NBC Sports Network: A Small Step for the NHL on the Road Back to Popularity

Any NHL fan knows that he or she is part of a niche sport.

Considered a contender to overtake the NBA in the late 90s, the NHL seemed to be clawing its way to popularity. However, the labor dispute and eventual lockout of the '04-'05 season destroyed much of the fan base and crippled the NHL's exposure in the sports world. 

Cast aside by ESPN, the NHL was scrambling for a TV deal to put them back in the national spotlight. However, the NHL merely had to settle with what was then the Outdoor Life Network (OLN), a new channel which featured hunting and fishing. OLN, while far from a powerhouse in the TV world, offered the NHL one of few opportunities to get on TV. The league, still reeling from the labor dispute, signed a two-year, $130 million contract before the start of the '05-'06 season. 

The first years were rough for both parties. OLN failed to land a TV package with the NFL, and the NHL recorded incredibly low numbers for attendance and TV ratings. The Stanley Cup Finals in 2006 averaged about 600,000 viewers. OLN tried to gain numbers with a name change to Versus, a name which emphasized the NHL's matchups. Nothing seemed to work. 

Then, in its third season, the network, along with the NHL seemed to have a breakthrough. Helped by a keynote match up, the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals were watched by an average of 2.3 million viewers. 

The underlying problem with Versus was the lack of a brand name and lack of identity. Versus seemed torn between wanting to broadcast duck hunting and fishing programs and wanting to be a legitimate sports network. That's not to say duck hunting and fishing aren't legitimate; they just aren't sports built for TV. 

Networks like ESPN2 were able to broadcast less than savory mid-day programming because of their parent company, ESPN, and their nightly programming. Versus, on the other hand, came off as an offshoot sports network. 

However, Versus, in hopefully its final re-branding, emerged from the New Year with its coverage of the NHL Winter Classic as the NBC Sports Network (NBCSN). 

Hunting and Fishing shows are still on NBCSN; however, NBC has began to cut out some shows, replacing them with legitimate sports talk shows and looks into sports past. With a brand name, the network will grow its availability in households and become much more known than Versus. 

Gone are the days of "What is Versus?" The NHL finally finds itself on a reasonable, albeit still growing, network. There will inevitably be growing pains, as there were in the early years of the network, but for now it seems as though the NHL is forcing itself back into the world of mainstream and relevant sports.