I hope they do it if it'll make it cheaper. The only things on TV I care to watch are local games and you could have 4-5 premium streaming services for about half the price of cable TV with FSD. It's like I'm paying an extra $35-$40 a month just to watch that one channel, FSD.
If I were to go to the bar and watch the Wings' games instead of having cable, it would cost me about the same per month if you include the price of a beer or two every game. Or I could have a gym membership and watch the games while I exercise, for a little less.
Hockey is literally the only television programming I watch.
And I'm not paying $100 a month to watch this garbage.
I had YoutubeTV, but they added 30 garbage channels for and extra $15 a month, so I canceled that. And then they lost rights anyway.
So until the TV networks and telecoms figure out how to offer me what I want without all the bloat and garbage, I'm fine using the streaming sites.
From the Red Wings perspective - they signed their last TV deal with FSD around 2008.
That was a different era of hockey.
For one, i suspect ratings are about 25 percent of what they were, based on old articles. 25 percent might be high.
For 2, that was signed before the "cut the chord" movement really got serious and streaming became so prevalent.
What I don't understand is why they don't end the NHL.TV blackouts, let the locals broadcast their ads over the network.
Yes, TV ratings will fall. But more people will see the ads they sell, and that will make more money.
I highly doubt the Red Wings want to go into the TV network business and that it's just a threat to get more money out of Sinclair.
Good luck. Sinclair is a greed SOB, as evidenced by the YoutubeTV bullshit.