Quote:
Originally Posted by CliffFletcher
Phoenix is the 11th largest TV market in the U.S. The overriding ambition of the NHL is to get franchises in as many of the top 30 markets as they can in hopes of securing the holy grail - a fat $$$ broadcast contract.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...vision_markets |
TV market needs to be taken with a grain of salt though. Big picture, I get it. The higher the volume, the higher potential for finding new viewers. In the short term , the size of the TV isn't as important as affinity to the product in any given market. The NHL, by supporting Phoenix is thinking long term, as they should IMO.
The demographics of the TV market matter. I know it is a huge generalization to say that southerners are not interested in watching hockey, but affinity to sports does have a relationship to racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds. Hockey more so than most professional sports has always been niche. There is a lot more inclusion now than there ever was, but we are not all the way there yet.
It's one of the reasons why hockey was a tough TV sell in a huge TV market like Atlanta for example, or why it sells better in Tampa than Miami (same state, but very different demographics) Or why large TV markets like Charlotte, New Orleans, Indianapolis, or San Diego are never mentioned as being in the running for NHL teams. Or to use a non-hockey example, why the NBA was a tough sell in Vancouver. I get that it is a sensitive thing to talk about, but the demographic make-up of a city can obscure what the immediately accessible market size for that particular product. I think this becomes more pronounced the further south you go.
If you Google "Arizona Coyotes crowd" and view the images, it's not a very diverse crowd, in a city where, according to Wikipedia, only 40% of the population are non-Hispanic white (and 65% non-white).
The goal for the NHL is to reach out to demographics where hockey isn't a tradition, which is great and why having a team in Phoenix has been so important to the NHL. They are playing the long game, and having a presence in non-traditional markets is important for the future viability of the sport. The demographics of the United States are changing and Phoenix is a microcosm of that (was 95% white only 50 years ago). If the NHL doesn't reach a more diverse crowd, it will not compete very well down the road.