Let's just call it like it is and let's just be honest about the entire situation. I love the Calgary Flames, I love the NHL and I love hockey.
The NHL, it's broadcast partners (mostly Rogers Sportsnet) and hockey as a whole are really non factors in the global sports world. Sure there is a fan base, sure some people make big money and there are some big stars, no questions about it. Hockey is generally a bottom performing sport in the global sense of importance.
The fact that a die hard NHL and Calgary Flames fan who lives in the interior of BC, some mere km's from the border of Alberta, needs to jump through hoops to see their team on live tv, is absurd. It's not logical, there is very little justification for this.
I am not someone who's affected, but I have always wondered if I didn't live in Calgary and have Sportsnet, how much Flames hockey would I watch??
The NFL doesn't make a lot of their games unique, a lot of the games are broadcast on plain old regular TV. CBS, ABC, Fox. You can watch a ton of your own games nationally. Sure it's nice to have cable for ESPN or NFL network but it's not really required for a lot of people.
Back to hockey for the moment, the two largest markets in the country from a fan base perspective is Toronto and Montreal. The fact that fan bases of those teams also need to dig deep and have how many different options to watch their teams, is also wild to me.
That would be the equivalent of most large countries where soccer or futbol is the #1 sport, the fan bases of the largest and most powerful teams isn't readily available and easy to view. It's nuts!
Know your clients, know your fans, promote your product, work collectively, copy the winners in sports, upgrade the broadcast talent and more. The NHL can do this!
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