Stanley Cup Game Seven: Ratings Gold For the NHL

I do have to temper this optimism by saying that up until game seven ratings were actually down throughout this year's Stanley Cup playoffs compared to 2008. Still, even though it took six games, it looks like the U.S. viewing public really got it in the end! From the New York Times:

 

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NBC’s game seven Red Wings-Penguins broadcast easily topped the U.S. overnight figures for Friday night, averaging an estimated 7.51 million viewers nationwide. The biggest audience, an estimated 9.07 million, tuned in to watch the end of the game and the victorious Penguins lift the Stanley Cup.

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The Times even speculated that game seven may be NBC's most watched event of the week. Not bad for a sport that many pronounced to be dead after moving to Versus.

 

Speaking of Versus, I, like most hockey fans, would like to see NHL games moved to a cable channel that, unlike Versus, is carried in every market. I will not, however, come begging to ESPN like some homeless vagabond to 'please please come take the game back!"

Why? Well ESPN has shown itself to be a better promoter of male soap operas. "What did Terrell Owens says about his former coach?", "Why did LeBron storm off the court and not shake his opponents hand?"

Want actual highlights? Go elsewhere. Sit down one day and actually compare the time ESPN spends on commentary vs. game highlights if you don't believe me!

For this story and more, check out Washington-Capitals-Examiner~y2009m6d15-Stanley-Cup-game-7ratings-gold-for-the-NHL">Washington Capitals Examiner

I mean ESPN is a network that last year, in addition to the reporting on NHL, NBA, and college scores shown at the bottom of the screen, had an entire sub-category entitled "Favre," just in case you somehow missed the latest on how Brett was testing out his arm by power steering his truck.

Who needs coverage like that? And outside of the playoffs, you'll usually only get one game highlight, if they show highlights at all from the various regular season hockey games.

I say the NHL doesn't need a network that would obviously treat it as second fiddle to sports like golf and even non-sporting events like poker. (For the record though I am a big poker fan.) Perhaps this column explains better why I don't think the NHL and ESPN need to renew vows after their messy divorce.

 

The happier solution for hockey coverage is the one actually moving forward through the NHL Network. Imagine watching the game through a network that caters to hockey all the time. Not male soap operas like ESPN, and no fly fishing or skeet shooting like on Versus. I'm talking a place that can allow you to not only watch current games but relive the glory years of Gretzky, Lemieux, and Rocket Richard.

It's coming folks, and most of America will actually get NHL Networks! From the news release:

 

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Comcast announced a long-term agreement Tuesday with the NHL Network to add it to its Digital Classic tier by the start of the 2009-2010 season. Under terms of the agreement, the NHL Network will reach nearly two-thirds of Comcast's total digital customer base. Comcast is the nation's largest cable television provider.

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In addition to live games, Comcast's Digital Classic customers will receive coverage of the Winter Classic, All-Star Game, entry draft, Stanley Cup finals, post-game news conferences, and World Junior hockey. Also included is the network's daily highlight show, "NHL on the Fly."

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You don't hear many people thank giant faceless corporations, but I want to thank Comcast (even though you charge too much) for at least reading the trends. The much maligned Versus, (who I actually don't mind in terms of coverage) got their highest rating ever Thursday night for Stanley Cup game four with 3.45 million viewers.

Versus Stanley Cup playoff ratings as a whole were up 27 percent and regular season ratings for Versus were up 20 percent. 

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman gets bashed for everything under the sun, and indeed some of it is fair. He may have expanded the game too quickly into the South and I hardly understand the reasoning for trying to keep the bankrupt Phoenix Coyotes in Arizona, but let's also give Bettman credit. The outdoor Winter Classic has struck a chord with both casual sports fans and traditional hockey fans, and has also produced NBC's highest rating for a regular season game in a decade.

By thinking outside of the box and connecting with hockey's outdoor routes, the game was also recognized by the SportsBusiness Journal as being the sporting event of the year for 2009.  

 

But the story of the NHL's increasing national success wouldn't have been possible without some nice regional stories, including one from our own team.

 

Chicago for one has seen the most substantial rise ever in professional sports, moving from second to last in attendance to number one in a mere matter of years. As is usually the case, the rise doens't center on just one thing but is relevant to a number of factors.

In the Blackhawks you have not only one of the brightest young teams in the league, but also moved the team's radio broadcasts to powerhouse WGN, and won the 2009 site for the Winter Classic, allowing the Blackhawks to play at Wrigley Field.

 

The Capitals connected as well with with a fan-centric marketing campaign that encouraged D.C. ‘to rock the red,’ doing a fantastic job connecting with not just average hockey fans but people who weren’t necessarily into the sport.

It doesn’t hurt to have one of the most exciting players in the league in Alexander Ovechkin, but the team did more than just outwardly market. The content on WashingtonCapitals.com was perhaps the strongest in the league with the best and only blog in the business from a team’s owner, in Ted’s Take. (Ted Leonsis’s blog) 

The team also has not one but two other fantastic blogs, one from the Capitals PR staff and one from Mike Vogal who does independent hockey writing on the team. Vogal also produces and excellent video podcast with the highly acclaimed Brett Leonhardt who got his 15 minutes of fame appearing on the bench in a Capitals jersey as an emergency backup goalie. 

The website has constantly ranked among the tops in the NHL, and with a young trio that is just as, if not more, exciting than the one featured on the Blackhawks, the Capitals saw their ratings skyrocket this year, moving up 140 percent compared to last year.

So if you want to see one of the reasons the NHL is doing better in terms of revenue and ratings, you only have to look right in front of your eyes.