ESPN has not been in the "sports news" business for decades. ESPN has morphed itself into a promotional arm for each league and association that it broadcasts -- NFL, NBA, NCAA. It is not going to devote its time and resources toward a sport that it does not profit from at the expense of one that feeds it.

There is a wealth of hockey coverage on The Athletic, which IMO would still be a bargain at twice the subscription price. Nationally known and local hockey writers pump out tons of content each day covering all angles.

 

[cgf]

Do you think Knicks have a bigger fan base then Toronto?

We don't need to rely on opinions for this. We have sufficient circumstantial evidence from just looking at merchandise sales & their season-ticket backlog to tell us that the Knicks have a much larger fanbase...despite the team's utter failure in the post-9/11 world & the higher prices for Knicks tickets.

 

[Coastal Kev]

Two game 7's.....one epic, one involving a Original Six franchise that has not won a playoff series in 15+ years, and almost no media coverage.

Nothing on ESPN's front page.
Nothing on SI's front page.
Nothing on the Ringer.

Instead, everyone is writing about the NBA, specifically Damian Lilliard's shot to win a Game 5 of a lopsided playoff series between two small market teams.

People still go to ESPN for sports? LOL

Their agenda certainly isn't sports since Disney bought the company.

 

[BigEezyE22]

Maybe not being racially terrorized when trying to get into the game at the grassroots level would increase population amongst African Americans, Hispanics, Asians etc.

Fact is the game is not welcoming to non-traditional demographics. And it makes a lot of us feel ostracized and unable to become fans of the sport.

I've posted my personal anecdotes numerous times on these boards about just how vile and deplorable it is for minorities to play the game. It's why I never played and so many people I know who weren't white got away from the sport as fast as possible because of the abuse they suffered.

The league has done absolutely nothing or very little in growing grassroot initiative programs to make the game more accessible to non traditional demographics and encouraging growth amongst subsets of the population would probably become interested in the sport if there were opportunities to participate. The mentality of the old guard and insistence on having its athletes put up faux personas devoid of personality or enthusiasm (swift condemnation in the case of anyone breaking the mold) is also off putting to many.

Sounds like the big problem is your neighborhood, not the NHL.

 

[E82]

Whatever side you are on with "The Call", the fact a 40 ft shot makes more story lines than a controversial call in a game 7 is laughable. I don't like ESPN, but I feel the TV contract needs a heavy duty work with the next negotiation. NBC does a fair job with their time, but they can not be the only major network player for NHL consumption in the USA. Whether it is ESPN, Fox, Turner, CBS, etc the NHL NEEDS to have at least two major network companies covering their games. NBCSN is just not mainstream enough for the casual fan to flip to their station for hockey coverage.

you gotta be kidding lol. That shot to win the game is probably a top 10 game winning shot of all time and to end the series after two Superstars having been going back and forth.

 

[mundyc3]

you gotta be kidding lol. That shot to win the game is probably a top 10 game winning shot of all time and to end the series after two Superstars having been going back and forth.

Its game 5 of a lopsided series. For that to be the only I hear about yesterday is a joke.

 

[KingsFan7824]

Its game 5 of a lopsided series. For that to be the only I hear about yesterday is a joke.

And it was a tie game. If he misses, the game just goes into OT. Other than having to play for a few more minutes and potentially losing, there wasn't a ton of downside to the shot. It's been a little overhyped.

 

[Soliloquy of a Dogge]

Sounds like the big problem is your neighborhood, not the NHL.

Does ice hockey in Canada have a racism problem?

Kitchener Rangers winger Givani Smith’s experience is the latest in a long list of racial incidents in hockey

Banana flung at Flyers' Simmonds in Ontario

https://www.cbc.ca/sports/podcasts/hnic/hockey-night-in-canada-podcast-racism-in-hockey-1.5053164



"Just my neighborhood", surely. These experiences are not outliers or confined to the odd kid who isn't white. It is a hockey problem, plain and simple. I have friends who experienced this all across Canada and in the States so don't try and trivialize our experiences. Good example of why the game remains a niche sport that appeals to a very limited demographic.

 

[BigEezyE22]

Banana flung at Flyers' Simmonds in Ontario

https://www.cbc.ca/sports/podcasts/hnic/hockey-night-in-canada-podcast-racism-in-hockey-1.5053164



"Just my neighborhood", surely. I have friends who experienced this all across Canada and in the States so don't try and trivialize our experiences. Good example of why the game remains a niche sport that appeals to a very limited demographic.

Similar things happen in Europe with soccer players.

 

[BigEezyE22]

you gotta be kidding lol. That shot to win the game is probably a top 10 game winning shot of all time and to end the series after two Superstars having been going back and forth.

Please...hardly top 20 if you're being generous.

 

[Soliloquy of a Dogge]

Similar things happen in Europe with soccer players.

And? Everybody knows soccer has a racism problem in Europe and has called out FIFA for their spineless lack of reprimands.

The game is the most popular sport on Earth and doesn't require you to be affluent to play at a grassroots level though which enables anyone to play.

 

[cgf]

Sounds like the big problem is your neighborhood, not the NHL.

Nah man. That shit is problematic in all neighborhoods. I was one of a few token white boys on my team growing up & the abuse that my team-mates got on the ice was just repulsive no matter how far we travelled...it wasn't every team we played, but it was teams from all across the socio-economic spectrum all across the midwest...to the point where in one of my last games I got a game misconduct (my first penalty of the season) for boarding this prick who had broken my Center's collarbone & kept spewing bigotry while standing over him, as we waited for someone to come out & tend to our injured player.

Kid's are shitty in general, but when you add ignorance, privilege & competitiveness to the equation; things become just disgusting...and I played for a team that won awards for the work they did to welcome people of color to the game; for a while we even got sponsored by the Blackhawks and had one of Dollar Bill's daughters (in law?) run team-building exercises with us.

Similar things happen in Europe with soccer players.

And that's one of the ugly sides to football that teams & leagues have started to realize needs to change...not some intractable aspect of human nature that will be with us until the heat-death of the universe that people should just accept.

 

[Chardo]

We don't need to rely on opinions for this. We have sufficient circumstantial evidence from just looking at merchandise sales & their season-ticket backlog to tell us that the Knicks have a much larger fanbase...despite the team's utter failure in the post-9/11 world & the higher prices for Knicks tickets.

They were also a failure pre-9/11. Two trips to the finals in 46 years.

 

[cgf]

They were also a failure pre-9/11. Two trips to the finals in 46 years.

Touche...though I'd counter by pointing out that (on multiple occasions) we came closer than anyone to beating Jordan in the playoffs during the Ewing era. And that the rolls royce backcourt era knicks of the early to mid 70s were forebearers to a lot of the innovations that are currently taking over the league; despite not getting the 3-pt line until late into Clyde & Black Jesus's careers. So the sporting impact is there even if there aren't many banners in the rafters

...although the lack of titles, even before the Dolan-disaster, would only reinforce my point about how much bigger basketball is than hockey.

 

[Brodie]

"ESPN is dumb and nobody cares about them lol I don't even mind that they don't cover hockey lolol they are dumb and bad and 'political' and for fake fans hahaha..."

Minutes later:

 

[Brodie]

Maybe not being racially terrorized when trying to get into the game at the grassroots level would increase population amongst African Americans, Hispanics, Asians etc.

Fact is the game is not welcoming to non-traditional demographics. And it makes a lot of us feel ostracized and unable to become fans of the sport.

I've posted my personal anecdotes numerous times on these boards about just how vile and deplorable it is for minorities to play the game. It's why I never played and so many people I know who weren't white got away from the sport as fast as possible because of the abuse they suffered.

The league has done absolutely nothing or very little in growing grassroot initiative programs to make the game more accessible to non traditional demographics and encouraging growth amongst subsets of the population would probably become interested in the sport if there were opportunities to participate. The mentality of the old guard and insistence on having its athletes put up faux personas devoid of personality or enthusiasm (swift condemnation in the case of anyone breaking the mold) is also off putting to many.

Because the NHL has a demo of rich, 30-40 year old fans who make the league lucrative even though it's of only middling popularity generally. And in spite of all the kvetching, the people who run the league are fundamentally conservative in their attitudes toward change and always have been. Why try to make hockey a game that hispanic kids are really into playing and watching when you can keep on selling ads to Taghaur and making more money than MLS in terms of TV rights?

 

[SnuggaRUDE]

Because the NHL has a demo of rich, 30-40 year old fans who make the league lucrative even though it's of only middling popularity generally. And in spite of all the kvetching, the people who run the league are fundamentally conservative in their attitudes toward change and always have been. Why try to make hockey a game that hispanic kids are really into playing and watching when you can keep on selling ads to Taghaur and making more money than MLS in terms of TV rights?

Presumably the owners would like their teams to be valuable to their children too?

 

[Brodie]

Presumably the owners would like their teams to be valuable to their children too?

I mean this is the same league that stayed at six teams for 25 years because the owners were afraid taking any proactive steps to grow the league and sport would result in them making less at the gate

 

[SnuggaRUDE]

I mean this is the same league that stayed at six teams for 25 years because the owners were afraid taking any proactive steps to grow the league and sport would result in them making less at the gate

And they've seemed to have gotten over that fear.

 

[Anglesmith]

Not sure what ESPN is. They must be bad at marketing because Sportsnet, my chosen sports news purveyor, never really mentions them.

 

[CupsOverCash]

Honestly like the lack of exposure it gets. Hate mainstream media.

 

[NinjaKick]

well they did just apologize to a team that blew a series lead.... and a game 7 lead... kinda bizarre actually.. is that good for PR?... I have no idea

 

[Crabapple]

ESPN knows people aren't going to their website to get NHL news, so why would they bother to promote it? I'd say interest in US markets is definitely growing, but ESPN knows that the audience will get their news from other sites.

 

[sabremike]

Do you think Knicks have a bigger fan base then Toronto?

Yes, and probably by a significant amount. They are in a market with 2 MLB teams and 2 NFL teams and still get an insane amount of coverage from the local media.