1) Tom Renney will be the assistant coach in Edmonton next season under Pat Quinn. Renney in Edmonton? Know what this means? Three more years of Jason Strudwick in an Oiler jersey.
2) Sergei Fedorov will be going to the KHL in Russia to play with his brother, Fedor, on the Metallurg Magnitogorsk. This puts to rest the commonly held theory that no one wanted to ever be on the same team as FedFed, as at least one person in the world does.
3) Years ago, people criticized Ronald Reagan for calling the Soviet Union "an Evil Empire," yet no one criticized them for actually being an evil empire. Yesterday, the NHL fined Joel Quenneville $10,000 for criticizing the officials. Quenneville questioned a penalty when the game was 2-0 which he said was the worst call in the history of the game. They fined him for saying something was wrong instead of investigating what went wrong and why the phantom call was made. Detroit scored on the ensuing power play and the game quickly got out of hand.
4) Can you imagine if both matchups end by tomorrow and we have 9 days off until the Stanley Cup Finals start? What a stark difference to the NBA, which plays Round 2 games in the West when Round 1 games in the East aren't even finished yet.
Nine days? Nine days? Nine days?! That's ridiculous! What "fringe fan" who has been interested in fast-paced Penguin/Hurricane games is going to even remember to watch again on a Saturday afternoon 9 days after the Conference Finals end!?
Of all the questionable decisions the NHL has made, this is up there as one of the worst. For Gary Bettman's sake, he better hope Carolina and Chicago get the comeback trains rolling.
Horrible. I know they want NBC to have the games on weekends, but still, there has to be someone over in the NHL offices who has a clue about how to run a league. Are the ratings on NBC on Sunday afternoon really that much higher than the Versus ratings on a Wednesday night? I would venture "not much" because the real fans watch no matter what channel it's on.
Two friends. Two bitter enemies. Two obsessed fans. One Rivalry.
Showing posts with label TV Ratings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TV Ratings. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Sunday, September 21, 2008
There's Only One... October!
...and thank God for that.
October is approaching, which means a number of things. Most notably, October brings about the baseball post-season, though one can't help but wonder how much publicity it'll get without the precious Yankees. We also get basketball training camps, which will surely get more airtime than the start of the NHL season. We'll also have football, both pro and college, in full swing, and for those soccer fans among us, the MLS playoffs, World Cup qualifying, and a critical portion of the European schedule.
Of course, we all know the real signifcance of October. Finally, it's hockey time. So, as you bide your time until hockey begins, watch the other sports and notice the things that make our game different.
As you watch the baseball regular season wind down, watch the elaborate celebrations that ensue after a team clinches a Wild Card or a Division Series win. Watch managers play certain players solely so that they can hit certain statistical milestones. Watch managers bench certain players solely so that they won't set dubious records such as most strikeouts in a season. Watch entire post-season schedules be turned upside down - and games end well after midnight - just so Fox can show its most ratings-friendly game in prime time.
As you watch the NFL with a group of fans who only care about the games for their impact on their fantasy teams, watch coaches punt from the 40 yard line because they don't want the media to criticize their playcalling. Watch defenders celebrate after the most routine of tackles and watch receivers celebrate before even reaching the end zone. Watch the two teams gather at midfield, shake hands, and chat and laugh like old college buddies, even though one of the teams just lost a huge game.
As you watch college football, watch top-ranked teams beat creampuff after creampuff, being tested only a handful of times per year. Watch the administrators continually refuse a playoff system because there's too much money in the meaningless bowl games that advertisers ogle over each year. Watch amateur athletes risk their physical well-being for an association that doesn't pay these players a dime, yet allows coaches to walk out on multi-million dollar contracts anytime a better offer comes along.
And then there's hockey.
In hockey, there's no niceties between opposing players. Each game is a war. And the only acceptable time to celebrate is after an overtime win or a Stanley Cup victory. Hockey fans gag at the thought of a team having a champagne celebration after a first-round series win. And yet, this is what baseball values - a made-for-TV event so that local Fox affiliates have something to show after the national TV broadcast is done. Baseball isn't alone, though; just about every sport out there is mostly concerned with television and advertising. And maybe it's only because nobody watches hockey, but hockey is all about the game. Always has been, always will be. So while the big names dominate the sports world over the coming month, realize that while hockey isn't the most popular sport, it's the most pure out there. We are all lucky to have it in our lives.
One last thing: After the media is done fellating itself over Yankee Stadium, they're finally going to tear that dump down. I can't wait to be the first to piss on the ashes. The Mets aren't much better, though; between the time they close up Shea Stadium and demolish it, they're going to sell every last thing in that stadium to the highest bidder. If that doesn't accurately describe the state of baseball, I don't know what does. Could you imagine the Islanders selling Coliseum seats or sheets of plexiglass? The thought makes me nauseous
October is approaching, which means a number of things. Most notably, October brings about the baseball post-season, though one can't help but wonder how much publicity it'll get without the precious Yankees. We also get basketball training camps, which will surely get more airtime than the start of the NHL season. We'll also have football, both pro and college, in full swing, and for those soccer fans among us, the MLS playoffs, World Cup qualifying, and a critical portion of the European schedule.
Of course, we all know the real signifcance of October. Finally, it's hockey time. So, as you bide your time until hockey begins, watch the other sports and notice the things that make our game different.
As you watch the baseball regular season wind down, watch the elaborate celebrations that ensue after a team clinches a Wild Card or a Division Series win. Watch managers play certain players solely so that they can hit certain statistical milestones. Watch managers bench certain players solely so that they won't set dubious records such as most strikeouts in a season. Watch entire post-season schedules be turned upside down - and games end well after midnight - just so Fox can show its most ratings-friendly game in prime time.
As you watch the NFL with a group of fans who only care about the games for their impact on their fantasy teams, watch coaches punt from the 40 yard line because they don't want the media to criticize their playcalling. Watch defenders celebrate after the most routine of tackles and watch receivers celebrate before even reaching the end zone. Watch the two teams gather at midfield, shake hands, and chat and laugh like old college buddies, even though one of the teams just lost a huge game.
As you watch college football, watch top-ranked teams beat creampuff after creampuff, being tested only a handful of times per year. Watch the administrators continually refuse a playoff system because there's too much money in the meaningless bowl games that advertisers ogle over each year. Watch amateur athletes risk their physical well-being for an association that doesn't pay these players a dime, yet allows coaches to walk out on multi-million dollar contracts anytime a better offer comes along.
And then there's hockey.
In hockey, there's no niceties between opposing players. Each game is a war. And the only acceptable time to celebrate is after an overtime win or a Stanley Cup victory. Hockey fans gag at the thought of a team having a champagne celebration after a first-round series win. And yet, this is what baseball values - a made-for-TV event so that local Fox affiliates have something to show after the national TV broadcast is done. Baseball isn't alone, though; just about every sport out there is mostly concerned with television and advertising. And maybe it's only because nobody watches hockey, but hockey is all about the game. Always has been, always will be. So while the big names dominate the sports world over the coming month, realize that while hockey isn't the most popular sport, it's the most pure out there. We are all lucky to have it in our lives.
One last thing: After the media is done fellating itself over Yankee Stadium, they're finally going to tear that dump down. I can't wait to be the first to piss on the ashes. The Mets aren't much better, though; between the time they close up Shea Stadium and demolish it, they're going to sell every last thing in that stadium to the highest bidder. If that doesn't accurately describe the state of baseball, I don't know what does. Could you imagine the Islanders selling Coliseum seats or sheets of plexiglass? The thought makes me nauseous
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Proud Of Our Game
This Stanley Cup Final has had a lot of everything. Great action. Ridiculous ratings. The awkwardness of Ed Olczyk pretending he doesn't hold a grudge against the team that fired him. 24-7 coverage on the NHL Network, which is bordering on annoying.
But for us hockey fans, it's a little bit more than all that.
Think back to three years ago... or, technically speaking, two years and eight months ago. The NHL was just coming back as "The New NHL". A few months prior, the league held its' annual draft in a hotel conference room. The league had just literally given its' broadcast TV rights to NBC for no money. Perhaps worse than that, they had just signed with a network called the Outdoor Life Network for cable coverage. Of course, nobody got the Outdoor Life Network. ESPN effectively boycotted the NHL, pushing hockey virtually off the map in America.
Look at our game now. The quality of play is the best it's been since the mid-90s. The NHL boasts legitimate superstars that people who don't watch hockey actually care about. The OLN changed its' name to Versus and became an all-sports network, with hockey as its' centerpiece. The NHL held the Winter Classic this year, and what was once a one-off game in Edmonton has since become an annual affair whose destination is savagely debated. The NHL has its' own network that shows hockey throughout the day. Perhaps most remarkably of all, TV ratings are better than they were before the lockout.
How did the NHL do this? Consider for a second that the NHL built itself up from pretty much nothing to reach the highest points it's reached in a decade. And it was all without the promotional arm of ESPN shoving the sport down people's throats. What were the keys?
- The Lockout. It sounds stupid, but it's true. The lockout itself did a world of good for the game. The old NHL was broken. Too much trapping, too much clutching and grabbing, not enough scoring. The economics of the game were totally out of control, to the point that the league would have been in serious trouble without the work stoppage.
Over the last three years, many have asked if the lockout was worth it. Looking at the game now, I'd have to say it definitely was. Just about everything good about hockey is because the league took the opportunity to totally reinvent itself. Would Sidney Crosby be such a breakout superstar under the old rules? I doubt it.
- Versus. Of all the insults the major sports media throws at hockey - and God knows there are more than a few - the leader of the pack seems to be shots at the NHL's TV deal with Versus. Sure, the channel was hard to get at first; I didn't get it until Game 1 of the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals. But now, it's available on just about every digital cable system, meaning that argument doesn't hold too much water.
What's most important about Versus' contribution is the way they present the game. When the NHL was on ESPN, you got the impression that The WorldWide Leader was more concerned with cutting to SportsCenter or a late NBA game than going in-depth into hockey. That's not a problem on Versus, who has really given the NHL a home. We get weekly games on Monday and Tuesday with Versus, along with proper pre-game and post-game shows. That goes a long way toward building loyalty with viewers. Not to mention the fact that Versus pretty much shuts down in April and May to show every playoff game they can possibly get on air. If the NHL were still on ESPN, their games would be bumped onto ESPN Classic so they could show more NBA shows on ESPN and ESPN2.
(Speaking of ESPN, doesn't it say something that even they have been forced to significantly up their coverage of the NHL these playoffs? That might be the biggest sign of all that the NHL is back.)
- Pittsburgh vs. Detroit. The game has been improving steadily over the past three seasons, both in quality and in building an audience. But it takes casual viewers to make something a hit, and this year's Stanley Cup Final was the perfect way to showcase "The New NHL". It's not so much that hockey died in America as much as nobody had a reason to care about it. I'll admit, it's hard to sell a casual sports fan on the merits of the Edmonton Oilers or Ottawa Senators. But the Penguins, with all their star power, and the perennial giants in Detroit? That's just too much.
And the proof has been in the pudding; in this case, TV ratings. The night the Detroit Pistons were bounced from the NBA playoffs, more people in Detroit were watching hockey. This year's ratings have almost doubled last year's across the board, and Game 5's rating is comparable with what the NBA has been getting for their playoffs. Mind you, this is with infinitely less promotion and media coverage. And if you incorporate Canadian viewers, it's quite likely that more North Americans are watching the Stanley Cup than the NBA.
As happy as I am to see the Finals go one more game - even if I was asleep when the goal was scored - I'm so much happier for the game of hockey. Even after the lockout, just about all of us have silently wondered if the NHL would make it. This is a tribute to all of those fans who kept watching in spite of the insults of just about everybody else. Finally, we have our day in the sun - we've certainly earned it.
But for us hockey fans, it's a little bit more than all that.
Think back to three years ago... or, technically speaking, two years and eight months ago. The NHL was just coming back as "The New NHL". A few months prior, the league held its' annual draft in a hotel conference room. The league had just literally given its' broadcast TV rights to NBC for no money. Perhaps worse than that, they had just signed with a network called the Outdoor Life Network for cable coverage. Of course, nobody got the Outdoor Life Network. ESPN effectively boycotted the NHL, pushing hockey virtually off the map in America.
Look at our game now. The quality of play is the best it's been since the mid-90s. The NHL boasts legitimate superstars that people who don't watch hockey actually care about. The OLN changed its' name to Versus and became an all-sports network, with hockey as its' centerpiece. The NHL held the Winter Classic this year, and what was once a one-off game in Edmonton has since become an annual affair whose destination is savagely debated. The NHL has its' own network that shows hockey throughout the day. Perhaps most remarkably of all, TV ratings are better than they were before the lockout.
How did the NHL do this? Consider for a second that the NHL built itself up from pretty much nothing to reach the highest points it's reached in a decade. And it was all without the promotional arm of ESPN shoving the sport down people's throats. What were the keys?
- The Lockout. It sounds stupid, but it's true. The lockout itself did a world of good for the game. The old NHL was broken. Too much trapping, too much clutching and grabbing, not enough scoring. The economics of the game were totally out of control, to the point that the league would have been in serious trouble without the work stoppage.
Over the last three years, many have asked if the lockout was worth it. Looking at the game now, I'd have to say it definitely was. Just about everything good about hockey is because the league took the opportunity to totally reinvent itself. Would Sidney Crosby be such a breakout superstar under the old rules? I doubt it.
- Versus. Of all the insults the major sports media throws at hockey - and God knows there are more than a few - the leader of the pack seems to be shots at the NHL's TV deal with Versus. Sure, the channel was hard to get at first; I didn't get it until Game 1 of the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals. But now, it's available on just about every digital cable system, meaning that argument doesn't hold too much water.
What's most important about Versus' contribution is the way they present the game. When the NHL was on ESPN, you got the impression that The WorldWide Leader was more concerned with cutting to SportsCenter or a late NBA game than going in-depth into hockey. That's not a problem on Versus, who has really given the NHL a home. We get weekly games on Monday and Tuesday with Versus, along with proper pre-game and post-game shows. That goes a long way toward building loyalty with viewers. Not to mention the fact that Versus pretty much shuts down in April and May to show every playoff game they can possibly get on air. If the NHL were still on ESPN, their games would be bumped onto ESPN Classic so they could show more NBA shows on ESPN and ESPN2.
(Speaking of ESPN, doesn't it say something that even they have been forced to significantly up their coverage of the NHL these playoffs? That might be the biggest sign of all that the NHL is back.)
- Pittsburgh vs. Detroit. The game has been improving steadily over the past three seasons, both in quality and in building an audience. But it takes casual viewers to make something a hit, and this year's Stanley Cup Final was the perfect way to showcase "The New NHL". It's not so much that hockey died in America as much as nobody had a reason to care about it. I'll admit, it's hard to sell a casual sports fan on the merits of the Edmonton Oilers or Ottawa Senators. But the Penguins, with all their star power, and the perennial giants in Detroit? That's just too much.
And the proof has been in the pudding; in this case, TV ratings. The night the Detroit Pistons were bounced from the NBA playoffs, more people in Detroit were watching hockey. This year's ratings have almost doubled last year's across the board, and Game 5's rating is comparable with what the NBA has been getting for their playoffs. Mind you, this is with infinitely less promotion and media coverage. And if you incorporate Canadian viewers, it's quite likely that more North Americans are watching the Stanley Cup than the NBA.
As happy as I am to see the Finals go one more game - even if I was asleep when the goal was scored - I'm so much happier for the game of hockey. Even after the lockout, just about all of us have silently wondered if the NHL would make it. This is a tribute to all of those fans who kept watching in spite of the insults of just about everybody else. Finally, we have our day in the sun - we've certainly earned it.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Awesome
I'm trying to watch Sharks-Stars on Versus. It's on the regular channel, but not on the HD feed. Why not? Turns out they're showing some golf tournament that happened earlier today. I know it happened earlier today because it's sunny outside on TV. They've since gone into a rousing telecast of "Golf Central".
Now, I understand that Versus and The Golf Channel share an HD channel, and I understand that Versus has bumped golf programming in the past. I also understand that Versus has done a ridiculously good job with this year's playoffs. But come on! I really wanted to watch this game, but HD is hard to live without when you get to experience it on a daily basis. So, thanks to the transgressions of Versus and/or The Golf Channel, I'm stuck watching the game in a small box on the bottom right hand corner of my screen. The Mets are on the West Coast and in HD; obviously, they get the nod here.
Again, not knocking Versus here. I'm just nitpicking. To prove it, here's a tidbit about Versus that you won't hear reported anywhere - their ratings are better than the ratings ESPN2 got when they broadcast the NHL before the lockout. Given the issues with distribution and Versus' less-than-favorable position on most TV dials, that's a great achievement. Kudos to all involved.
Now, I understand that Versus and The Golf Channel share an HD channel, and I understand that Versus has bumped golf programming in the past. I also understand that Versus has done a ridiculously good job with this year's playoffs. But come on! I really wanted to watch this game, but HD is hard to live without when you get to experience it on a daily basis. So, thanks to the transgressions of Versus and/or The Golf Channel, I'm stuck watching the game in a small box on the bottom right hand corner of my screen. The Mets are on the West Coast and in HD; obviously, they get the nod here.
Again, not knocking Versus here. I'm just nitpicking. To prove it, here's a tidbit about Versus that you won't hear reported anywhere - their ratings are better than the ratings ESPN2 got when they broadcast the NHL before the lockout. Given the issues with distribution and Versus' less-than-favorable position on most TV dials, that's a great achievement. Kudos to all involved.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)