News Article: Playoff Viewership tanking

[awegrzyn]

I'm surprised it's tanking. Always assumed once the Rangers are out people will watch more.

America is changing. The younger generations are calling lots of Hypocrisies out, and the Boomers running the show are not understanding it. You could fool the Boomers, but you can't really control the Z generation. Only way out is to bring all hockey for free to 1 channel. It already is free online if you know where to look. Finance is not everything. It's just a short money grab, with long terms negative consequences. Remove 80% of ads, remove all gambling. It's all extortion, and the young once ain't going in that direction.

 

[winnipegger]

In the huge market of Winnipeg Manitoba and her surrounding metropolis of satellite cities the ratings are through the roof.

 

[Ekiru]

Viewership numbers are quickly becoming unreliable due to the fact that there are a thousand ways to watch, with many being untraceable

I personally doubt viewership is down in any of these leagues; instead id blame pirating (which I dont blame anyone for) and live streaming

 

[StreetHawk]

Viewership numbers are quickly becoming unreliable due to the fact that there are a thousand ways to watch, with many being untraceable

I personally doubt viewership is down in any of these leagues; instead id blame pirating (which I dont blame anyone for) and live streaming

That is a factor. But, we are also missing really large US markets, like NYR, NYI, Bos, Chi, Phi, historical Det as well. That have fanbases in other markets. That's the O6 conversation that is missing. Not the history of these clubs, but the sheer market size of them plus their national reach.

 

[mad4comp]

When games start at 10pm.. i assume no one on the east coast is gonna be watching. I usually catch one period of a 10pm game and call it a night. And this playoffs schedule overall is atrocious.

 

[Gregor Samsa]

The divisional set up sucks. Go back to 1-8 with division winners getting top seed. If there is a weak division winner, oh well. Reseed after each round

 

[Sad People]

They have some wack ass start times if youre not on the west coast.

 

[Ekiru]

That is a factor. But, we are also missing really large US markets, like NYR, NYI, Bos, Chi, Phi, historical Det as well. That have fanbases in other markets. That's the O6 conversation that is missing. Not the history of these clubs, but the sheer market size of them plus their national reach.

Youre most certainly right. I was referring to the idea that viewership is down for the sport as a whole; not just these specific playoffs (and first round at that)

 

[swissdude]

How ever they count viewership nowadays.... Of course the number of viewers who resist to sign with multiple providers and pay to watch the games decline but that doesn't mean that the number of viewers declines accordingly. It only shows that league, owners and broadcasters don't have a clue how it could work. Ask the Ducks or Stars if they are experiencing a decline in viewership

 

[King Woodballs]

5 Canadian teams will do that.
I bet Americans don’t give a f*** about Ottawa and winnipeg at a minimum.

 

[dabeechman]

It's almost as if by making the games harder and harder to access, that the viewership suffers as a result.

 

[Dr Amazing]

Bullshit.

 

[SomeDude]

I don’t even know how to watch games anymore, and honestly, don’t really care to figure it out.

I paid for espn+ last year but with the team I care about being blacked out for me and ESPN improving their VPN blocking abilities, they can go **** themselves.

 

[ThrowDemTongs]

All the younger fans stream it illegally how do they account for that?

My thoughts exactly.

 

[GrumpyKoala]

Next year's Carolina vs Devils or Edmonton vs Kings will bring the views back up!

Bingo, however let's move puck drop at 11:50 pm on a Wednesday.

 

[Frosty415]

Viewership numbers are quickly becoming unreliable due to the fact that there are a thousand ways to watch, with many being untraceable

I personally doubt viewership is down in any of these leagues; instead id blame pirating (which I dont blame anyone for) and live streaming

This, people are broke. I'm not spending close to 1000 dollars for shitty blackouts, I'll just use my other sources they can't track.

 

[Nstar to Wild]

The game times and scheduling are horrible.

Caps-Habs is on at 7 tonight and the interesting games don't start until 9:30??

Canes-NJ started at 6(!) yesterday??

Games have never been easier to watch, but the scheduling is nonsensical. They had MIN-VGK start at 10PM on a Sunday?!?

I always like in the past when games would overlap somewhat. This allowed a person to watch multiple games / flip back and forth. It also allowed the later game to start earlier. Like you stated above, The second game does not start until the Caps / Habs game is over.

 

[ScaredStreit]

The on-ice product is fine. It's all the other crap involved the broadcasts that make me rarely tune in for random games.

 

[Johnny HFBOARDS]

didn’t the nhl just set an attendance record?

How do we get people out of the stands and back in front of their Tvs?

 

[Duke749]

How are you gonna play games on ESPN yet you have to wait a day to watch on PLUS???

 

[Hockey4Lyfe]

None of the big market teams/well followed teams made it.

Also, from the outside looking in, I don’t see many teams that are overly exciting to watch play.

Maybe Tampa Bay/Edmonton? The random ass start times certainly don’t help either. I saw the one started at 11 pm EST.

May watch the conference finals or cup final when the teams are actually on par with one another.

With the NFL draft this weekend, don’t expect these numbers to get any better.

 

[BenningHurtsMySoul]

The divisional set up sucks. Go back to 1-8 with division winners getting top seed. If there is a weak division winner, oh well. Reseed after each round

This is true. I remember being enthralled at series like Edmonton taking out Detroit in 2006 despite a 40 point difference between the two.

 

[wgknestrick]

All the younger fans stream it illegally how do they account for that?

You basically have to pirate stream or either subscribe to 50 different crap streaming services. I already have to subscribe to FN Fanduel just to watch my in market team. It makes those ESPN+ awkward intermissions seem great.

NHL needs to sell a streaming package that has EVERY game including playoffs, and not make it $300+ / season. They have a good product, but you have to jump through infinite hoop$ to see it.

 

[Greatzsky 99]

I'm surprised it's tanking. Always assumed once the Rangers are out people will watch more.

America is changing. The younger generations are calling lots of Hypocrisies out, and the Boomers running the show are not understanding it. You could fool the Boomers, but you can't really control the Z generation. Only way out is to bring all hockey for free to 1 channel. It already is free online if you know where to look. Finance is not everything. It's just a short money grab, with long terms negative consequences. Remove 80% of ads, remove all gambling. It's all extortion, and the young once ain't going in that direction.

Then why is NBA having the best playoff in 25 years, it seem that your reply is what you think and belive, and thats ok
but its not objective facts

 

[Greatzsky 99]

why not wait until the playoff is over and then see?