NHL possibly getting bumped for a WNBA game

[Jussi]

Caitlin Clark is most significant prospect in pro sports since LeBron James.

That game would outdraw anything happening that day unless it was the Superbowl.

It'll probably get more viewers than any Stanley Cup playoff or finals game this season.

 

[Rebels57]

Just accept that women’s basketball is getting more popular. NCAA women’s final did 14 mil in viewers. The NHL could only dream of touching that.

Still..the WNBA average salary is less than $80,000. They get very little viewers, attendance, and merch sales. They aren't close to the popularity of the NHL. Caitlin Clark will probably help, and I hope it does, but it's still not close right now.

 

[Slats432]

(1) sure though it's no longer as good as it once was (2) sure, but sports are competing for attention (3) I agree they don't care about *my* feelings but they certainly are affected by *their* feelings (4) sure (5) it's not really a sign of extreme sensitivity to be concerned that NHL *playoff* coverage is affected by early regular season coverage of a league that is generally giving away tickets for free and has struggled with public attention for pretty much its entire existence.

In business you strike while the iron is hot. Caitlin Clark is hot right now. Ride that wave as long as you can. It doesn't hurt hockey for a one game move.

People are far too sensitive these days.

 

[Bear of Bad News]

but the US media has made clark a star and as a result her debut game may push an nhl playoff game.

I think Clark had something to do with it.

 

[TheMoreYouKnow]

And? It's not about an ideological agenda - it's about who and what can sell product. And celebrity women's basketball players can sell more product than any hockey player nowadays. To be clear: I'm not making your point for you, I'm separating the reality from your ideological narrative. This isn't about people forcing diversity on us. It's about diversity being a reality, and businesses recognizing that, in an era when it is easier than ever to reach specific audiences with their messaging, differentiated marketing can make them money.

And btw: what the hell even is "organic interest" in your view, and what could it possibly have to do with modern professional sports, which are driven by profit-seeking businesses?

Diversity? The hell does she have to do with diversity? 50% of the world's population is female. Being female doesn't make you the face of diversity. Caitlin Clark is a white woman who grew up in a suburb of a Midwestern city and attended private schools. Surely the fact that the national media has made her such a huge celebrity so quickly in spite of being really not that marketable is indicative of a diversity issue in a different way than you think.

 

[vancityluongo]

I think Clark had something to do with it.

yes and no - there have been lots of incredible women's basketball stars such as maya moore (who clark shouted out on snl) over the years. they didn't have a fraction of the coverage.

the landscape of sports and demand for women's sports is rapidly shifting. the media gets to push and pull on that. but this didn't happen overnight - women's basketball has been doing a lot of the right things for years, including getting co-signs from the nba and its biggest stars. i would bet a huge chunk of those searches for clark are because of her prada outfit at the draft. the nhl has never had a collaboration like that for any player.

connor mcdavid is a star. why does his team start so many home games at 8pm local time? it's simple - he doesn't drive ratings.

 

[RooBicks]

Diversity? The hell does she have to do with diversity? 50% of the world's population is female. Being female doesn't make you the face of diversity. Caitlin Clark is a white woman who grew up in a suburb of a Midwestern city and attended private schools. Surely the fact that the national media has made her such a huge celebrity so quickly in spite of being really not that marketable is indicative of a diversity issue in a different way than you think.

You are clearly perturbed that a women's league could be home to celebrities who trump anything the NHL has to offer. You believe that the popularity of a woman must be due exclusively to media wrangling in the name of diversity. Whether you agree that she is a good representative of "diversity" is completely beside the point - your earlier post made it clear you believe there is an ideological agenda at play that runs counter to "organic interest."

You don't get to just define who or what is marketable based on your prejudices towards her sport, and you are clearly not part of the demographic she is being used to target. The fact is that she will make more money in endorsements over her career than any NHL player not named Crosby or Ovechkin, and even that is not out of the range of possibility. She IS marketable, and the source of that marketability is her capacity for public appeal due to her skill, personality, and personal story, which involved taking an underdog program to heights it could never have dreamed of reaching before she came along.

 

[TheMoreYouKnow]

yes and no - there have been lots of incredible women's basketball stars such as maya moore (who clark shouted out on snl) over the years. they didn't have a fraction of the coverage.

the landscape of sports and demand for women's sports is rapidly shifting. the media gets to push and pull on that. but this didn't happen overnight - women's basketball has been doing a lot of the right things for years, including getting co-signs from the nba and its biggest stars.

connor mcdavid is a star. why does his team start so many home games at 8pm local time? it's simple - he doesn't drive ratings.

Connor McDavid would need to play in a different city - L.A., New York, even Boston or Chicago - for his profile to improve. He would also need to win championships because that's what it generally takes to be accepted into the upper echelon of superstars in sports in America. That would help a ton, because the average sports fan will still always take the 5 time champion over the 5 time scoring leader, but of course it would not make him as famous as the biggest names in the NBA and NFL either.

 

[tny760]

NHL: "We need to market Crosby, Malkin, and Ovechkin better"

NHL:

christ that was 2011?

where have the years gone?

 

[joestevens29]

I think Clark had something to do with it.

No. She was made in a lab by the US media

 

[Bear of Bad News]

No. She was made in a lab by the US media

Can we get the US media working on a suitable goaltender for the Avalanche? And hopefully by the weekend?

 

[MrLouniverse]

breanna stewart, who is a non-household name

Isn't she only famous because she got arrested for bringing vape cartridges to Russia?

 

[Lacaar]

Good for women's basketball.

I guess it could be frustrating if you're a fan of hockey and have no way of watching NHL hockey, especially your team play though. That I can understand.

What I don't understand is this rah rah cheer for the sport growth. I don't give 2 flying f***s how much NHL grows. I'm honestly not seeing how it benefits myself or fellow fans. Has the media, players, and owners.. you know the people that actually benefit pulled the rug over our eyes? What does the NHL becoming some grand sport in the USA do for any of us fans other than cost us money?

Honestly does more people watching make the games more exciting? I have a hard time believing that.

Is it some incessant need to have something you're interest justified?

I know the NHL itself is DESPERATE for this growth. Just not sure why we as fans should give a shit.

Hell I'm more interested in Woman's hockey growth, as what's better than cheering for one team.. TWO!

 

[joestevens29]

Can we get the US media working on a suitable goaltender for the Avalanche? And hopefully by the weekend?

Too late, past the deadline to add new players

 

[Firsov99]

NHL fans think there’s some sort of prestige by being on ESPN and not ESPN2.

Can’t wait until hockey is shown on ESPN Ocho. Now that would be prestigious

 

[joelef]

Can we get the US media working on a suitable goaltender for the Avalanche? And hopefully by the weekend?

The us media would have to recognize that the avalanche even exist.

 

[joestevens29]

Can’t wait until hockey is shown on ESPN Ocho. Now that would be prestigious

Is that channel still around? I remember a year or two ago watching some shit at the pub and was wondering what sports am I even watching.

 

[joelef]

Good for women's basketball.

I guess it could be frustrating if you're a fan of hockey and have no way of watching NHL hockey, especially your team play though. That I can understand.

What I don't understand is this rah rah cheer for the sport growth. I don't give 2 flying f***s how much NHL grows. I'm honestly not seeing how it benefits myself or fellow fans. Has the media, players, and owners.. you know the people that actually benefit pulled the rug over our eyes? What does the NHL becoming some grand sport in the USA do for any of us fans other than cost us money?

Honestly does more people watching make the games more exciting? I have a hard time believing that.

Is it some incessant need to have something you're interest justified?

I know the NHL itself is DESPERATE for this growth. Just not sure why we as fans should give a shit.

Hell I'm more interested in Woman's hockey growth, as what's better than cheering for one team.. TWO!

I’ve said it’s before thicket has demographic and cultural issues that would be solved by being more popular

 

[RooBicks]

Is that channel still around? I remember a year or two ago watching some shit at the pub and was wondering what sports am I even watching.

Imagine the outrage when the NHL gets bumped from it by pickleball in a few years...

 

[joestevens29]

Imagine the outrage when the NHL gets bumped from it by pickleball in a few years...

There is outrage here no matter what, lol.

I guess this thread and the conspiracy of Torts thread is just deflecting from the Arizona sale.

Although in all fairness that really should be the talk of the day. Arizona's last game.

 

[vancityluongo]

Connor McDavid would need to play in a different city - L.A., New York, even Boston or Chicago - for his profile to improve. He would also need to win championships because that's what it generally takes to be accepted into the upper echelon of superstars in sports in America. That would help a ton, because the average sports fan will still always take the 5 time champion over the 5 time scoring leader, but of course it would not make him as famous as the biggest names in the NBA and NFL either.

don't disagree that it would help if mcdavid was in boston or new york and/or won cups - but there are other ways the league could drive interest. clark wasn't playing for ucla, nor did she win a college title, let alone multiple. hockey's version of clark in connor bedard is in chicago. is he a household name?

again, trevor zegras is more widely searched than adam fox, the best american hockey player in new york city, despite the latter being a much, much better hockey player.

there is more to it than quality of player and market. i'm not going to check, but i'd bet the most searched athlete on the planet these past 3 months was travis kelce. which is of course circumstantial - there's no way to control a lot of what drives attention (ie. dating the biggest pop star in the world and having her attend your marquee games). but if a non-qb in kansas city, in a sport that is largely played in a singular country can have that much impact... there's no reason the chips can't fall in the right way for a hockey player one day.

in the meantime; could the NHL do a better job working with major brands to get players bigger endorsement deals? could they have participated in international competitions (olympics or otherwise) that would have put mcdavid on a bigger stage against matthews or ovechkin? can they start doing grassroots programs that drive interest in the sport? those are the things i'd like to see.

 

[TheMoreYouKnow]

You are clearly perturbed that a women's league could be home to celebrities who trump anything the NHL has to offer. You believe that the popularity of a woman must be due exclusively to media wrangling in the name of diversity. Whether you agree that she is a good representative of "diversity" is completely beside the point - your earlier post made it clear you believe there is an ideological agenda at play that runs counter to "organic interest."

You don't get to just define who or what is marketable based on your prejudices towards her sport, and you are clearly not part of the demographic she is being used to target. The fact is that she will make more money in endorsements over her career than any NHL player not named Crosby or Ovechkin, and even that is not out of the range of possibility. She IS marketable, and the source of that marketability is her capacity for public appeal.

I am not perturbed by anything. I think it would be concerning for the NHL to fall behind another league in the American sports market given that soccer is already pretty much in the process of shooting past it.

I think the interest in Caitlin Clark is primarily an outcome of ESPN's need to push Women's March Madness given that it's a property they own - unlike the men's tournament - and one which generates interest that can then be converted to interest in the WNBA, another property ESPN owns currently.

ESPN has more and more focused on college sports in general because (1) you can always rely on Americans to be gung ho about their college affiliations (2) it's less expensive than major pro sports but can draw pretty similar numbers thanks to (1).

The WNBA rights are up soon, and ESPN is currently negotiating for them. I strongly suspect that ESPN overvalues these rights considerably and is prepared to go quite high for them. There's a history of ESPN overvaluing league sports rights and in the case of the WNBA they will have folks like yourself to back them with diversity progress mumbo jumbo ignoring the fact that hardly anyone watches regular season basketball whether it's women or men, and the women's Final Four will have much better engagement numbers than the WNBA playoffs no matter who plays in them. At some point people may notice that Caitlin Clark playing for the Indiana Fire in mostly empty arenas is nowhere near as entertaining as the drama of the NCAA tournament (which is even for men a much better event than the NBA playoffs 9 out of 10 times).

 

[vancityluongo]

Isn't she only famous because she got arrested for bringing vape cartridges to Russia?

that was brittney griner

 

[Kane One]

Can’t wait until hockey is shown on ESPN Ocho. Now that would be prestigious

Hockey leading into chess boxing would be awesome.

 

[Suntouchable13]

Can’t wait until hockey is shown on ESPN Ocho. Now that would be prestigious

If the games were called by Cotton McNight and Pepper Brooks, people would watch 100%