MeHateHe
Registered User
- Dec 24, 2006
- 2,475
- 2,795
As I type this, there are 4 NHL games underway, one featuring a Canadian team (Montreal), one featuring very popular long-time NHL star (Pittsburgh) and one featuring a very popular next big thing (Chicago).
None of these games are being broadcast live in Canada, at least on the main networks of the league's contracted national broadcaster. I have access to two Sportsnet feeds in my office, one of which is showing a highlight show and another is showing a basketball game (Brooklyn and Miami). (TSN is showing an NFL game on its main network, FTR).
At some point, I might spend some time and actually calculate this, but there are a lot of evenings where I can watch two NBA games on national TV in Canada and not a single hockey game.
Lest this turn into just a rant, I'm wondering how this makes any sense from a business standpoint for the NHL, that a different sport has better national exposure - with the exception of Saturdays - in Canada than does hockey. With the Sportsnet contract coming up in the next couple of years, how can the league restructure the contract so that the broadcaster can make a profit but more games are being put in front of more eyeballs?
In another thread, someone was whinging that hockey in Canada was dying. I don't think that's true, in part because people hav been saying the same thing for decades and yet here we are. But I think the people who run hockey in Canada take for granted that all they have to do is throw open the doors to the arena and fans will flock, you know, because Canada. This is true in the NHL, it's true in major junior cities and it's true in Junior A cities. If you want fans to care, they need to see the product, either live or on a screen somewhere. That the contracted broadcaster isn't doing more to make sure there are more nationally televised hockey games is a huge part of the problem. Tell me I'm wrong.
None of these games are being broadcast live in Canada, at least on the main networks of the league's contracted national broadcaster. I have access to two Sportsnet feeds in my office, one of which is showing a highlight show and another is showing a basketball game (Brooklyn and Miami). (TSN is showing an NFL game on its main network, FTR).
At some point, I might spend some time and actually calculate this, but there are a lot of evenings where I can watch two NBA games on national TV in Canada and not a single hockey game.
Lest this turn into just a rant, I'm wondering how this makes any sense from a business standpoint for the NHL, that a different sport has better national exposure - with the exception of Saturdays - in Canada than does hockey. With the Sportsnet contract coming up in the next couple of years, how can the league restructure the contract so that the broadcaster can make a profit but more games are being put in front of more eyeballs?
In another thread, someone was whinging that hockey in Canada was dying. I don't think that's true, in part because people hav been saying the same thing for decades and yet here we are. But I think the people who run hockey in Canada take for granted that all they have to do is throw open the doors to the arena and fans will flock, you know, because Canada. This is true in the NHL, it's true in major junior cities and it's true in Junior A cities. If you want fans to care, they need to see the product, either live or on a screen somewhere. That the contracted broadcaster isn't doing more to make sure there are more nationally televised hockey games is a huge part of the problem. Tell me I'm wrong.