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The Caps to play the Pens in the 2011 Winter Classic

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by JR, May 27, 2010.

  1. JR

    JR Well-Known Member

    I actually don't care whether Joe from Arkansas becomes a hockey fan or not. And since Joe doesn't probably have a clue about the game how does he even know what he wants?

    Various US networks have been trying to get the Bubba market for over forty years. Fail.

    You don't expand interest in the game by focusing on two players ad nauseam. You build a marketing campaign around all your superstars, young and old.

    Sid/OV is simple but lazy marketing.
     
  2. Double J

    Double J Active Member

    Agreed.

    But you have to remember we're dealing with a commissioner who said in his state of the league address on Friday that the Olympic hockey tournament was "a mixed bag" which "probably had some positives."

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 15, 2014
  3. outofplace

    outofplace Well-Known Member

    The NHL doesn't care what you want, either. They have you already, so they are going to continue to chase the "Bubba market."

    And the NBA relied heavily on Bird and Magic to build its popularity, so there is at least some precedent for success doing what the NHL is doing. The problem is, I don't think the NHL will ever get to that level in the U.S.
     
  4. Double J

    Double J Active Member

    And who cares if it doesn't? I rather like that it's a niche sport. The people who support it, by and large, are real fans who will be there through thick and thin.
     
  5. Oz

    Oz Well-Known Member

    That's well and all if you're in a country that eats, drinks, breathes and sleeps hockey 24/7/365. You can have that attitude, it doesn't affect you any.

    But if you're in the states, and you're living in places that don't carry VERSUS on the local cable provider and don't see more than maybe five minutes' worth of NHL highlights on SportsCenter daily, then chances are that you would wish that hockey not be considered a niche sport, that it would be more mainstream because it would be that much more accessible to the masses.
     
  6. Double J

    Double J Active Member

    Do you have access to the NHL Network? Get it and have all the access you want.

    Or move to Canada. Whichever is easier/more appealing. :D
     
  7. Oz

    Oz Well-Known Member

    Not made available by the local cable provider, and DirecTV unfortunately is out of the question per lease agreement, so it's looking like Canada. Hello, St. Hubert!
     
  8. Mark2010

    Mark2010 Active Member

    Exactly. Made the comparison to the early 80s many times. That's sort of where the NHL is right now, at least in terms of television. CBS had a lot to do with the NBA growing into a major league. The same, I believe, will happen with the NHL.
     
  9. Mark2010

    Mark2010 Active Member

    Yeah, I have NHL Network. They do a pretty good job of covering the league and also show stuff like the World Juniors and Memorial Cup. They have grown tremendously in terms of content in recent years.

    Here's the thing the league realizes about Canada and the NHL: Yeah, they're hooked, no need to pursue them. They are like the faithful wife that the husband knows will ALWAYS be there, come hell or high water. Taken for granted? Sure, but they let themselves be taken for granted.

    The league also knows that being No. 1 in Canada is like Cricket in Australia. There simply aren't enough people to completely sustain a major sports league, anymore than there are in Sweden, Finland, etc. You could get every single person in Canada to watch a given game and it would still pale compared to 10 percent of US viewers. The size of the markets is so different. You're talking a nation of, say, 35 million and a nation of 350 million. That's why the league has gone the way it has (and I certainly don't endorse every move they've made).
     
  10. JC

    JC Well-Known Member

    The 6 Canadian teams make up 40% of the revenue. Tell me where this league would be without them. You realize they've been chasing the American dream for 40 years, how's that worked out?

    I love the attitude that some of you have that it is good business practice to treat your best customers the worst, to take them for granted. I would love for the Canadian networks to collude and tell the NHL to go fuck themselves and ask for the same deal that NBC has. How would 10 teams in the States even come close to surviving.

    You dunces don't understand that the fan you take for granted in Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, Ottawa, Monrteal and especially the Leafs keep those Southern welfare franchises alive through revenue sharing.

    The level of business intelligence on this thread is shocking.
     
  11. Double J

    Double J Active Member

    That sucks that you can't at least get the NHL Network on cable. Sorry, I thought it was more widespread.
     
  12. Oz

    Oz Well-Known Member

    That's been the Maple Leafs' standard business practice for years now.
     
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