[stsags11]

The debate about whether NHL players should be in the Olympics is over. They should and beating the overrated Canadians is proof that them going to the Olympics only means better ratings for the NHL. Turn on US TV this morning, oh that's right LS you can't because you live up there. I told you last year that the US is not like CDN and we need this kind of exposure to grow the game. I was right then and I am right now, it is all over the news and a giant buzz down here this morning. If you watched Jeremy Roenick talk last night, he said what I said to you last year. Both he and I were 10 when in 1980 we beat the Russians and that win made us want to play hockey in Massachusetts. Beating your Canadians will have the same effect it did in 1980, I guarantee it.

Thing is LS, I live here, I know what Yanks want and what Yanks will watch, you shouldn't speak about things you can't comprehend. Without this coverage hockey does not get spotlighted. Look for a huge boost in ratings this coming playoffs.

I am sure this post gets deleted because....well because it is not touchy feely love everyone enough for this site.

This point has been edited by damned: 22 February 2010 - 01:44 PM
Reason for edit: I think it's pretty clear.

[DevRickus]

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm299/chefricochet/animated/clapping-1.gif

[Avsfreak18]

yes on the substance... when Team USA has these wins it goes along way to help hockey in the States thus helping the NHL

[LeaferSutherland]

I suppose that is one way to look at things.

However, the way I see it, every fan of team USA, both in these Olympics as well as in the past World Juniors, probably should send Mr. Bettman and the BoG a nice thank you card for working on developing hockey in the States so that your teams can now be considered competitive, rather than merely a "miracle".

It's somewhat like the chicken and the egg theory. If a competitive team can create exposure, prior exposure probably created the competitiveness. And if the NHL didn't spend so much time marketing and expanding in the States, Americans might not have an Olympic team worth watching.

[Potvin29]

Can you please quantify this Stags?

I live in the states too and I have also seen the ratings numbers for the NHL and so far the benefit to NHL hockey has been extremely marginal.

Where the gains have been is in OLYMPIC hockey. Before NHL players were allowed in the Olympic Tourney was generally buried on the tv roster but the pros have drawn more attention and it has helped international programs to attempt and improve their programs, I.E. Belarus, Swiss, Norway, etc...

But as far as US market teams go the benefit is basically nil. Very few fans in the US watch an Olympic hockey game and go, "Oh gee wow what a sport I am a fan now." Whats really happening is that more NHL fans are watching Olympic hockey. In the past US hockey fans ignored the Olympics.

This game helps US hockey but does very little for the NHL.

[Potvin29]

Quote

Coyotes General Manager Don Maloney looks at the Olympics as great entertainment for hockey fans but at the same time wonders about the overall benefits of having NHL players participate. That includes the risk of injury as well as the rationale for shutting down the season for two weeks.

"(For) the NHL, at least at this stage, there is no tangible financial benefit," he said. "We all enjoy the Olympics, love to watch it, but I personally like the amateurs. I like the unexpected.

"It's all revenue, television revenue. If they had some tangible benefit other than the good will of seeing the best players - we all enjoy that, the fans love it - but I think there's some really hard discussions going forward to see whether it makes sense for this league to shut down."

source

Quote

"For me, the benefits to the NHL are not nearly enough reason to play in the Olympics," said Flyers senior vice president Bob Clarke.

"Sure, players like it, but there aren't any real benefits to the NHL. You might have to take off a whole month and cram more games in.

"The emotions of cheering for your own country make people say the Olympics are so much better than the NHL," Clarke continued. "But it's just the emotion that's better, not the hockey. Personally, I think the NHL should just stay out of it."

Although few NHL owners like the idea of shutting down the regular season for two weeks -- forcing them to fill their buildings with concerts, circuses and ice shows -- many believe there are residual benefits to playing games in the more favorable time zone of Vancouver.

But with the 2014 Games scheduled for Russia and the 2018 Games slated for either France, Germany or South Korea, few believe the NHL will run the risk of suspending its season for games that will be played live at 3 a.m. Eastern time.

source

Quote

But it’s understandable why the NHL isn’t 100% sold on the idea. The return on their investment — shutting down a league for games on the international stage — hasn’t translated enough to the bottom line through television revenue.

Sure, it makes sense to put the league on hiatus it when the tournament is in Salt Lake City or Vancouver. Travel isn’t the issue. It’s time zones.

Canadian hockey fans will be awake at ungodly hours to watch their team play in Sochi, but nowhere near as many will be willing to watch the Czechs play Finland or the like.

How many south of the border will do the same even when the U.S. is skating?

Not enough to translate into great TV ratings for NHL action afterwards.

source

In Torino the ratings were awful because most fans had to watch tape delays or stay up until the middle of the night. The NHL reaped no benefit at all... Add that in to the 2+ weeks the league has to shut down and factor in the lost revenues because of it. Instead of regular hockey the arenas have to scramble to fill with concerts or go dark. Worse, the fan effect. With almost 3 weeks off fans become complacent and some teams have seen attendance numbers DROP AFTER THE OYLMPICS!

This point has been edited by Potvin29: 22 February 2010 - 12:54 PM

[stsags11]

You absolutely are not paying attention. The attention and interest is booming in the US this morning. It is on front page news, news shows, web sites and everywhere else you can think of. The US has not had a victory like this since 1980. I know what a boast the victory did back then. Hockey was very popular in the 80s in the US, it was clearly the 4th sport....now...bowling and car racing crush it on TV. I think you guys are too young to remember 1980 and what it did for hockey down here. I guarantee the US moves on and we will see a big surge in the NHL again. I have read plenty of comments this morning, like "I forgot how good hockey was" so please spare me, it does nothing for the sport down here.

And how am I supposed to quantify something that has not happened yet? I said this will boast this coming NHL playoffs.

[Potvin29]

Even when you look at ratings figures there doesn't seem to be any correlation to the Olympics at all. In fact the ratings seem to dip in Olympic years like 1998 and 2006.

Quote

Stanley Cup Finals

Year Network Teams Rating

1995 Fox New Jersey-Detroit 3.4
1996 Fox Colorado-Florida 3.6
1997 Fox Detroit-Philadelphia 4.0
1998 Fox Detroit-Washington 3.3
1999 Fox Dallas-Buffalo 3.4
2000 ABC New Jersey-Dallas 3.7
2001 ABC Colorado-New Jersey 3.3
2002 ABC Detroit-Carolina 3.6
2003 ABC New Jersey-Anaheim 2.9
2004 ABC Tampa Bay-Calgary 2.6
2006 NBC Carolina-Edmonton 2.3
2007 NBC Anaheim-Ottawa 1.6
2008 NBC Detroit-Pittsburgh 3.1
2009 NBC Detroit-Pittsburgh 3.1

Regular Season

Season Network # of Dates Rating

1994-95 Fox 5 2.0
1995-96 Fox 6 2.1
1996-97 Fox 6 1.9
1997-98 Fox 11 1.4
1998-99 Fox 11 1.4
1999-00 ABC 4 1.3
2000-01 ABC 5 1.1
2001-02 ABC 5 1.4
2002-03 ABC 5 1.1
2003-04 ABC 5 1.1
2005-06 NBC 6 1.0
2006-07 NBC 9 1.0
2007-08 NBC 9 1.0
2008-09 NBC 10 1.0

OLN/Versus Ratings

Season Regular Season Stanley Cup Final

2005-06 0.2 0.9
2006-07 0.2 0.7
2007-08 0.3 1.3
2008-09 0.3 1.8

Recent ESPN/ESPN 2 Ratings (Regular Season)

Season Network Rating Network Rating

2001-02 ESPN 0.49 ESPN2 0.23
2002-03 ESPN 0.46 ESPN2 0.23
2003-04 ESPN 0.47 ESPN2 0.24

NHL All-Star Game Ratings

Year Network Rating

1991 NBC 2.7
1992 NBC 2.3
1993 NBC 2.4
1994 NBC 2.5
1995 No Game Due To Lockout
1996 Fox 4.1
1997 Fox 2.8
1998 Fox 2.7
1999 Fox 2.2
2000 ABC 2.7
2001 ABC 1.7
2002 ABC 1.8
2003 ABC 1.7
2004 ABC 1.8
2007 Versus 0.7
2008 Versus 0.8
2009 Versus 0.8

Source

[stsags11]

Quote post and put whatever you want. The US sucked in Torino, period. If the goal of you people is to grow the game in the US then showcasing the game and having the US win in the Olympics is free publicity. Personally, I don't know why you folks want to grow the game but hey..that's your deal.

[stsags11]

Potvin29, on Feb 22 2010, 09:59 AM, said:

Even when you look at ratings figures there doesn't seem to be any correlation to the Olympics at all. In fact the ratings seem to dip in Olympic years like 1998 and 2006.



Source

Way to miss my point...anyways goodbye.

[Potvin29]

stsags11, on Feb 22 2010, 12:56 PM, said:

You absolutely are not paying attention. The attention and interest is booming in the US this morning. It is on front page news, news shows, web sites and everywhere else you can think of. The US has not had a victory like this since 1980. I know what a boast the victory did back then. Hockey was very popular in the 80s in the US, it was clearly the 4th sport....now...bowling and car racing crush it on TV. I think you guys are too young to remember 1980 and what it did for hockey down here. I guarantee the US moves on and we will see a big surge in the NHL again. I have read plenty of comments this morning, like "I forgot how good hockey was" so please spare me, it does nothing for the sport down here.

And how am I supposed to quantify something that has not happened yet? I said this will boast this coming NHL playoffs.

My question is how is this win any different than the Silver Medal in 2002??? THis game wasn't even for a medal. Or how about all the rpess the US team got for trashing hotels in Nagano???

It's all the same. The papers have some Olympic coverage for 1 day. Yay. It hasn't translated into any real quantifiable success for anything. The US already has a tremendous development program which is expanding into the south due to NHL exposure, not Olympic coverage.

The NHL's biggest concern is ratings and income. The Olympics do not affect either. And if the 1980 Miracle on Ice succeeded in growing the game in the US with amateurs than why can't they continue to do so? Even with the pros in the Olympics the US still is behind the big boys of Canada, Russia, and potentially even Sweden.

[Avsfreak18]

Potvin29, on Feb 22 2010, 10:59 AM, said:

Even when you look at ratings figures there doesn't seem to be any correlation to the Olympics at all. In fact the ratings seem to dip in Olympic years like 1998 and 2006.



Source

yeah but there were no huge wins for our boys in 98 or 06... and I dont recall a win in a game as big as this in 02..... Now if the US can push forward and Win gold, I think we will see a rise in ratings

and all of those ratings are on NBC and Versus.... NBC is desperate for ratings and VS is a joke

[Steelwool]

stsags11, on Feb 22 2010, 09:56 AM, said:

You absolutely are not paying attention. The attention and interest is booming in the US this morning. It is on front page news, news shows, web sites and everywhere else you can think of. The US has not had a victory like this since 1980. I know what a boast the victory did back then. Hockey was very popular in the 80s in the US, it was clearly the 4th sport....now...bowling and car racing crush it on TV. I think you guys are too young to remember 1980 and what it did for hockey down here. I guarantee the US moves on and we will see a big surge in the NHL again. I have read plenty of comments this morning, like "I forgot how good hockey was" so please spare me, it does nothing for the sport down here.

And how am I supposed to quantify something that has not happened yet? I said this will boast this coming NHL playoffs.

I remember the '80's. In fact, I remember Kenny Morrow being the only guy to win Olympic Gold and the Stanley Cup in the same year. What many people don't remember about the Miracle on Ice, was that the USA/Russia game wasn't even the gold medal game. But hockey didn't get popular in the States until the '90's and then when the Rangers won the Cup, the NHL was on the verge of overtaking the NBA. But then something happened. What was it that killed it? Oh yeah, I remember. The &^$#^( lockout.
A 2 week Olympic event won't make hockey, or curling or skeleton popular. Those who forgot how good hockey was, will forget again the next time bowling or NASCAR is on.

[mnhockey86]

The Canadians are just pissed they lost to us who dont really care about their sport and we have all the good NHL teams...
We got on the headlines this morning but already it has switched to the NFL draft and the NBA (i hate this)

You will not be able to quantify it by ratings people!! Where this game and this Olympics will help is the continual development of US hockey with the youth of our nation playing hockey. So it will be in 15-20 years that you will see US hockey players mentioning this Olympics as inspiration.
It just sets up the next generation of US hockey players and fans with something



(oh and the TV ratings of the NHL suck when u Canadian teams waste our time in the finals)


Look where the NHL will gain is in more fans... I have countless friends who wouldn't watch an NHL game, but only an Olympic game and after last night more of them are starting to enjoy our sport.. If the NHL leaves those fans leave. (Even I will watch the Olympics over the NHL)

[Sabrenoise.com]

The biggest reason the NHL has lost a lot is because they are too worried about making money and profiting that they have forgotten about the game. (And I can't blame them, their a business, they have to make money).

One reason I love watching Olympic hockey (regardless of the time the game is played...I am one American who is proud to be an American and will stay up to watch my team play) is the fact that I had to suffer through three to five commercials the whole game!

I wouldnt care if you sold advertisement to put on the goalies pads, helmets, skates, jersey patches, on ice, get sponsors for power plays, penalty kills - if it means less commercials to make the game run smoother - great.


How many times have you listened to talk radio shows that say this segment was brought to you by so and so.....have the same thing for a television broadcast.

[BurnTHalO]

This has the POTENTIAL to get some of a following in the US again. However, this is contingent on Bettman and the NHL being able to sell it this way. Everyone talked about the game at Fenway as well, and all the other outdoor games. And then, the NHL waits like a month to give a national audience exposure to hockey again. By that time, all the excitement had fallen off, and it was a wasted opportunity. Bettman has a chance. However, he needs to push Ryan Miller and Rafalski as posterboys in the US, not Crosby and Ovechkin. You do that, maybe you can get some interest back, stop losing the ratings war to the national spelling bee, and maybe even get Thorne and ESPN back. However, Bettman has shown me that he has absolutly no marketing ability and even less of a finger on the pulse of the sport, and we will probably watch the NHL fall further down the spiral.

[Sabrenoise.com]

Maybe a changing of the guard would bring in fresh ideas. The NHL has had Gary Bettman long enough. Just changing one post wont do it, a fresh administration is what this league needs.

You see it in every sport though, we recycle failures from team to team just because they are in with the old guard. Too much thinking inside the box.

[mnhockey86]

Agree this does have the ability to have a huge impact, buy part of this will be responsible of the NHL.

If only NHL would work better with the other facets of hockey like US hockey.

With or without the NHL this Olympics will grow the sport on the front lines and kids are getting more opportunities to play. It is remarkable... In my town of Chattanooga, TN we have a US hockey sanctioned league for kids and adults... Its stories like this one that were unthinkable 10-15 years ago.

[Shakes]

Quote

My question is how is this win any different than the Silver Medal in 2002??? THis game wasn't even for a medal. Or how about all the rpess the US team got for trashing hotels in Nagano???

IS that really a question? How is this win over Canada different than a loss to Canada?

How is this win better press for US Hockey than the team trashing their hotel room?


really?

[Potvin29]

I seriously think this is so overblown...

Curling is doping great in the states because of TV coverage of the sport. But hockey has been around for a long time. Americans know about hockey and they watch it. In fact fan bases in US markets are BIGGER than Canadain markets. The USA hockey program is the second largest development program in the world. I grew up in NY and just about every boy I knew and some girls grew up playing hockey at some point. I live half a mile from a rink, etc...

I seriously doubt thousands of young boys and girls will flood youth hockey programs because of the game last night. Even fewer people are going to tune in nightly to NHL games as a result.

It MAY bring some fans back to the NHL who have left over the years and it DEFINITELY increases the ratings of USA OLYMPIC HOCKEY.

History has proven that the NHL gains very little if anything at all from the Olympics. US development programs are already thriving. USA hockey is huge. We have solid NCAA programs, a strong under 17 squad that just provided the talent to win the World Championships.

Hockey gets a bad rap in the states because Football, Baseball, and to an extent NBA are bigger. You also have NCAA football and basketball. Fans are more diverse down here and because ice is limited to the northern states, hockey is generally seen as a lesser priority. But frankly I think it is ridiculous when people keep asserting that the game needs some magical development issue to get the US involved in hockey. WE ALREADY ARE! We are the largest hockey market in the world! Yes even above Canada. If the US was such a horrible market for hockey than teams would never have left Quebec and Winnipeg for US markets and teams like the Oilers, Flames, and Canucks would outdraw US markets regularly.

Just because Nashville and Atlanta don't draw so well doesn't mean Americans don't care about or support hockey. In fact we support it better than Canadians do! It's just our sport diversity in the US means we are not sending all of our best athletes into hockey alone. Just think about how strong US hockey teams would be if we were sending all of our best athletes into hockey programs each year instead of football, baseball, etc...

If you wanna see how I know this just go to New England, NY, or even Min and watch the high school or prep school games. They rival the passion that follows Texas high school football. Go follow some ECAC or other NCAA D1 schools and see how passionate the fans are about them. Go to an AHL game in Manchester NH or other remote city and just see how passionate those fan bases are and more importantly watch the kids in attendance. They love the sport. And the US has 24 NHL franchises vs 6 in the superior great white north.

Can someone please tell me what needs developing here?

The USA win over Canada was amazing. I loved every minute of it. All of my friends are energized too but unfortunately they all already are hockey fans. I see no reason to expect that win to create any measurable difference in USA hockey development or NHL gains...