An example of why the league can't sell the sport.

[Asinine]

Or you know fans don't want to loose their franchise to relocation, because the league fails to share the fandom.

Because the NHL is the only professional sports league that has relocated teams right?

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

Why do we want our league to grow??? There’s already way too many teams as it is.

 

[Shinjuku Calling]

You're either a fan of the sport or aren't. I don't care what a basketball player's story is, I'm not watching. I couldn't name a single MLB player, I don't care.

 

[Perfect_Drug]

All those who've said it's due to the cost and access issues are correct.

Many of you also forget or don't know what it's like to be a "casual" hockey fan. The game is not easy to understand and often looks like complete chaos. I think a lot of people catch it here and there, sit and watch and have no idea what's even going on. I didn't follow hockey until my 20's and I still struggle with every game-play and strategy concept.

Football has that too, but with the game cadence, the nuances of each play can be explained by the announcing team, or the people you're watching with who have a better understanding than you. You can also get that in-depth understanding from playing video games - you get to call your plays, understand the situational nature of what plays are likely to work best, how different players can be exploited in different ways.

You can't do that with hockey because it's constant action. Basketball has the same, but its strategies and concepts are much more obvious because ultimately it's being played at running speed, not ice skating speed.

With video gaming becoming so ubiquitous, it's possible both problems can be "solved". You can have people playing an enjoyable simulation of the game that will pull them in, similar to if they'd played for real, and may help them understand the game better (though I have to say I spent many hours playing NHL on Sega and I don't know how much it helped in that regard). I've thought for a long time that the best marketing the NHL could do is make sure every kid with a Playstation or Xbox has a copy of the top hockey game available to them the moment they plug the machine in for the first time.

As someone who makes video games for a living, i can say for certainty that the NHL games sell paltry amounts.

Sales are so poor, that they resort to using leftover code from the other better selling games (FIFA, Madden, NBA Live).

Its why the UI and Character creator are ripped from other games. Physics, shaders, and all the other graphics tech are taken from other games. The team that makes the NHL games are significantly smaller and way less experienced ($$cheaper).

 

[FerrisRox]

I'm a jets fan, been following them all season. Nate Thompson is literally one of the least interesting players on the team. He's a fourth liner, barely played in the McDavid elimination match.

On paper there's no reason for any new fan to know who he is.

Yet a simple addiction-redemption story and this veteran players becomes one of the most interesting players on the team.

Why did I figure this out in the post season?

Why doesn't the league do more to highlight what a depth sport looks like?

The beauty of selling depth is you get to cherry pick, You can pick the guy with the most interesting story and worry about his play after the fact.

Why does a league focus so much on "stars" when they don't sell and they don't explain what a depth sport looks like? In my opinion stars are boring, they've been on top their whole lives, they are singularly obsessed with hockey. The depth guys are the ones that make the stakes feel real.

So why do they do things so backwards?

So it's the leagues problem that you couldn't find a video from a couple of years ago about one of your fourth line players that was produced and broadcast by the NHL's official broadcaster?

I'm struggling to see what the issue is here.

 

[WarriorofTime]

The OP must absolutely love TSN's coverage of Canada during the World Juniors and the way they give the heroic profiles and discuss the backgrounds and families of various affluent white kids from the Greater Toronto Area.

 

[Heldig]

I do wish they had ads/promos highlighting the speed and power and skill of the game...

Intermix clips of McKinnon/McDavid/Barzal flying down the ice, blowing past defenders with big (legal) hits, and skillful goals. No music just the sounds of the game.

 

[Devonator]

For whatever reasons, Hockey stars are generally a very boring and bland lot....I don't know why this is but you just
don't find many interesting aspects to Hockey Players like you do in Baseball or Basketball......

 

[Adam da bomb]

Because star players and players that sell get suspended for hits on 4th liners. NBA treats its stars like stars.

 

[summer tooth]

This sport struggles marketing itself because all of its big name players McDavid, Matthews, Ovi, Crosby, Draisaitl (minus Mackinnon) are eliminated immediately. Other guys like Kane and Panarin didn't even make it. Imagine the NBA playoffs if Lebron, Curry, Giannis, Harden etc all went home in the first round?

True but some of the big superstars are still in it such as Mark Scheifele when he returns

 

[Maffew]

Because star players and players that sell get suspended for hits on 4th liners. NBA treats its stars like stars.

What a horrible take. Treating someone like a star means disregarding the importance of another player's health because they're not as talented?

 

[Sky04]

Our league can't sell the sport because it's cool if it's open season on mcdavid Matthews petterson in the playoffs. Who cares. f*** the stars who sell the game.

Those guys just don't know how to play in the playoffs, is it hurting Mackinnon? No.

It's hurting because a guy like McDavid doesn't have what it takes to win, there was much more hype in the league when Crosby was winning cups, olympic golds etc.

 

[Sky04]

Because star players and players that sell get suspended for hits on 4th liners. NBA treats its stars like stars.

Yeah nobody cares about Winnipeg either way. If anything they appeased the masses since Montreal is a much better market.

 

[MarbleMist]

I can't count the number of times I've read that the league should 'market' this or 'sell' that, yet very few people can give an example of what such marketing would entail. Billboards? Documentaries? Merchandise? And more pertinently, do you really believe that any of these things are going to convert the masses to hockey?

It's a relatively niche sport, but within this context it has a large, dedicated fanbase. Why can't we just accept it for what it is?

 

[Perfect_Drug]

I can't count the number of times I've read that the league should 'market' this or 'sell' that, yet very few people can give an example of what such marketing would entail. Billboards? Documentaries? Merchandise? And more pertinently, do you really believe that any of these things are going to convert the masses to hockey?

It's a relatively niche sport, but within this context it has a large, dedicated fanbase. Why can't we just accept it for what it is?

1min in

Exactly what Bill Burr said:

 

[Eisen]

Propaganda is evil.

 

[Eisen]

Fighting is generally accepted by the public moreso than drug/alchohol abuse/addiction

Parents don't, and shouldn't, have a problem with their child getting into a scrum. They should have a problem with drugs and alcohol, which is why this probably wasn't more mainstream

I'd have a problem with my kid getting into a scrum.

 

[Bobby9]

The demographics of North America are changing as well. They don’t cater to Asian, Indo Asian, Middle Easter and African house holds.

But if you look at Canada as an example our society is changing fast. I see more immigrants now than ever. My parents are from India and my dad was/is a massive fan but he’s been here for 50 years. When he moved here he couldn’t watch cricket or keep up with other sports.

Now because of technology any immigrant who moves here can just watch their favourite sports teams back home on their smart phones . No need to get in to hockey. It will continue to dwindle.

 

[Adam da bomb]

What a horrible take. Treating someone like a star means disregarding the importance of another player's health because they're not as talented?

Evans was up and walking at the same night. Schief isn’t responsible for the other 3 concussions.

 

[OppositeLocK]

Try explaining to a casual fan why a hook in the first period is a penalty but not with 3 mins left to go in the game. Imagine having to explain why they won’t call that hook with 3 mins left to go because they have to even out the power play opportunities and it wasn’t their turn.

Easy, game management.

 

[bigdog16]

I'd have a problem with my kid getting into a scrum.

Moreso than him doing drugs and alcohol?

 

[psycat]

I don't recognize the problem.

 

[Eisen]

Moreso than him doing drugs and alcohol?

Depends on the age.

 

[JianYang]

To make a sport relatable, it starts with accessibility. Thats where hockey will always struggle compared to the other major sports. The biggest accessibility issue is the cost barrier.

Having said that, the nhl has carved themselves an attractive niche in the marketplace. I just don't think it will be anything more than that.

 

[Iapyi]

Why in the world are so many people so worried about selling the NHL? What is the obsession with growing the game?

The owners, who so many are so loath to denigrate, have sold them on the idea and they buy into it. Quite the paradox. LOL There's a cliff, follow me over it though in this case the ones in front have a method to not crash and be splatted at the bottom. lol