NHL National Viewership Down 22% in the U.S.

[Ashasx]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

I think they also need to find a way to make the regular season mean more, and really reward regular season champions in addition to playoff champions. (Extra Draft Pick would be neat at 33 Overall IMO - can't be traded).

Personally I don wonder if moving to almost more of a European Soccer schedule could breathe some life in to the NHL. Have a bigger reward for the regular season champion, and put it equal level to the Stanley Cup, opposed to how the President's Trophy is an afterthought today.

I still believe that a 62 game regular season schedule (all 31 teams play a balanced schedule of home and away games) and make this mean more and don't just gloss it over like the President's Trophy often feels glossed over.

Then go to more of a cup format for the playoffs where everyone makes the "Stanley Cup Playoffs" similar to how all teams play in the Football/Soccer Cups in Europe.

5 game divisional playoff in round 1 using the regular season standings. (1vs8 in each division).

7 game divisional playoff in round 2 and 3.

Crown your 4 divisional champions and then go into the final 4.

You get rid of all the extra divisional games in the regular season - but add a higher stakes playoff round at the divisional level in the playoffs.

The NHL could do whatever it wants to try and make the President's Trophy more important to win, but North American sports just don't work like that.

The only trophy that matters on this continent is the one awarded from the tournament at the end of season with only one team left standing.

[TheIronMaiden]

Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee

The NHL actually has a lot of issues and things it needs to be addressed, all of which have been already mentioned. They would be wise to smarten up and start listening to paying fans... the game management is next level now and literally has stripped any authenticity of the sport altogether.

Since they decided hockey shouldn't be physical anymore, I suspect this is a HUGE factor in decreasing attendance. Games are generally quite boring and lack excitement unless artificially propped up with game management which loses the charm of sport- a not insignificant factor.

As mentioned, access and TV programming issues are wide....

yeah, lots of problems.

I felt this way as well, so I did a little research about officiating. At a face level the amount of penalties called in a game has not gone up by a considerable factor in the last ten years. Since 2008 the league average has been roughly 3 powerplay opportunities per team, per game. Between 2008 and 1980 it there were on average 4 powerplay opportunities a team, per game. A few times like 2005-6 it was nearly 6 per team per game.

This isn't qualitative, so it doesn't describe which kinds of penalties or when. but It has been more or less a 6 power plays a game kind of a league since 2008.

https://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/stats.html

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by Ashasx

For me the biggest issue is just production quality of games and building excitement. Games, even on Saturday nights, just don't feel special anymore.

Little pre-game talk, non-existent post-game. I can only speak to the impact Sportsnet has had in Canada, but the sport no longer feels bigger than the sum of its parts. And when you're in a situation like the Flames where the team, even if it wins, just isn't entertaining to watch - you don't have much that draws you in.

I do think some sports are actually suffering from overexposure.

As a kid the only televised games were Saturday night games and the maybe 15-20 Flames games were on Channel 2&7.

So there was a lot of intrigue around each game, and you could only watch highlights on the evening or morning news.

Now you have all 82 games televised for every team. You have robust highlights available at the tips of your fingers, either in real time via twitter, or in 5 minute highlight packets online. And you almost have too many options to discuss things across various websites and forums.

Sometimes I wonder why I am going to spend 3 hours watching a game, when I can watch pretty robust highlight packages that show a game condensed to 5-10 minutes with all the key moments online afterwards.

[TheIronMaiden]

Fewer games would increase the quality of games. Players would be better rested and stakes would be higher. But no one would want to take a 20% reduction of pay.

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by Ashasx

The NHL could do whatever it wants to try and make the President's Trophy more important to win, but North American sports just don't work like that.

The only trophy that matters on this continent is the one awarded from the tournament at the end of season with only one team left standing.

That’s not really true. More a hockey thing. The big 3 sports celebrate winning the conference. Winning a round. Making a playoffs.

In fact when KC won rhe AFC someone in the football thread said:

Showing again why hockey players are better. These guys celebrating with the division trophy, making speeches, confetti.

You haven't won anything yet.

This is another reason hockey will remain secondary.

[Johnny Makarov]

The only way the NHL can be saved is by sports betting.

They really should partner up with some of these gambling sites and "get people into the game!".... lol

[calgaryred]

In 86 and 89 Flames raised the Clarence Campbell Bowl Trophy with pride, the attitude of don't celebrate a trophy that's not Stanley wasn't always a hockey thing to do.

[Ashasx]

Originally Posted by Weitz

That’s not really true. More a hockey thing. The big 3 sports celebrate winning the conference. Winning a round. Making a playoffs.

In fact when KC won rhe AFC someone in the football thread said:



This is another reason hockey will remain secondary.

you make an interesting point

[Senator Clay Davis]

NFL just has the perfect TV model:

- Scarcity of supply (only 22 weeks and three days a week)
- Urgency of almost every game from said scarcity
- The best gambling sport (regular gambling + fantasy)
- RedZone arguably the best sports program there is
- Arguably the easiest sport for casuals to follow

Every other sport will deal with a downturn for the foreseeable future. Other sports can't reduce games because they can't increase the cost per game without losing even more fans, and they'd have to do that to placate the players losing revenue from fewer games. The gambling ads are over the top, but for the NHL, NBA and MLB basically their only hope to draw more casuals into caring about seasons that are too long, and largely irrelevant.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by Ashasx

The NHL could do whatever it wants to try and make the President's Trophy more important to win, but North American sports just don't work like that.

The only trophy that matters on this continent is the one awarded from the tournament at the end of season with only one team left standing.

It's not a big deal today because the NHL, the teams, and the other leagues don't make it a big deal.

Have an on ice celebration for the President's Trophy winner when they clinch (bring out the trophy like you do the Stanley Cup), throw a parade, and have some actual incentive for winning it (Give the winning team an extra draft pick, and give each player on the winning team an extra $250k or something) and I bet you it would change.

Weitz alludes to it above but hockey culture has criticized anything short of winning the cup, has drained all personality, and try to gate keep the sport.

Celebrate a goal in the regular season and show some excitement "look at that guy celebrating like he won the cup"

Celebrate winning the division or the conference - "Don't touch the trophy, you haven't won anything yet".

Guys like Ovechkin or Subban when they come in and are different or show more personality are criticized or called cancers.

Bland personalities like Crosby are celebrated as "doing things the right way".

Even a story as simple as the Oilers playing that kid for the final two minutes the other night "It's disrespectful to the Blackhawks!!!!"

If you're complaining that a kid who will never get a chance to play in the NHL again got a chance to live out his lifelong dream for 2 minutes because it might hurt the other teams feelings you're promoting your sport wrong.

People in influential positions in hockey and traditional hockey fans actively try to eliminate any fun, anything that makes the sport more accessible to new fans, or any changes to the sport that can potentially improve the sport under the guise of "tradition"

[calgaryred]

The loser point, shootouts, no ties, penalties for the minimum while absolute obstruction and diving are left, fighting with your helmets on. Traditions aren't very much in the game today. There isn't much that's similar between NHL in 2003-04 to now.

[tvp2003]

How many of those US viewers are finding... ahem... alternate ways to watch?

Hypothetically of course. After that Federal Court ruling that doesn't happen with anyone in Canada. Ever.

[Paulie Walnuts]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

It's not a big deal today because the NHL, the teams, and the other leagues don't make it a big deal.

Have an on ice celebration for the President's Trophy winner when they clinch (bring out the trophy like you do the Stanley Cup), throw a parade, and have some actual incentive for winning it (Give the winning team an extra draft pick, and give each player on the winning team an extra $250k or something) and I bet you it would change.

Weitz alludes to it above but hockey culture has criticized anything short of winning the cup, has drained all personality, and try to gate keep the sport.

Celebrate a goal in the regular season and show some excitement "look at that guy celebrating like he won the cup"

Celebrate winning the division or the conference - "Don't touch the trophy, you haven't won anything yet".

Guys like Ovechkin or Subban when they come in and are different or show more personality are criticized or called cancers.

Bland personalities like Crosby are celebrated as "doing things the right way".

Even a story as simple as the Oilers playing that kid for the final two minutes the other night "It's disrespectful to the Blackhawks!!!!"

If you're complaining that a kid who will never get a chance to play in the NHL again got a chance to live out his lifelong dream for 2 minutes because it might hurt the other teams feelings you're promoting your sport wrong.

People in influential positions in hockey and traditional hockey fans actively try to eliminate any fun, anything that makes the sport more accessible to new fans, or any changes to the sport that can potentially improve the sport under the guise of "tradition"

No other sport celebrates small wins. Conference finals and the championship thats it.

You don't see NBA NFL and NHL teams having pathetic celebrations like Baseball teams do after making the playoffs. Cigars beers its embarrassing to watch actually you haven't won a thing.

Hockey needs more personality in game for scoring goals and so forth sure, but a lot of the players a bland and have no personality.

Also I don't think celebrations would draw more viewers.

[Badgers Nose]

Originally Posted by tvp2003

How many of those US viewers are finding... ahem... alternate ways to watch?

Hypothetically of course. After that Federal Court ruling that doesn't happen with anyone in Canada. Ever.

An even smaller number than these ones in the OP probably.

Hockey is a fringe novelty sport in the USA.

Gary and owners can pat themselves on the back all they want about how they’ve grown the sport down there, but that progress is flattered because of how low a point they started from.

The league is run by crusty old fossils. Grab cash from franchise deals and TV deals without really caring about the health of the game or the teams. Lots of fan unfriendly stuff like blackouts.

[Patek23]

I'm not surprised. I cant watch any games if it doesn't include the Flames, and often even those are a drag. Hockey went from being my only sport to now I just follow the Flames out of nostalgia cause I've done it so long.

Let's be honest. The product sucks. Everything's a penalty. There's zero emotion. I miss big hits and fights, and rivalries. Nowadays it's like watching International hockey, which I guess is some peoples thing, but definitely not the masses. The direction the NHL has gone to try and obtain these American fans has caused me to lose my love for it. And then low and behold the same Americans fans apparently feel the same way by watching less and less, so its kind of a kick to the dick tbh.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by Paulie Walnuts

No other sport celebrates small wins. Conference finals and the championship thats it.

You don't see NBA NFL and NHL teams having pathetic celebrations like Baseball teams do after making the playoffs. Cigars beers its embarrassing to watch actually you haven't won a thing.

Hockey needs more personality in game for scoring goals and so forth sure, but a lot of the players a bland and have no personality.

Also I don't think celebrations would draw more viewers.

My point is the regular season championship shouldn't be treated as a small win - it should be a big celebration and IMO held in similar regard to winning the playoff championship.

Most analytics and stats say it's actually a better indication of who is truly the best team - vs tournaments which are more random and prone to short term probabilities.

Maybe it doesn't draw more viewers - but I think it does help to drive more excitement around it, especially for the teams in the running.

Football/Soccer is still the most successful sport world wide, and the domestic trophy for it's regular schedule champion and then a league cup are pretty much a fixture across all major leagues world wide.

Why are we so sure something that couldn't work in North American sports? Nobody has tried and IMO hockey is in the best position to give it a shot.

Also you're proving the point - the idea that winning the championship is the only thing worth celebrating is a bit flawed. That should be the biggest celebration - but celebrating the steps along the way should not be seen as "pathetic", it's a good way to engage a fan base and create small victories.

In 03-04 it was a celebration when the Flames clinched a playoff spot - and that excitement is what carried over into round 1. I still think the city might have been more excited for game 3 at home vs. Vancouver than it was for game 3 at home vs Tampa by the time we got to the finals.

[D as in David]

Originally Posted by bubbsy

Some things I would love to see in this regard:
- shots that get tipped out of play. This happens so much and converts watchin msg offensive play converted to a game pause then boring face off. Why not raise the glasss higher, so pucks stay in play more, cause more chaos and more offensive zone time/chances.

No need to raise the glass just utilize the netting in the same way. It's not like someone has to catch the puck like a ball in baseball. Create even more chaos with wherever the puck may land on the ice. It's actually kind of arbitrary that glass (and whatever height it is set at) is in play and netting is not.

[CGY12]

For me the its the TV game production, the refs being absolutely terrible and the leagues inconsistent handling of situations, that has really soured me and affected my viewing habits. I used to watch religiously, obviously age has impacted that but as odd as it may sound and I'd never thought I'd say this, I'll watch the NBA over a decent to good hockey game, when both are on.

In recent memory my favourite span of NHL hockey was after the lockout in 05 to maybe about 2013ish. When they removed the clutch and grab but didn't give a guy a penalty for blowing on another player. Even though the Flames really didn't do anything of significance during that time frame, it was fun to watch and the league had some real appeal with the Crosby/Ovechkin rivalry, Wings/Pens meetings, the Hawks were coming, etc. Now and over the last several years they've ruined it for me with the terrible inconsistent officiating and horrid division alignment/playoff format.

Of the 4 major sport leagues I follow it is by far the worst run IMO. Also the old boys country club culture they've built is sickening. Colin Campbell is the first that needs to get punted.

[Jbo]

The NHL seems to have never really figured out that this is entertainment. There are zero players in the league with real personality. No one speaks there mind and god forbid they do, they are fined. Coaches are usually unlikeable. Contempt for the media, not much to say. Sutter has made a few comments this year and was condemned for it by many (including this board)

The panels are boring, talking heads with zero to add. Generally they bootlick McDavid and talk about gambling and that’s that.

The NHL is is huge need of some personality. Let players speak a bit.

Don Cherry at least had a personally and said controversial things old people things…and people tuned in.

As it is, it’s a boring product compared to other leagues that squeezes the life out of everything to sell more gambling ads.

[flamingred89]

The amount of viewers was never the goal for the NHL. They will never draw to the likes of the other majors sports just because its not as marketable. The MLB and NBA are the easiest to market due to the exposure of the athletes. The lack of helmets, the 1 on 1 face time, and of course, the apparel the athletes wear play a big part in that. What the NHL does have going for it is an unusually high percentage of their viewers/demographics being highly affluent. So it's more of a quality over quantity type thing. With that being said. It's also wild to see how far the NHL lags behind in general revenue and salaries of the other big players. There was a time when all the leagues were roughly on par. Now Mcdavid at 12.5 is a bench player in the NBA and a quarter of what the superstars make.