Future of NHL on NBC

[Melrose Munch]

The NHL could try to market it's stars as much as they want. It won't be as successful in that regard as the NBA. It is just the nature of the sport. In the NBA, the star player plays almost the entire game and is involved in pretty much every offensive play down the court. That will never happen in hockey. If you buy a ticket to see LeBron James, you are going to see him play for 48 minutes and be part of every offensive play. If you buy a ticket to see Crosby, you will see him play for 20 minutes and he is not necessarily going to be involved in every shift.

The culture is the reason why. Hockey culture silences people and suppresses personalities.

 

[ForumNamePending]

The NHL could try to market it's stars as much as they want. It won't be as successful in that regard as the NBA. It is just the nature of the sport. In the NBA, the star player plays almost the entire game and is involved in pretty much every offensive play down the court. That will never happen in hockey. If you buy a ticket to see LeBron James, you are going to see him play for 48 minutes and be part of every offensive play. If you buy a ticket to see Crosby, you will see him play for 20 minutes and he is not necessarily going to be involved in every shift.

Ya, I think this is a pretty good reason why what works in basketball doesn't work/wouldn't work as well in hockey.

The stat line for Lebron James after a poor/quiet game
36 min - 15 pts - 5 reb - 5 ast

The stat line for Sidney Crosby after a poor/quiet game
18 Min - 0 g - 0 a - 0 p

So every game, no matter how poor, James is still probably going to have at least a few highlight plays that lead to something tangible happening. Crosby... Not so much.

 

[Melrose Munch]

Ya, I think this is a pretty good reason why what works in basketball doesn't work/wouldn't work as well in hockey.

The stat line for Lebron James after a poor/quiet game
36 min - 15 pts - 5 reb - 5 ast

The stat line for Sidney Crosby after a poor/quiet game
18 Min - 0 g - 0 a - 0 p

So every game, no matter how poor, James is still probably going to have at least a few highlight plays that lead to something tangible happening. Crosby... Not so much.

This is interesting, never thought about it like this. baseball has the same issue, guys can go days without a hit.

 

[MNNumbers]

This is interesting, never thought about it like this. baseball has the same issue, guys can go days without a hit.

Although slightly different. Days without a hit.....is rare for star players.

And, often, a star player getting a hit turns the whole game. One Crosby goal does not necessarily do so.

And, it combines with the discussion from the previous page.....
Baseball: Now here's Mookie Betts. He hasn't had a hit all week, but he will be the AL MVP. This is such a pressure packed situation. Can he do it? (3 minutes later, Betts is still at the plate)....And, the 8th pitch of the At-bat....And Betts lines a double into the gap and the Red Sox lead 4-3!!! Wow!!! In one swing, he changes the whole game.

Hockey: .....And, the puck goes down the left wing boards (here the TV viewer can see the puck go into the corner, where there is a scrum for it, but it's hard to do play-by-play on those, so the pbp guy is mostly silent, waiting).....and Crosby has it in the slot and he scores!!!!!!

The difference is in the anticipation and the way the camera can zoom in on Betts' face between pitches... It builds excitement and also, more importantly..CONNECTION with the players. Hockey moves too fast for that kind of thing.

Hence, marketing is very difficult.

 

[patnyrnyg]

This is interesting, never thought about it like this. baseball has the same issue, guys can go days without a hit.

Exactly. MLB does market their stars, but if you buy a ticket to go see Mike Trout, you are only going to see him get 4 AB's most games. Maybe you get a 5th.

 

[patnyrnyg]

The culture is the reason why. Hockey culture silences people and suppresses personalities.

Not sure I agree with that, unless you are talking specifically about over-the-top goal celebrations. Me personally, I am ok with over the top celebrations so long as they are spontaneous. Don't want to see something that is obviously choreographed.

I do wonder if the helmets hinder it. In the NBA, you see all of the player's faces and I think it helps. In the NHL, most fans will recognize the 1 or 2 big stars on a few teams, but couldn't pick most out of a crowd of 2. Same with the NFL.

 

[nofehr]

This is interesting, never thought about it like this. baseball has the same issue, guys can go days without a hit.

Just a thought, but I think the fact that they play every day makes a difference - a ball player that goes 3-4 games without a hit has a slump that only lasts 3-4 days. A hockey player might take 1.5 - 2 weeks to play 3-4 games and if they aren't scoring then someone else is being shown on the highlight reels.

 

[eddygee]

And, as with all sports, this is very interesting to me, because if you try to follow the money.......

Consumers buy the packages. If the consumers were only buying the NHL package, the amount spent would be less than it is (otherwise you could imply cut out the middle man right away). That means that the price for consumer is MORE than the NHL rights are actually worth. This can be true for a few reasons. One, the TV providers have the consumer over a barrel because of infrastructure and lack of competition. Or, two...some other piece of the TV package is actually being UNDER VALUED in the package, and would be worth MORE if it were sold separately.

TV providers buy from the RSN. Here again, the RSN has the TV provider a little over-the-barrel. The TV provider may well pay MORE than the rights are actually worth, because either....One, there are enough sports fans in the area that will rebel if the hockey rights aren't included, or Two, the TV provider needs content to get eyeballs watching. So, again, as we go up the ladder, both of the first 2 steps allow the product to be overvalued.

This leads naturally to the conclusion that....
The RSN is actually paying MORE for the rights to distribute the product than the product is actually worth.

And, to me, this arrangement is one that cannot last. Eventually, the market will have to even this out somehow.

Also, it is very true.....since OTA has diminished, eyeballs watching for ad purposes has become less and less important.

However, interestingly, NFL still gets most of its TV from OTA broadcasting ( I think). So, they are dependent on people watching, and the networks selling ads because people are watching. Since the direct consumer is NOT paying here, except in its response to advertising, this makes that business model even more intriguing to analyze.

Well how does this play out in regards to the NHL TV deal? Does anyone know how much teams get from their RSN deals outside of the national TV money?

 

[DaBadGuy7]

Looks like NBC will be at least sharing coverage with another network in the next TV deal

 

[USAUSA1]

With the ufc and even wwe splitting networks, it make sense for the nhl to follow suit. These tv networks are desperate and scared right now.

 

[edog37]

The culture is the reason why. Hockey culture silences people and suppresses personalities.

Agreed. This is the double edge sword. You don't have all the personality problems other sports seem to have, but by the same token, the stars are rather bland, thus reducing demand signal for marketing...

 

[SwaggySpungo]

With the ufc and even wwe splitting networks, it make sense for the nhl to follow suit. These tv networks are desperate and scared right now.

UFC isn't splitting networks. They went all-in with ESPN.

 

[SwaggySpungo]

Agreed. This is the double edge sword. You don't have all the personality problems other sports seem to have, but by the same token, the stars are rather bland, thus reducing demand signal for marketing...

You need lots of goals to market "stars". Doesn't make one bit of difference how glowing your personality is. You can be Kevin Hart, but if you don't put the biscuit in the basket on a regular basis, nobody is going to care who you are.

People want their stars to shine. Nearly impossible to perform in a dead puck league. The casual fan isn't going to give a rat's ass about "that sick defensive back-checking by Tavares". They want to see him score, or set up some goals.

People don't know Crosby and Ovechkin because of their personalities (certainly not Crosby). Gretzky wasn't exactly Don Rickles, but he is STILL by far the biggest star in the history of the game, close to 20 years after he retired.

If you want stars, you need more goals. The era with the most stars was also the era with the most goals. Don't over-complicate things, folks. It's actually very simple.

 

[Dolemite]

They have three more years on their contract ( Expires in 2021). After that, do you think the NHL will go back with NBC? Maybe move to ESPN or FOX? CBS?

ESPN doesn’t have the cash as they’ve over spent on the contracts with other leagues and sports they currently have.

 

[USAUSA1]

Espn have the money, they still buying and looking for property. Disney is printing money. Problem with ESPN is they want everything on ESPN plus.

I think nbc will double up next time especially if they cant get mlb. Nhl needs to convince nbc to get more non games programs to showcase the talent.

 

[CHRDANHUTCH]

Espn have the money, they still buying and looking for property. Disney is printing money. Problem with ESPN is they want everything on ESPN plus.

I think nbc will double up next time especially if they cant get mlb. Nhl needs to convince nbc to get more non games programs to showcase the talent.

THEN WHY do local contracts matter, and ESPN isn't bidding for RSN's either

 

[Preds Partisan]

Looks like NBC will be at least sharing coverage with another network in the next TV deal

What does "separating out stream rights" mean in that Tweet? All streaming is bundled in a contract so that the broadcasting network doesn't have the ability to offer streaming on their app? That's a bit confusing to me.

 

[SkalbaniasGhost]

Looks like NBC will be at least sharing coverage with another network in the next TV deal

NBC(Comcast) and Disney(ESPN/ABC) are locks. NHL is a business partner with BAM(Disney).
The question is the involvement of Amazon/DAZN. RSN sale results will also be interesting.
This will lead to Dolan cashing out on Rangers/Knicks/MSG Networks in 2019.
We shall get an answer in 1st Quarter of 2019.

 

[DaBadGuy7]

NBC(Comcast) and Disney(ESPN/ABC) are locks. NHL is a business partner with BAM(Disney).
The question is the involvement of Amazon/DAZN. RSN sale results will also be interesting.
This will lead to Dolan cashing out on Rangers/Knicks/MSG Networks in 2019.
We shall get an answer in 1st Quarter of 2019.

Don’t see ESPN outbidding FOX for the second half of the next TV deal. FS1 is basically barren in terms of live prime time programming sans MLB Playoffs and College Football and Basketball. They can put NHL games on FS1 any day of the week they can choose. With ESPN and all their programming, it’s gonna be tough to find room for the NHL weekly that’s not on ESPN 2. I doubt NHL goes back to ESPN unless they have majority of games weekly on ESPN (maybe the old ESPN Thursday Night Hockey). Just my opinion, but FOX seems to be high on making sports on their new network initiative.

 

[NorthCoast]

Apologies if someone else also linked.

Quick segment on new NBC deal by Eric Macramalla on TSN:

https://www.tsn.ca/radio/ottawa-1200/offside-december-5-2018-1.1221594

Skip to 25:00.


Diverts into CBA talked, but also worth listening to. Honestly, if you are interested in sports business, especially a hockey-centric viewpoint, Eric Macramalla does an awesome job on most of the key topics we discuss on the board. Highly recommend.

 

[DaBadGuy7]

Apologies if someone else also linked.

Quick segment on new NBC deal by Eric Macramalla on TSN:

https://www.tsn.ca/radio/ottawa-1200/offside-december-5-2018-1.1221594

Skip to 25:00.


Diverts into CBA talked, but also worth listening to. Honestly, if you are interested in sports business, especially a hockey-centric viewpoint, Eric Macramalla does an awesome job on most of the key topics we discuss on the board. Highly recommend.

Macramalla is correct, NHL TV deal is bad based on amount paid by NBC in addition to fact they had exclusive rights. NHL seeing what WWE got for RAW and SmackDown from NBCU and FOX has to split off their TV rights. I think NBC will keep Wednesday Night Hockey and some Sunday afternoon games and well as Stanley Cup playoffs/Final coverage. But I can see NHL giving ESPN/FOX/CBS and/or Turner the same package of games in regular season and playoffs as well.

 

[Vamos Rafa]

Premier League's contract expires a year after the NHL deal does. It's been six years since NBC acquired the PL rights and they still don't know how to properly display a soccer scoreboard.

How it should be:
Home 0-0 Away

How NBC does it:
Home 0 Away 0

 

[IU Hawks fan]

Premier League's contract expires a year after the NHL deal does. It's been six years since NBC acquired the PL rights and they still don't know how to properly display a soccer scoreboard.

How it should be:
Home 0-0 Away

How NBC does it:
Home 0 Away 0

ESPN does it the same way. Who cares?

 

[IU Hawks fan]

[MOD]

Anywho, here you go:

 

[crimsonace]

[MOD]

Anywho, here you go:
View attachment 171179

Even though I know it's not the European soccer style, three things make sense
*-ESPN and NBC are not televising games to a European audience
*-The scoreboards fit their existing Chyron templates they use for all other sports
*-It's easier for the eye & the brain to process HOME 0 VISITOR 0 than HOME 0:0 VISITOR