TV deal & expansion
In a USA Today poll, 18,432 individuals were asked “Will you ever forgive the NHL for canceling the season?” This poll, along with many others, show the sad state of affairs that is the NHL.
Yes, I just want them to play. - 19%
Yes, but they’ll have to beg for me to come back. - 18%
No, never. This has been too much. - 16%
NHL? Refresh my memory… - 47%
Getting ESPN to pick up the option for next season is going to be a challenge, especially since many of its replacement programs are bringing in better ratings. For example, college basketball on ESPN2 (0.4% of homes) has doubled the ratings of NHL games from last year (0.2%). “It’s not a good sign when your replacement programming is outperforming the NHL,” ESPN executive vice president Mark Shapiro said. Regular season games on ESPN only brought in 0.5% of US homes.
Jerry Green wrote a column for the Detroit News in which he placed the blame on Goodenow and Bettman. He then went on to vent about over expansion and the problems that went on with it.
The NHL, with such naiveté in its leadership, expanded and over-expanded in recent years. This is the root of the economic shortfalls that prompted Bettman’s agenda to wipe out an entire season rather than to continue the pay out of multimillion-dollar salaries. It was the owners who agreed to inflate the salary structure. And for most, it was a disaster.
It was absurd for the NHL to place an expansion team in Columbus. The town is the sporting property of Ohio State and football and wintertime basketball. It was folly to expand into Nashville, a music town with southern roots and the frail knowledge that Canada is someplace up north there.
The champions of the NHL, holders indefinitely now of the Stanley Cup, represent Tampa and St. Petersburg — two suncoast Florida cities with traditional sports roots. AS SPRING TRAINING SITES FOR BASEBALL!
Miami, Dallas, Phoenix!!!! No wonder the NHL has been at the abyss for a decade.
I couldn’t agree more. Tomorrow I go back to school so I won’t be able to update to the frequency I have this past week.
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2 Responses to “TV deal & expansion”
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February 21st, 2005 at 3:39 pm
Christy… just discovered your blog today while researching for an article (I do some hockey-related freelance writing). It’s GREAT! Will definitely be stopping back to peruse more posts and archives.
On the topic of this post, I think hockey can spark interest if the team is good… my former hometown rallied around the Capitals as long as they were good. I also remember Miami getting into it when the Panthers were in the Finals back in the day. Unfort, when you have 30 teams, the liklihood of greatness popping up in say, Nashville, becomes even more unlikely.
February 25th, 2005 at 6:23 am
Thanks for linking me at your blog and for the nice compliments!