Future of NHL on NBC

[BattleBorn]

I am still unsure about leagues putting games online. Internet lags and you are screwed.

They’re all going to wind up online, it’s just a matter of when the transition takes place. I personally think there’s a breakwater point where you’re either too early or too late, and in pure NHL fashion, it seems like the NHL is going to be negotiating at the point where cable/satellite is dying and internet streaming isn’t developed. Just like they were too early for DVR.

They should literally sign a two year rights deal on the next round and hope they’re in a better position at that time, because, as a league, they’ve got the shittiest timing in the world.

 

[nickp91]

I see NBC staying with NHL and they still paying for horse racing and Olympics

 

[Gnashville]

Those black & white commercials were the best.

I preferred the Bud Light ones myself

 

[Tawnos]

I see NBC staying with NHL and they still paying for horse racing and Olympics

Bold type doesn’t work like hashtags

They’ll go with the highest bidder. The only question is if they stay exclusive or decide to date other people.

 

[SJSharksfan39]

I don't want to see ESPN get the NHL Back mainly because they still won't talk about it. Yeah they were air the games, but it will still be LeBron, NFL, NBA, and what the controversey de'jour is. I'm just glad there is a show like ESPN On Ice (The podcast) that will talk about it, which is the only ESPN thing related to Hockey I take in. Personally, I think NBC does a decent job with it, but I wonder if CBS would want to jump in the ranks as co-exclusivities. CBS has the NFL, NCAA Basketball, which is on 3 other networks anyway, and Golf. They really don't have much else.

 

[DaBadGuy7]

I see a split package between NBC and FOX. NBC keeps Wednesday Night Rivalry and some Sunday afternoon games on NBC. FS1 gets a game during the week Monday or Friday with FOX getting occasion Saturday afternoon games. NBC and FOX split years for SCF and alternate Conference Final like TNT and ESPN for the NBA. I can’t imagine exclusive deal after Olympic fiasco last year and lack of games during that time.

 

[13 others]

If i'm a sports league I'm contacting Netflix.

This is why you aren't running a sports league. Netflix doesn't have the budget or interest in live sports.

 

[skeena1]

This is why you aren't running a sports league. Netflix doesn't have the budget or internet in live sports.

Netflix is spending 13 billion this year alone on programming.

 

[Anisimovs AK]

Pretty sure ESPN is going to take a big swing at it. As frustrating as NBC is I think the NHL might be better staying with them and trying to get NBC to make some improvements and more of a commitment to it because if the NHL goes to ESPN, it will get buried in the fall/ early winter programming by College Football and buried within sports center and their highly annoying talk shows by NCAAFB, NCAABB, NFL and NBA. Not to mention they have nobody there that knows anything about it, that's one of the reasons they never talk about it, what is Stephen A Smith or the highly annoying John Buccigross going to tell us about Nashville's penalty kill?! Also lets remember ESPN is sinking, who knows what kind of state it will be in in a few years time.

IF nbc would put some effort into it and treat it like their main featured sport, brought in some new programming people and directors and better on screen talent I think the NHL would pop and ratings would go up. A lot of my friends that like sports, don't watch the NHL because they have even said the broadcasts are dull and boring. Everything from the in studio people to the graphics and music on TV is as low budget and annoying as it gets. The graphics they use to show the "starting goalies" and its shows some goalie skating across the crease is about 10 years old and looks like something out of a video game. Another thing about NBC is the teams they show. They refuse to show teams outside the northeast and the Blackhawks or Red Wings. by in large its 8 teams that chew up 90% of the National games. by christmas, as if the broadcast isn't already unwatchable, you have already seen these teams 10 times this season. and my last rant is their NHL TV scam, with the blackout restrictions, that make no sense what so ever and the constant issues with it, its a joke.

Longer than normal post but to sum it up, NBC is probably the right place for NHL if they stepped up their game a bit and acted like it was their main sport.. which it is, but everything they do, they do on the cheap.

John Buccigross is from Steubenville, Ohio, he hosted NHL 2nite for a number of years, has said hockey is his favorite sport numerous times, and is one of the only people besides Linda Cohn that still mentions hockey at ESPN. What an odd employee to call out

 

[rfournier103]

I agree that NBC is the NHL’s best bet in the US. They’re doing the games now and are already set up for it. Yes, some improvements can be made, but I don’t hate what they’ve done.

ESPN will bury hockey on the back page. They will talk a little more about it because they have to, but it will be the LAST priority.

FOX has no business doing hockey ever again.

 

[UNITEDSTATESOFHOCKEY]

I agree that NBC is the NHL’s best bet in the US. They’re doing the games now and are already set up for it. Yes, some improvements can be made, but I don’t hate what they’ve done.

ESPN will bury hockey on the back page. They will talk a little more about it because they have to, but it will be the LAST priority.

FOX has no business doing hockey ever again.

With the schedule coming out it looks like they are broadening their horizons a bit with their National games, Still going to be Chicago, Washington and Pittsburgh heavy but at least they have plans to showcase Auston Matthew, Patrick Laine, Jack Eichel and more of their stars which is good. Looks like they are also introducing a traveling studio to a lot of National Games which I like that idea. Doesn't look like any on air talent is changing which is disapointing. NHL ponying up and getting Brian Burke would have been a game changer for them.

I disagree with FOX for the simple reason, they do a lot of hockey on a local level, I think at least half of the NHL teams in the states use their local Fox Sports Affiliate to do their games, which means they are set up for it at a lot of locations. FS North(Minnesota) FS Midwest (St. Louis) FS West (LA Kings)... And I think FOX does sports better than NBC does... I enjoy their College Football coverage a lot Gus F'n Johnson especially!

 

[rfournier103]

With the schedule coming out it looks like they are broadening their horizons a bit with their National games, Still going to be Chicago, Washington and Pittsburgh heavy but at least they have plans to showcase Auston Matthew, Patrick Laine, Jack Eichel and more of their stars which is good. Looks like they are also introducing a traveling studio to a lot of National Games which I like that idea. Doesn't look like any on air talent is changing which is disapointing. NHL ponying up and getting Brian Burke would have been a game changer for them.

I disagree with FOX for the simple reason, they do a lot of hockey on a local level, I think at least half of the NHL teams in the states use their local Fox Sports Affiliate to do their games, which means they are set up for it at a lot of locations. FS North(Minnesota) FS Midwest (St. Louis) FS West (LA Kings)... And I think FOX does sports better than NBC does... I enjoy their College Football coverage a lot Gus F'n Johnson especially!

Kudos to NBC for adding more flavors to the lineup. I haven’t looked at the schedule yet, but I have no reason to doubt you. As a Bruins fan, I’m used to seeing them on NBC a bit, too.

We’re going to have to agree to disagree as far as FOX is concerned. They may be set up to broadcast games, but the graphics and gimmicks (FoxTrax) of the ‘90s just left a bad taste in my mouth.

I STILL prefer CBS and NBC to FOX when it comes to football.

Just never cared for FOX Sports. Thankfully the Patriots play in the AFC so I only watch a couple of FOX games a year. Unless, of course, FOX has the Super Bowl.

 

[powerstuck]

NHL will go with what ever single network/conglomerate of networks gives them as close as possible to NBA money.

When you look at current TV deals, NHL is 100 light years behind the other big 3 (NFL, NBA, MLB).

My personal opinion is that NHL will not manage to reach that goal because that's a whole lot of cash for a sport where only few teams draw pretty well nationally.

Speaking of...I understand people are pissed that NBC only shows Blackhawks and Penguins...but the only way NBC can make back its investment into NHL is to sell more ads, and selling ads gives bigger paychecks when the audience is bigger...so, it sucks but as long as any given team has 10 million viewers vs another teams 1000 viewers...guess which one will get every possible national game ?

 

[UNITEDSTATESOFHOCKEY]

NHL will go with what ever single network/conglomerate of networks gives them as close as possible to NBA money.

When you look at current TV deals, NHL is 100 light years behind the other big 3 (NFL, NBA, MLB).

My personal opinion is that NHL will not manage to reach that goal because that's a whole lot of cash for a sport where only few teams draw pretty well nationally.

Speaking of...I understand people are pissed that NBC only shows Blackhawks and Penguins...but the only way NBC can make back its investment into NHL is to sell more ads, and selling ads gives bigger paychecks when the audience is bigger...so, it sucks but as long as any given team has 10 million viewers vs another teams 1000 viewers...guess which one will get every possible national game ?

The NHL is 100 light years behind the other 3 because the league is ran by Nerds with zero marketing ability what so ever....

As far as the teams playing, its been proven time and time again over the last 2-3 years that the numbers do not drop off when Pittsburgh or Chicago are not on TV. That is a myth. Pittsburgh isn't even that big of a market share! Buffalo lead the ratings for the playoffs being the worst team in the league. Nashville and Minnesota were in the top 10 even after their teams were eliminated. The theory that they need Crosby and Patrick Kane to get decent ratings numbers went out the window 5 years ago. Maybe coming out of the lockout in 2006 or riding the wave after the 2010 olympics, that stuff was needed but not anymore. Good to see the league is finally wising up and when the ratings come out they will hopefully finally realize this is the better way to go! Especially for a league that seems to be determined to growing the game and has done a pretty decent job of doing it, you also have to showcase those teams that you champion.

 

[powerstuck]

The NHL is 100 light years behind the other 3 because the league is ran by Nerds with zero marketing ability what so ever....

As far as the teams playing, its been proven time and time again over the last 2-3 years that the numbers do not drop off when Pittsburgh or Chicago are not on TV. That is a myth. Pittsburgh isn't even that big of a market share! Buffalo lead the ratings for the playoffs being the worst team in the league. Nashville and Minnesota were in the top 10 even after their teams were eliminated. The theory that they need Crosby and Patrick Kane to get decent ratings numbers went out the window 5 years ago. Maybe coming out of the lockout in 2006 or riding the wave after the 2010 olympics, that stuff was needed but not anymore. Good to see the league is finally wising up and when the ratings come out they will hopefully finally realize this is the better way to go! Especially for a league that seems to be determined to growing the game and has done a pretty decent job of doing it, you also have to showcase those teams that you champion.

In all honesty I think you missed the point.

Its not Chicago region that gives the biggest rating when Blackhawks are on TV.
It's the whole US of America that follows more Chicago Blackhawks than they follow the Buffalo Sabres...even if that means that more people in Buffalo are watching the game than people in Chicago.

 

[Drytoast]

Netflix is spending 13 billion this year alone on programming.

This is why Bill isn't running either a sports league or an online streaming network service...

 

[GuelphStormer]

follow the money ... it's increasingly becoming just as much about subscriber and data streaming revenues as it is about actual content.

when Rogers paid billions for the exclusive broadcast right in Canada, they did so knowing that they immediately had three separate revenues stream ... a) in-show commercials; b) cable / package subscriber fees, and; c) cellular data access. and they have packaged things to provide for combination discounts to consumers.

who in the States is similarly positioned? long gone are the old days of NBC, for example, paying a pile of money to the NHL only to reap untold millions in Tide commercials. my colleague will faint, but McLuhan's thesis applies ... the medium is the message. HOW someone gets access is just as important as what they are accessing.

(and fwiw, I doubt anyone is willing to pay all that much more to have content from/to big markets like Houston, Seattle or Atlanta included in the overall deal than not.)

 

[UNITEDSTATESOFHOCKEY]

follow the money ... it's increasingly becoming just as much about subscriber and data streaming revenues as it is about actual content.

when Rogers paid billions for the exclusive broadcast right in Canada, they did so knowing that they immediately had three separate revenues stream ... a) in-show commercials; b) cable / package subscriber fees, and; c) cellular data access. and they have packaged things to provide for combination discounts to consumers.

who in the States is similarly positioned? long gone are the old days of NBC, for example, paying a pile of money to the NHL only to reap untold millions in Tide commercials. my colleague will faint, but McLuhan's thesis applies ... the medium is the message. HOW someone gets access is just as important as what they are accessing.

(and fwiw, I doubt anyone is willing to pay all that much more to have content from/to big markets like Houston, Seattle or Atlanta included in the overall deal than not.)

HULU was a big part of the marketing of the playoffs in the USA this past playoffs, could be a sign of things to come. I don't think games were live streamed on HULU but they were certainly archived and likely available on HULU live if you paid for that upgrade. I also believe NBC is either part owner of HULU or has a managing steak in it since all of their network programming is on there and a good amount of it live streamed if you pay for HULU live.

 

[UNITEDSTATESOFHOCKEY]

HULU was a big part of the marketing of the playoffs in the USA this past playoffs, could be a sign of things to come. I don't think games were live streamed on HULU but they were certainly archived and likely available on HULU live if you paid for that upgrade. I also believe NBC is either part owner of HULU or has a managing steak in it since all of their network programming is on there and a good amount of it live streamed if you pay for HULU live.

Just found out all of the playoffs were live streamed on HULU Live! With No area blackouts!

 

[13 others]

Just found out all of the playoffs were live streamed on HULU Live! With No area blackouts!

People are talking about NHL on the internet in the future but it's already available. Hulu, Directv Now, Sling TV, Playstation Vu and Youtube TV All carry NBC and local sports networks.

Netflix is spending 13 billion this year alone on programming.

Netflix is a VOD service and they have shown no interest in live streaming sports. ESPN alone costs $7 per subscriber. People like Netflix because it's cheap and they can watch movies/shows on their own time. Adding sports would cost too much and is not part of their business model.

 

[SCBlueLiner]

NHL Network isn't on Hulu Live, I'm hoping that happens soon.

Disagree with the rush to go to streaming. If the NHL can't attract casual fans to watch (for free) while they are flipping through channels and there is a game on NBC, how exactly are they going to attract casual and new fans who have to seek the league out on a streaming service or app and pay to watch? A sport like hockey needs exposure and limiting its exposure by putting it behind a paywall is counter to that. Boxing died because it was put behind a paywall and everything became pay-per-view. Streaming services and online apps are just another form of pay-per-view. The NHL needs to be accessible to as large of an audience as possible.

I don't want the NHL to go to ESPN. I'd rather see the NHL stick with NBC/NBCSN as it's main network and add a side package with FOX/FS1 to expand its exposure and build a relationship with another media entity. It must just be me but I don't have a problem with NBC's coverage and find NHL Live and NHL Overtime to be pretty decent studio shows. I'm more interested in the content and analysis than graphics. People really won't watch a show because they don't like the studio set or graphics?

Putting an NHL Playoff game on the Golf Channel was more about cross promotion of that channel and getting people used to going to that channel. The Golf Channel is widely available on cable/sat systems so people got the channel and could access the game. At least it is a sports channel. Nobody says a word when the first round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament (The First Four) is on TruTV, and TruTV has nothing to do with sports.

 

[skeena1]

People are talking about NHL on the internet in the future but it's already available. Hulu, Directv Now, Sling TV, Playstation Vu and Youtube TV All carry NBC and local sports networks.


Netflix is a VOD service and they have shown no interest in live streaming sports. ESPN alone costs $7 per subscriber. People like Netflix because it's cheap and they can watch movies/shows on their own time. Adding sports would cost too much and is not part of their business model.

About five minutes ago their "business model" was shipping cd's by post.

 

[rojac]

NHL Network isn't on Hulu Live, I'm hoping that happens soon.

Disagree with the rush to go to streaming. If the NHL can't attract casual fans to watch (for free) while they are flipping through channels and there is a game on NBC, how exactly are they going to attract casual and new fans who have to seek the league out on a streaming service or app and pay to watch? A sport like hockey needs exposure and limiting its exposure by putting it behind a paywall is counter to that. Boxing died because it was put behind a paywall and everything became pay-per-view. Streaming services and online apps are just another form of pay-per-view. The NHL needs to be accessible to as large of an audience as possible.

I don't want the NHL to go to ESPN. I'd rather see the NHL stick with NBC/NBCSN as it's main network and add a side package with FOX/FS1 to expand its exposure and build a relationship with another media entity. It must just be me but I don't have a problem with NBC's coverage and find NHL Live and NHL Overtime to be pretty decent studio shows. I'm more interested in the content and analysis than graphics. People really won't watch a show because they don't like the studio set or graphics?

Putting an NHL Playoff game on the Golf Channel was more about cross promotion of that channel and getting people used to going to that channel. The Golf Channel is widely available on cable/sat systems so people got the channel and could access the game. At least it is a sports channel. Nobody says a word when the first round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament (The First Four) is on TruTV, and TruTV has nothing to do with sports.

As for the bolded, I think the game on the Golf Channel had a lot to do with both USA and CNBC having original programming that they didn't want to pre-empt.

 

[Vamos Rafa]

To those who are saying that they don't want ESPN to have rights again because they will just end up not talking hockey at all, you're acting as if NBC treats the NHL like they are their prized possession. Do they even have an NHL-dedicated show that isn't a pregame show? The league is non-existent on NBCSN on days that they don't broadcast games. The Dan Patrick show rarely mentions the NHL.

 

[Hooby Dooby Doo]

As for the bolded, I think the game on the Golf Channel had a lot to do with both USA and CNBC having original programming that they didn't want to pre-empt.

That's why if they stick with NBC then that area will have to be modified. I always use the NBA as an example but do you think they give a crap about reruns of a Tv show with TNT during the playoffs. I'm sorry but Shark Tank reruns and Law and Order should not be played while the NHL playoffs are relinquished to Golf