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I LOVE HOCKEY! I think it is one of the most entertaining professional sports on the planet. Yet, the media in my area gives it the same consideration as a red headed stepchild.
I recognize that it is not as popular in the west, but c'mon.....
As of lately, ESPN, Highlight Express, and Sportscenter will show reruns of March Madness and NBA highlights before they show a single hockey highlight.
Actually, they will show pre-season baseball, NASCAR, golf, boxing, college lacrosse, and one legged wrestlers (not kidding) in lieu of ANY NHL highlights.
It's bad enough they have no nationally televised games (other than the "Game of the week" on Sunday mornings), but in the last several weeks, I'm hard pressed to see HIGHLIGHTS on these channels. It's like the sport doesn't even exist. In my area, they don't even start to show the Stanley Cup Finals on national TV until Game 3.
Is there something going on that I don't know about between the NHL and the networks? Could someone enlighten me......
As fas as the Stanley Cup Finals, it's often been standard to start televising games starting at game #3, especially since the NHL doesn't really have a large national network ( Versus for most reg season games, or NBC for a half-dozen weekend matinee games )..
The sport still suffers from an inferiority complex at times, and it's almost always been ranked #4 in a top-4 sports setting ( football, baseball, basketball, hockey). The NHL finals were recently broadcast by ABC/ESPN ( with Gary Thorne/Bill Clement), but when ESPN dropped hockey coverage, no major network picked them up, leaving the league to have its games televised on the then-unknown Versus network..
There is still the temptation to regard the NHL as a "Canadian" league, and as recently as the 1970s the league was comprised almost exclusively by Canadians; this has changed, as the game has become a conglomerate of Canadians, Europeans and Americans, but sometimes the perception lingers..
Yeah - their TV contract expired about the same time as their last lock out .... ESPN cut a lot of revenue from their renewal proposal so the NHL took a lot more money to go to versus
What they didn't contemplate is that ESPN is also an advertising machine ..... as soon as the move was made NHL 2 Night died and highlights were pretty much removed from there as well .... it's come back a little bit, but not much at all
You're in a tough area for NHL coverage as there is no local team - Vancouver to the north & San Jose to the south at about twice the distance ...... neither are really close ....... going east there is nothing until you hit the mid-west (denver & phoenix in there if you drop way south)
If at all possible for you to get the NHL network I would highly recommend it .... they show a decent schedule of games and their highlight show is very good (NHL on the Fly)
As fas as the Stanley Cup Finals, it's often been standard to start televising games starting at game #3, especially since the NHL doesn't really have a large national network ( Versus for most reg season games, or NBC for a half-dozen weekend matinee games )..
This is rediculous. What if the NBA and MLB didn't show the finals until game three? There would be riots in the streets. Heck, what if the networks showed NO playoff games leading up to the finals? What bugs me the most is that they will show ice skating, horse racing, foreign league soccer, and obscure college sports before they show NHL games on national TV.
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The sport still suffers from an inferiority complex at times, and it's almost always been ranked #4 in a top-4 sports setting ( football, baseball, basketball, hockey).
A #4 ranking behind those other three sports is fine, but the coverage reflects NOTHING near that level of priority.
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The NHL finals were recently broadcast by ABC/ESPN ( with Gary Thorne/Bill Clement), but when ESPN dropped hockey coverage, no major network picked them up, leaving the league to have its games televised on the then-unknown Versus network..
So ESPN is the main culprit then. They are a sports broadcaster. Why drop the 4th most popular professional sport from your coverage? It is sickening to me the gratuitous coverage the channel gives to pro and college hoops. I don't have a problem with b-ball, but damn, spread the wealth around a little.
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There is still the temptation to regard the NHL as a "Canadian" league, and as recently as the 1970s the league was comprised almost exclusively by Canadians; this has changed, as the game has become a conglomerate of Canadians, Europeans and Americans, but sometimes the perception lingers..
Where does that temptation come from? Only six of the current teams are based north of the border. What does hockey have to do to get the same attention as the other three major sports? I realize that nothing will rival the popularity of football and baseball, but that doesn't mean that there can't be a little more coverage of NHL.
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Originally Posted by Finger Laker
Yeah - their TV contract expired about the same time as their last lock out .... ESPN cut a lot of revenue from their renewal proposal so the NHL took a lot more money to go to versus
Still, Verses is just one channel with what? One game every other night? Even when hockey games were shown on ESPN, they were slim to none.
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What they didn't contemplate is that ESPN is also an advertising machine ..... as soon as the move was made NHL 2 Night died and highlights were pretty much removed from there as well .... it's come back a little bit, but not much at all
So it's all about the money as usual. Fans be damned. I guess I just gotta settle down and pay for NHL Center Ice.
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You're in a tough area for NHL coverage as there is no local team - Vancouver to the north & San Jose to the south at about twice the distance ...... neither are really close ....... going east there is nothing until you hit the mid-west (denver & phoenix in there if you drop way south)
Even when I lived in Los Angeles a decade ago, the pickings were still slim, and they have two pro teams. Somehow, I don't think location is the big issue.
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If at all possible for you to get the NHL network I would highly recommend it .... they show a decent schedule of games and their highlight show is very good (NHL on the Fly)
Yeah, ESPN told NHL that their ratings were similar to WNBA and wouldn't give them much $$$. So NHL went to VS. for more money. They wont say it, but ESPN is essentially punishing hockey for leaving the network. They rarely show highlights unless there is nothing else to show, and ONLY if a big market or superstar is involved.
The NHL was foolish to leave ESPN. As mentioned above they are a huge advertising/publicity machine that almost every home has access too. Lots of cablesystems don't carry VS....and they only show one game a night. Big mistake Bettman. ESPN knows hockey will crawl on their knees to get back on that network.
Lots of cablesystems don't carry VS....and they only show one game a night.
True. And the ones that do have VS usually require a more expensive cable package than basic. It may be worth it to upgrade for the playoffs. I hate to bend over and take it from corporate interests, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.
Yeah, hockey isn't so big here either. Well, sports in general aren't big here. lol I admit, I am into the NCAA basketball right now for obvious reasons (see screen name lol) , but I LOVE hockey!!!!!! Hubby & I root for the Pens!!!!! NHL network & VS play an okay amount of Pens games. Not alot, but, we watch when they are on. =) I mean, come on, hockey is one of the only sports where the players can actually PLAY! I admit, I love the fights, I love the hits. We've been to the Hockey HOF in Toronto. The Stanley Cup was there at the time, & we have a pic of hubby & I w/ our arms around it.
I LOVE HOCKEY! I think it is one of the most entertaining professional sports on the planet. Yet, the media in my area gives it the same consideration as a red headed stepchild.
I recognize that it is not as popular in the west, but c'mon.....
As of lately, ESPN, Highlight Express, and Sportscenter will show reruns of March Madness and NBA highlights before they show a single hockey highlight.
Actually, they will show pre-season baseball, NASCAR, golf, boxing, college lacrosse, and one legged wrestlers (not kidding) in lieu of ANY NHL highlights.
It's bad enough they have no nationally televised games (other than the "Game of the week" on Sunday mornings), but in the last several weeks, I'm hard pressed to see HIGHLIGHTS on these channels. It's like the sport doesn't even exist. In my area, they don't even start to show the Stanley Cup Finals on national TV until Game 3.
Is there something going on that I don't know about between the NHL and the networks? Could someone enlighten me......
as much as i love hockey and want it to become more popular... i think it is... slowly. i don't think regular season nhl games will ever be considered more important than march madness; nor should they. hopefully soon we'll at least get our highlights before nascar and one legged wrestlers though... hopefully maybe even the nba too.
as much as i love hockey and want it to become more popular... i think it is... slowly. i don't think regular season nhl games will ever be considered more important than march madness; nor should they. hopefully soon we'll at least get our highlights before nascar and one legged wrestlers though... hopefully maybe even the nba too.
I agree with you about the March Madness. It does take priority. Problem is, they will show re-run after re-run of the same game highlights and not show a stitch of NHL highlights. It's almost like the media wants hockey fans to feel the slap in the face. Or is it the slap shot to the grill?
I guess it's been building up to this point, yet I have never really noticed how much until the last several weeks. Even the wife has noticed, so I know it's not just me.
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