NHL TV ratings

[H2P-2007]

As has been said repeatedly, fans mostly only watch their own NHL teams.

A bunch of teams with large fanbases are bad right now: Philly, Pittsburgh, Montreal, Ottowa, Chicago, and Vancouver.

A bunch of teams with no fan base (that I've ever seen) are good: Tampa, Carolina, Dallas, Seattle, Vegas.

I don't think it's a fixable marketing issues, as much as an issue that the salary cap has provided too much parity, and a bunch of major market teams are having down years.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

As has been said repeatedly, fans mostly only watch their own NHL teams.

A bunch of teams with large fanbases are bad right now: Philly, Pittsburgh, Montreal, Ottowa, Chicago, and Vancouver.

A bunch of teams with no fan base (that I've ever seen) are good: Tampa, Carolina, Dallas, Seattle, Vegas.

I don't think it's a fixable marketing issues, as much as an issue that the salary cap has provided too much parity, and a bunch of major market teams are having down years.

That's a very good point. With the Pens being a bit down, Detroit, Chicago and Philly with massive rebuilds, that does not help ratings.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

As has been said repeatedly, fans mostly only watch their own NHL teams.

A bunch of teams with large fanbases are bad right now: Philly, Pittsburgh, Montreal, Ottowa, Chicago, and Vancouver.

A bunch of teams with no fan base (that I've ever seen) are good: Tampa, Carolina, Dallas, Seattle, Vegas.

I don't think it's a fixable marketing issues, as much as an issue that the salary cap has provided too much parity, and a bunch of major market teams are having down years.

This makes me wonder if the NHL should get rid of the salary cap so the teams that have large fanbases and a lot of money like the Pens can always be good.....for TV ratings. Carolina, Tampa, Nashville being good isnt good for the league. Its kinda stupid really. The salary cap makes sense in all other American sports but not sure it does in hockey. Tampa, FL being good at hockey while Pgh or Buffalo or Detroit isnt is very bad

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

This makes me wonder if the NHL should get rid of the salary cap so the teams that have large fanbases and a lot of money like the Pens can always be good.....for TV ratings. Carolina, Tampa, Nashville being good isnt good for the league. Its kinda stupid really. The salary cap makes sense in all other American sports but not sure it does in hockey. Tampa, FL being good at hockey while Pgh or Buffalo or Detroit isnt is very bad

No. The revenues aren't there.....too much reliance on gate. That is stupid. Does the NBA suffer because Golden State and Milwaukee are good and the Knicks aren't?

 

[kma0043]

Im not sure if anyone has stated it, but the games most excited player is buried away in Siberia. Imagine if McDavid was in LA (like Gretzky in 90s) or NY. That’d boost ratings.

 

[pittchagg]

I don't know what the numbers are among adults, but among kids, up through high school age, there are more kids that play soccer than hockey, and it's not even close.

I mean they can't even get the WPIAL and the PIAA to sanction hockey. There are 57 high schools in the PIHL, and 9 of them are not WPIAL schools (for instance Cathedral Prep and Wheeling Park are in the league). There are 104 schools in the WPIAL playing boys soccer.

Yeah, and where I grew up in Central PA, it looks like there are 22 teams in the regional high school hockey league, the CPIHL - many of them are merged/combined teams with kids from multiple schools on the same team. There are 122 schools in District 3 who have boys soccer teams.

 

[Pitt79]

FYI ..... there is an ice hockey rink in New Castle. Pa, (actually in Neshannock Township just outside New Castle) called Hess Ice Arena (it's located really close to Neshannock High School) ..... built in 1991 as an outdoor rink and was fully enclosed in 1993 ..... it's still in operation today ...... I haven't been in it for many years but remember it well ....... Neshannock and Wilmington High School hockey teams in the PIHL use it as their home facility and Lawerence County amateur teams in the PAHL use it ....... they have figure skating there as well ...... so Lawerence County kids have been playing hockey for ~30+ years.

OK, I haven't lived in New Castle since 1987, my parents retired and moved out of town in 1991. I didn't live far from Neshannock Township, but this all came after I moved away, I've probably only visited there 8-10 times total since 1991, so I guess I'm somewhat wrong for the last 30 year, but my memory is probably correct for pre-1991

 

[Pitt79]

Yeah. I really don't remember anyone from New Castle playing hockey. Though I believe JT Miller grew up near there (East Palestine OH) before the family moved to Pittsburgh area. But even in college and just playing in local beer leagues, never knew anyone from New Castle who played hockey.

I never knew there where local beer leagues

 

[Pitt79]

Im not sure if anyone has stated it, but the games most excited player is buried away in Siberia. Imagine if McDavid was in LA (like Gretzky in 90s) or NY. That’d boost ratings.

So you think a people will start watching if the stars where all in LA or NY, I'd still just watch ONLY the Pens. I might stop watching completely if they made it like European soccer and only 4-5 rich teams would win every year and Pittsburgh would be like Everton or something and never be in contention.

 

[Pitt79]

Yeah. I really don't remember anyone from New Castle playing hockey. Though I believe JT Miller grew up near there (East Palestine OH) before the family moved to Pittsburgh area. But even in college and just playing in local beer leagues, never knew anyone from New Castle who played hockey.

East Palestine, Ohio? That might as well be Siberia to people in New Castle I never knew anyone from there?

 

[Fk_Pitt]

Im not sure if anyone has stated it, but the games most excited player is buried away in Siberia. Imagine if McDavid was in LA (like Gretzky in 90s) or NY. That’d boost ratings.

I’m not sure that matters. The NHL was never been able to capitalize on Gretzky, Lemieux, Crosby, Ovechkin, Yzerman either. The NHL has been trying to figure this out for 50 years. They don’t know what the answers are and neither do we.

MLB’s issues are that it’s slow and boring and they are trying to address it.

NHL isn’t slow, in fact it’s quite the opposite. Yet most Americans find it boring. So good luck finding the answer.

I’m pretty sure the franchises are still quite valuable. I don’t think the owners are struggling. So maybe we shouldn’t be so concerned with their ratings. We like what we like regardless if millions are watching along with us, or if just thousands are watching. As long as the buildings are full, that’s what matters for me as a viewer.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

I’m not sure that matters. The NHL was never been able to capitalize on Gretzky, Lemieux, Crosby, Ovechkin, Yzerman either. The NHL has been trying to figure this out for 50 years. They don’t know what the answers are and neither do we.

MLB’s issues are that it’s slow and boring and they are trying to address it.

NHL isn’t slow, in fact it’s quite the opposite. Yet most Americans find it boring. So good luck finding the answer.

I’m pretty sure the franchises are still quite valuable. I don’t think the owners are struggling. So maybe we shouldn’t be so concerned with their ratings. We like what we like regardless if millions are watching along with us, or if just thousands are watching. As long as the buildings are full, that’s what matters for me as a viewer.

It just doesn't translate as well on TV as other sports. In fact a some sports are better viewed on TV. But hockey is better live. Another thing, most hockey players, at least the great ones, are too humble. They are polite to a fault. The biggest personalities are usually reserved for 3rd line type of players.

The NHL also does a horrid job marketing. When the Pens play the Oilers or the Caps play the Oilers, those game should always be on nationally. You look, they will have Chicago vs the Rangers. Ya know, "Original Six" when no one cares about that anymore. Imagine the NBA have Lebron play Stef Curry or Doncic and not televising it? Brady and Mahomes, you guarentee that would be Sunday Night Football.

Plus again, look at the names above:
Gretzky, Lemieux, Jagr, Crosby, Ovy, McDavid, all foreign and fairly boring personalities.

It's a regional sport, and I am okay with that. The Americanism inteferes, the more commercial/ad dependent a sport becomes.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

It just doesn't translate as well on TV as other sports. In fact a some sports are better viewed on TV. But hockey is better live. Another thing, most hockey players, at least the great ones, are too humble. They are polite to a fault. The biggest personalities are usually reserved for 3rd line type of players.

The NHL also does a horrid job marketing. When the Pens play the Oilers or the Caps play the Oilers, those game should always be on nationally. You look, they will have Chicago vs the Rangers. Ya know, "Original Six" when no one cares about that anymore. Imagine the NBA have Lebron play Stef Curry or Doncic and not televising it? Brady and Mahomes, you guarentee that would be Sunday Night Football.

Plus again, look at the names above:
Gretzky, Lemieux, Jagr, Crosby, Ovy, McDavid, all foreign and fairly boring personalities.

It's a regional sport, and I am okay with that. The Americanism inteferes, the more commercial/ad dependent a sport becomes.

The Oilers should never be on national TV in the US. You lose a home team market. The NHL should have rigged it so McDavid got to play in Boston or New York.

 

[kma0043]

The Oilers should never be on national TV in the US. You lose a home team market. The NHL should have rigged it so McDavid got to play in Boston or New York.

As a Sabres fan I remember the year leading up to that draft. Rooting for them to lose, rooting for the tank. The Erie Otters with McDavid even played a regular season OHL game at KeyBank Center in Buffalo. The ping pong balls fell the wrong way and we got the number 2 pick in dog turd Jack Eichel. McDavid grew up in Mississauga and would’ve been in many American/Canadian TV sets if things went differently.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

As a Sabres fan I remember the year leading up to that draft. Rooting for them to lose, rooting for the tank. The Erie Otters with McDavid even played a regular season OHL game at KeyBank Center in Buffalo. The ping pong balls fell the wrong way and we got the number 2 pick in dog turd Jack Eichel. McDavid grew up in Mississauga and would’ve been in many American/Canadian TV sets if things went differently.

Yeah sometimes when you have a prospect like a Lemieux, Ovy, Crosby, McDavid, the #2 pick just cannot compare. Except in Ovy's year, the Pens lucked out because Malkin would likely been #1 overall in every draft the last 20 years except for Sid, Ovy and McDavid.

Eichel is decent player, but seems like a prick.

 

[Fk_Pitt]

It just doesn't translate as well on TV as other sports. In fact a some sports are better viewed on TV. But hockey is better live. Another thing, most hockey players, at least the great ones, are too humble. They are polite to a fault. The biggest personalities are usually reserved for 3rd line type of players.

The NHL also does a horrid job marketing. When the Pens play the Oilers or the Caps play the Oilers, those game should always be on nationally. You look, they will have Chicago vs the Rangers. Ya know, "Original Six" when no one cares about that anymore. Imagine the NBA have Lebron play Stef Curry or Doncic and not televising it? Brady and Mahomes, you guarentee that would be Sunday Night Football.

Plus again, look at the names above:
Gretzky, Lemieux, Jagr, Crosby, Ovy, McDavid, all foreign and fairly boring personalities.

It's a regional sport, and I am okay with that. The Americanism inteferes, the more commercial/ad dependent a sport becomes.

Yeah but my point is, why should we care about the owners wallets? That’s the only thing ratings increases will impact.

Case in point…all the top 5 domestic soccer leagues in Europe made a combined 17 billion and the UEFA champions league made like 3.5 billion. So the euro big leagues made 20 billion combined, not counting all the smaller countries leagues and divisions. BUT…the EPL, the most popular league in the world, made 6 billion by itself. Guess what the NHL made? 5 billion. So the point is, the NHL is fine. If the NHL is almost as profitable as the EPL, I’d say they are doing pretty good. And furthermore, they’ve kept their salaries in check, whereas the EPL top 6 teams haven’t.

The NHL is fine. No reason for us to worry.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

Yeah but my point is, why should we care about the owners wallets? That’s the only thing ratings increases will impact.

Case in point…all the top 5 domestic soccer leagues in Europe made a combined 17 billion and the UEFA champions league made like 3.5 billion. So the euro big leagues made 20 billion combined, not counting all the smaller countries leagues and divisions. BUT…the EPL, the most popular league in the world, made 6 billion by itself. Guess what the NHL made? 5 billion. So the point is, the NHL is fine. If the NHL is almost as profitable as the EPL, I’d say they are doing pretty good. And furthermore, they’ve kept their salaries in check, whereas the EPL top 6 teams haven’t.

The NHL is fine. No reason for us to worry.

Mr. Third Tier TV Rights worries.

 

[Pitt79]

The NHL should have rigged it so McDavid got to play in Boston or New York.

That would suck, so would they ever have rigged it so Mario or Sid would end up in Pittsburgh?

 

[Zeldas Open Roof]

That would suck, so would they ever have rigged it so Mario or Sid would end up in Pittsburgh?

im still 94% convinced the Nba did this with the frozen envelope with Patrick Ewing..

 

[happjack]

im still 94% convinced the Nba did this with the frozen envelope with Patrick Ewing..

It’s was most likely a bent corner on the envelope.