NESN ratings for Bruins down 19%

[MattFromFranklin]

Chris Curtis is crying tears of joy. Sporty McKenzie? Not so much.

 

[OldScool]

Ratings are down because th team is boring and there is no must watch players. Big names draw interest (see Buffalo with Eichel). Bruins are a vanilla team with vanilla players. They are still the 5th most watched NHL team so lets not jump to goofy conclusions.

 

[TheBigZ]

NESN needs to refresh there whole approach. The graphics package and presentation are getting stale and looking more amateur by the day. Edwards has had his time, and I think it should be up. Combine that with the team having no real identity and pretty boring to watch it's no surprise to see these results.

 

[Morris Wanchuk]

Ratings are down because th team is boring and there is no must watch players. Big names draw interest (see Buffalo with Eichel). Bruins are a vanilla team with vanilla players. They are still the 5th most watched NHL team so lets not jump to goofy conclusions.

Interesting that all the large markets are down double digit percentages

 

[PeanutButter37]

Ratings are down because th team is boring and there is no must watch players. Big names draw interest (see Buffalo with Eichel). Bruins are a vanilla team with vanilla players. They are still the 5th most watched NHL team so lets not jump to goofy conclusions.

Ratings are down because people are getting rid of cable. NESN needs to have an online streaming service or people are going to find other means to watch the games that are less than ideal. I rely on streaming services and an antennae for all television needs and the ONLY thing I miss is NESN. I would watch every game if they had a package I could purchase to stream.

 

[BruinDust]

Interesting that all the large markets are down double digit percentages

The product on the ice league wide isn't what is was even a couple years ago.

Some games are simply hard to watch, not just the Bruins. Who wants to tune into a low-scoring shot-blocking fest with a lack of physicality and aggressiveness.

And some people can disagree all they want. Fighting sells. Sorry but it does. We have a semi-pro senior league near my neck of the woods that banned fighting a few years ago and attendance numbers and league interest has dwindled ever since.

 

[VanIsle]

I used to get Centre Ice and watch every game religiously.

Now I watch what I can on the TV and stream the rest.

82 games plus playoffs call it 90 is a lot to commit too, I have a couple kids, I like playing sports and sitting inside in September-early October, and March till the end of the season doesn't appeal to me as it once did.

Sure I PVR or watch the game at a later date, but if it is nice outside and there are things to do I am less likely to park my butt on the couch.

 

[GordonHowe]

Bruins fan base is far from bandwagon

This.

After the Cup run and, of course, the Cup win, pink hats & front runners sprouted like weeds. I've never seen so many Bruins caps, etc. in my life. Few of them would know Zdeno Chara if he walked up to them and punched them in face. (Which would be great. )

Back in the 90s, and especially in the early "oughts," you had to know a secret handshake to recognize another Bruins fan. But we were around, and dying inside. WEEI was happy to kick us in the teeth as pathetic losers, when they deigned to mention the Bruins at all.

Back then if you cared you were hoping the unwisely loyal fan base would at last vote with their feet so Jacobs would sell (the ultimate dream) or be forced to can Sinden/OC, which miracle of miracles he eventually did.

The point: Bruins fans are the most loyal sports fans in this town, often to a fault, and the most passionate.

The Red Sox have always had the widest and deepest fan base in New England. They were the darlings of the three sport media, who certainly recognized this and got while the getting was good (CHB, anyone?). It was also in the interest of Baseball First, Last Always columnists to denigrate or simply ignore the Boston Bruins, which they did. KPD, along with his smarmy and insulting "nicknames" (Let 'em in Lacher, Jon Casey and the Amazing Technicolor Five Hole, etc.) was cynical and dismissive.

Any of this ring a bell?

So, yes, winning begets the casual come lately types. Go ask pre-Parcells Patriots fans.

I'm actually glad the ratings are down almost 20%. Maybe Sweeney and Neely will pick up on the point that they have given us a roster comprised of a half dozen very good/elite players surrounded by JAGs.

 

[whitetape]

I would guess the trend away from cable to streaming services is a huge part of it.

It doesn't help NESN that the Red Sox have been in the cellar recently, either. Makes it easier for people to give up NESN.

It also doesn't help that the Bruins lately seem unable to win big high-visibility games -- like the critical ones near the end of last season, and the Winter Showcase and the Lucic-return game this season.

As for NESN broadcasts themselves, I refuse to believe that Jack and Brick are the problem. But a few tweaks would be good:

- Get rid of the tiresome scroll

- Away with the pointless in-game interviews with players and assistant coaches. Instead, how about more miked-up coverage? Or how about using better graphics during replays, such as more use of slo-mo or circling a player on the screen as he is about to lose his check or make a great pass

- Dale, Jaffe, etc. do a good job between periods. They call a spade a spade without being jerks about it. But the on-ice reporter types from Naoko to Sarah Davis don't bring much. They are not, shall we say, Pierre. How about replacing them with a real reporter?

 

[Rumpy]

Lucic being gone has killed my interest. Trying to be a fan but it just doesn't feel right...

 

[Dr Quincy]

Amen.... My last year of Center Ice for sure... will catch the Bruins when I can.

I can't and won't live without my Center Ice. Been watching a ton of Wild and Ducks games this year, and Panthers games in the few that Barkov actually isn't hurt. I pretty much only watch games that have players on my sim team. Speaking of which.....

you and I face off tonight. Already sent my lines in, big game for my boys going up against your juggernaut. Sven Baertschi has been killing it for me in the sim in the last 10 games.... but I'm afraid your bangers will grind him into swiss sausage.

 

[Dr Quincy]

This.

After the Cup run and, of course, the Cup win, pink hats & front runners sprouted like weeds. I've never seen so many Bruins caps, etc. in my life. Few of them would know Zdeno Chara if he walked up to them and punched them in face. (Which would be great. )

Back in the 90s, and especially in the early "oughts," you had to know a secret handshake to recognize another Bruins fan. But we were around, and dying inside. WEEI was happy to kick us in the teeth as pathetic losers, when they deigned to mention the Bruins at all.

Back then if you cared you were hoping the unwisely loyal fan base would at last vote with their feet so Jacobs would sell (the ultimate dream) or be forced to can Sinden/OC, which miracle of miracles he eventually did.

The point: Bruins fans are the most loyal sports fans in this town, often to a fault, and the most passionate.

The Red Sox have always had the widest and deepest fan base in New England. They were the darlings of the three sport media, who certainly recognized this and got while the getting was good (CHB, anyone?). It was also in the interest of Baseball First, Last Always columnists to denigrate or simply ignore the Boston Bruins, which they did. KPD, along with his smarmy and insulting "nicknames" (Let 'em in Lacher, Jon Casey and the Amazing Technicolor Five Hole, etc.) was cynical and dismissive.

Any of this ring a bell?

So, yes, winning begets the casual come lately types. Go ask pre-Parcells Patriots fans.

I'm actually glad the ratings are down almost 20%. Maybe Sweeney and Neely will pick up on the point that they have given us a roster comprised of a half dozen very good/elite players surrounded by JAGs.

I mostly agree with everything you say, but at the same time this is the paradox of the hardcore fan (be it in sports or music or whatever):

When it's your own little thing it feels special and you feel special for being part of it. You say things like "Why isn't this getting more attention?" "This is way better than x (whatever is actually more popular)?" You condemn mainstream media and others for ignoring your personal pet thing.

Then it becomes popular and you complain that it's too mainstream now, that there are too many bandwagoners, that these people weren't there when you were and don't really know what it's about.


I plead totally guilty to having those sentiments, especially in my youth and especially about music, but at this point I find those things don't really matter much to me any more.

 

[Salem13]

Welp, as a Comcast Customer (internet only) I can only attempt to express my frustration that NESN is ONLY included in the 220+ package.

The best deal I could get would be to lower my Blast 150mps internet to 75mbps and gain the 220+ package and pay 20$ more per month.

For 80 games.

Or I could find the numerous sights linked to offshore gambling that have a vested interest in rebroadcasting as close to live as possible?


Your results may vary. I strongly suggest nobody who online banks from their PC/network going to any sight ending in .ru

 

[Salem13]

Oh and I'm a freak, I really don't watch TV unless it is some sort of an alert or sporting event locally important.

I will watch all 82+ (we hope for plus) Bruins games, Pats OK yea, Sox, maybe in the finals, the green guys and the people with the footy thing need not apply.

 

[Hali33]

I'm sure at least some of it is due to people moving away from cable.

But the Bruins are out of their Cup runs and I certainly think people make less of an effort to tune in and watch a mediocre team. I'm sure a large part of the fanbase is casual and there's not a whole lot about this team that really draws them in. They're not particularly good or entertaining.

I've really found the product around the league to be pretty bland this year. Doesn't seem like there's much fire or rivalries left.

 

[Salem13]

I'm sure at least some of it is due to people moving away from cable.

But the Bruins are out of their Cup runs and I certainly think people make less of an effort to tune in and watch a mediocre team. I'm sure a large part of the fanbase is casual and there's not a whole lot about this team that really draws them in. They're not particularly good or entertaining.

I've really found the product around the league to be pretty bland this year. Doesn't seem like there's much fire or rivalries left.

*grabs a screaming peacock and stuffs it in your face*

It's rivalry night cause we say it is, we are NBC!

 

[GordonHowe]

I mostly agree with everything you say, but at the same time this is the paradox of the hardcore fan (be it in sports or music or whatever):

When it's your own little thing it feels special and you feel special for being part of it. You say things like "Why isn't this getting more attention?" "This is way better than x (whatever is actually more popular)?" You condemn mainstream media and others for ignoring your personal pet thing.

Then it becomes popular and you complain that it's too mainstream now, that there are too many bandwagoners, that these people weren't there when you were and don't really know what it's about.


I plead totally guilty to having those sentiments, especially in my youth and especially about music, but at this point I find those things don't really matter much to me any more.

This is a familiar exercise. And I'm right with you every step of the way. I don't like the pink hats, but they came with winning. That's the way it goes.

Music fans are perhaps most prone to this kind of thinking.

Apropos of same, if you haven't, check Bob Dylan's "Live at the Albert Hall, 1966," which features the infamous "Judas!" rebuke and fabulous renditions of his Bringing It All Back Home?Highway 61 Revisited bits. Great, great stuff.

 

[Dr Quincy]

This is a familiar exercise. And I'm right with you every step of the way. I don't like the pink hats, but they came with winning. That's the way it goes.

Music fans are perhaps most prone to this kind of thinking.

Apropos of same, if you haven't, check Bob Dylan's "Live at the Albert Hall, 1966," which features the infamous "Judas!" rebuke and fabulous renditions of his Bringing It All Back Home?Highway 61 Revisited bits. Great, great stuff.

Have not heard it though I have heard that infamous clip. I hear there's an album too of all the alternate takes form the Highway 61 album with the songs sounding very different. I may have to check it out because to me that's my favorite of his albums.

 

[GarbageGoal]

Bruins fan base is far from bandwagon

Bruins base may be the most solid in town (hockey fans in general are anyway), but it's the casuals who ultimately move the ratings to something noticeable good or bad. And the casuals in these parts are now programmed to only watch winnahs. We'd basically have to be the Blackhawks to hold that much attention.

 

[GordonHowe]

Have not heard it though I have heard that infamous clip. I hear there's an album too of all the alternate takes form the Highway 61 album with the songs sounding very different. I may have to check it out because to me that's my favorite of his albums.

May I just plug that "Albert Hall '66" again, because it's excellent, and he reworks those songs in a major way. If "Highway 61" often sounds as if its a white rail amphetamine rush, this (to me) is psychedelic blues.

In case you haven't seen it, I'll also put in a word for the excellent mid 90s PBS documentary series, "Rock & Roll," narrated by our friend, the mellifluous Liev Schreiber ("Goon," 24/7").

 

[Fenway]

The Bruins ratings have always been decent on NESN - they certainly were not embarrassed like the Celtics were in 2004

Author: Ryan, Bob
Date: Apr 23, 2004
Start Page: E.1
Section: Sports
Document Text

NBA PLAYOFFS

0.5

I'm no fan of television ratings, especially when it comes to sporting events. I know - not guess, know - that numerous sporting events are undercounted because, far more often than regular programming, sporting events are often viewed in the company of others. Ratings do not take into account private homes where clusters of people gather to watch certain events in a party-like atmosphere, nor do they take into consideration bars where big games are watched in great numbers. The current ratings procedure is a hopelessly inadequate way to evaluate the viewing habits of American sports fans.

But 0.5 is something else entirely. When a sporting event has a 0.5 rating, it indicates a state of ennui that should alarm anyone making a livelihood from that team, or league. If that rating pertains to a playoff game, the situation is exponentially worse. It is, frankly, catastrophic.

So what does that tell us about the current local position of the once-proud, 16-time NBA champion Boston Celtics? That 0.5 is what they drew locally for last Saturday afternoon's playoff game against the Indiana Pacers. That 0.5 translates into approximately 10,000 homes in Greater Boston, and an audience of 25,000 people. You want a frame of reference? The Revolution drew a 0.8 for their game Saturday night against the San Jose Earthquakes.

 

[Heisenberg77]

That's what happens when your bonehead Front Office trades away one of the most exciting stars in the NHL because he liked Twitter and partying when he was ******* 20 years old.

 

[DKH]

Between Jamie Erdhal and Lucic I barely watch the games anymore snd just follow via stats

 

[chizzler]

That's what happens when your bonehead Front Office trades away one of the most exciting stars in the NHL because he liked Twitter and partying when he was ******* 20 years old.

Yah, that's what it is!!!

It's sad to say but I get my Bruins fix here more than the network that carries them and is partially owned by Jacobs. What's he sleeping? NESN offers no decent Bruins coverage. It's constantly Red Sox when the Patriots are done. They got no coverage in training camp. None. Csnne has better coverage than them, and Haggs doesn't travel with the team half the time.

The game coverage is stale. They don't promote any player like the Red Sox. Intermissions are plain painful to watch. Mimi one on one has got to go. Cmon man. Watching a kid shooting four to five times is torture. Do these teams have other players. How bout some on ice tutorials with the players. They need to look at the telecasters too.

Watching Clode play his drones is tough. Sick of the defensive system.

 

[What The Puck]

That's what happens when your bonehead Front Office trades away one of the most exciting stars in the NHL because he liked Twitter and partying when he was ******* 20 years old.

It's true. We have a bunch of mediocre players. Zero superstars. The Bruins have a habit of trading away stars.

I saw these viewing statistics, and I think it follows the path of the team. You have to put a good product on the ice. The lack of physicality, a lack of exciting players, and losing the way they lose is just demoralizing to the average fan. We are still here because we are superfans (and in my case, worthy of a GM interview).

I also think that the broadcast needs improvement. There needs to be more in depth analysis of what's happening on the ice. If we are taking away the cheap thrills like fighting, going to have to sell the game in different ways. And I think that not underestimating your audience is important. Educating your audience is important. There's a lot to this game, and it can be sold.