News Article: Playoff Viewership tanking

[SJSharksfan39]

I think there is another reason why viewership hype might be tanking. The hype is not there. I remember when National TV coverage would show the opening pregame stuff and the atmosphere of the building. I'm reminded of that because I'm watching the Washington game and they were just talking about Landeskog returning for Colorado. How awesome would it be to see that opening from Ball Arena and the ovation he gets on his return. We won't though because this current game is running long and we have to go back to the studio to see what PK Subban is saying. I would love to see the openings and introductions for each game and I think that is something the NHL site can provide. We don't need in your face analysis all the time.

 

[nucks88]

Time to bring back the glowing puck so Bubba can follow the game…

 

[Rants Mulliniks]

In the 80's you never paid a penny for TV. Had 3 channels. Teams didn't share rinks so you were guaranteed your team played every second night. East coast and West coast games were lined up so one would finish and the other start soon afterwards. I had a few years where I watched the playoffs in their entirety. Often 6 plus hours of hockey per night. I liked that. Granted you wouldn't necessarily see every series.

 

[Ratbath]

i want to watch all these games but i'm not paying for any extra channels of trash cable plus this specific sports package just for these games.

 

[G50]

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

Bettman doesn't understand that there's a reason the division works in the AHL and not so much in the NHL. The teams in the AHL ALWAYS are seeing each other, almost all games are in the division. It makes for a huge amount of excitement in the playoffs cause you know it's going to be brutal.

 

[WatchfulElm]

Playoff hockey and hockey in general has been trending downwards in quality.

We have these potential great series and so far none of the series are "Must see tv" it's more "ehh if you have time, check us out"

Maybe it has to do with the fact that they barely call any penalty anymore. Interference is back in full force. It's mostly 5 on 5 hockey. A team is now lucky to get 2 power plays in the same game. The star players have much less opportunities to shine.

Even cross checks to the face, which used to be automatic penalties, are now subjected to the "game management" scam. The quality of the product really suffers from it.

 

[pth2]

Exactly because they're making it harder than it has to be by having everything spread out.

RSN Network app, ESPN + (with no main Espn or abc). HBO max (for TNT). Then there is NHL network and main ABC and ESPN you have to get through another streaming service. Some of those streaming won't carry TNT....the list goes on.

The NHL needs to reconsider going back to the NHL app in the next tv deal and do their own broadcast. Have ESPN and Fox (no TNT) as part of the deal but also have those games broadcasted through the app.

Viewship will always be down if they continue splitting the games over multiple channels and apps, which will each have their limitations to access them.

 

[torontoblood]

No Buffalo, Philadelphia , Detroit, Boston, Pittsburgh, NYRangers, and NYIslanders in the East. All of these cities are traditional nhl markets with big and established fanbases. The Washington capitals are the biggest remaining American market in the Eastern conference playoffs right now. Of course it has a significant impact on NHL playoff ratings in the east coast of the USA.

And no Chicago, Seattle, and Nashville in the West. Seattle is a new NHL market but the city is well populated and has a lot of sports fans. Last time the Kraken made the playoffs two years ago, the city embraced them. Nashville is not a traditional hockey market but the preds are loved and supported there with a big and passionate fanbase behind them. But at least St.Louis, Dallas, Colorado, Los Angeles, Minnesota and Vegas made the playoffs in the West this year though.

 

[Dirty Mind]

5 out of 8 series are 2-0 leads. Kinda takes the intrigue out of the first round when it’s already that lopsided. At least most of Dallas/Colorado has been great, as predicted. I’m surprised the Wild got the split in Vegas too.

 

[Drake1588]

Concentrated interest in the sport in the US is in markets like Michigan, Massachusetts, NY State (x3), Chicago, Pennsylvania (x2). The teams that draw those fans are out of the playoff picture. That's going to have a big impact.

 

[TheSmokingMan]

Another thing to consider, the first round of the NHL playoffs is going head to head with the first round of the NBA playoffs. The first rounds usually offset by about a week in previous seasons, but the four nations moved the start of the playoffs back a little. Combine that with games being scattered across multiple cable channels and streaming services, and I think it's very difficult for the average viewer to find the game. Heck, we are die hard fans and we have trouble navigating the craziness.

People are hungry for hockey, but the league keeps shooting itself in the foot with these awful TV deals. I know I would happily pay a tidy sum for access to all the NHL games. Blackout restrictions make that a minefield and a non-starter for a lot of us. The only reason I still pay for cable TV is because I can't get all of the local sports without it.

When are greedy corporations going to learn that the best thing they can do to grow their business, is remove accessibility obstacles and make their product easily available. They are living under an old business model that is past its sell by date. Kudos to organizations like Anaheim that are innovating.

 

[Djp]

down 22% compared to last year.

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Viewership Decline

The NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs are experiencing a significant decline in viewership, with early games showing double-digit percentage drops compared to last year.

www.newsbreak.com

Large markets of Boston, ny, Crosby not in, vancouver/ seattle not in.

Its also early in the playoffs. You also have nba playoffs.

Also ratings split between national and local rights

Espn aired mon-was series in DC but was local network also aired the games thud ratings in DC split.

 

[Fatass]

No Buffalo, Philadelphia , Detroit, Boston, Pittsburgh, NYRangers, and NYIslanders in the East. All of these cities are traditional nhl markets with big and established fanbases. The Washington capitals are the biggest remaining American market in the Eastern conference playoffs right now. Of course it has a significant impact on NHL playoff ratings in the east coast of the USA.

And no Chicago, Seattle, and Nashville in the West. Seattle is a new NHL market but the city is well populated and has a lot of sports fans. Last time the Kraken made the playoffs two years ago, the city embraced them. Nashville is not a traditional hockey market but the preds are loved and supported there with a big and passionate fanbase behind them. But at least St.Louis, Dallas, Colorado, Los Angeles, Minnesota and Vegas made the playoffs in the West this year though.

Yup. Viewership goes up and down depending on which clubs are in, especially south of the border. Up north we will watch regardless.

 

[lakeshirts37]

I was reading something the other day Rangers and Blackhawks viewership were unusually down this year. It actually caused MSG to go bankrupt in March. I believe this just has to do with finding a way to get their networks on a easier and cheaper way to stream.



You are right and This is a start. Everything televised on ESPN or the Espn 2 needs to be on +

Right now the cable model is dying a slow painful death and until it does and the streaming gets more simple and figured out, expect lower numbers.

Also the MLB app imo is the closest to being on the right track. ESPN + should follow their model. Even include NHL network in the package. Like MLB does with MLB network and they only charge 34 a month. Or 150 for the year.

Blackouts are the next thing that also need to go.

Re MSG - what are you talking about? You think Rangers viewership being down this year is why MSG was close to declaring bankruptcy protection? Not at all the case

 

[M88K]

Another thing I'll add.
Since ESPN seems to carry most of these series so far, I haven't bothered to watch them.
It's truly amateur hour over at ESPN.
you got audio issues, like echo in the mic, audio cutting out, you got crowd conversations picked up over the game, or worst of all Leah Hextall is working the game and in the rare times that things are working, you're still subject to ESPN crews. It's all bad

 

[BB79]

There are major markets missing from the playoffs. No Bruins or rangers is a huge blow for viewership I’d imagine.

Bruins fan- I haven't watched a single game these playoffs. It's probably because they're all on TNT/ESPN and I don't do cable but still, haven't had a lot of interest this year. Watching more baseball than usual. At least MLB does a free game of the day unlike the cheap NHL

 

[Kcoyote3]

Last year I bought Max to watch hockey. This year I’m not buying cable to watch hockey. I’m using streaming sites and calling it a day. There are probably a lot that are doing the same.

 

[Score8]

Retread of soft under achieving, over rated, superstars , combined with young inexperienced teams . This is one of the weakest playoffs in recent memory. The nhl should just flip a coin at this point to determine the cup winner.

 

[Leafshater67]

Too many hoops and bs, I just stream on an illegal website now honestly. I cancelled my cable too

 

[Skeksis25]

I subscribe to MAX for AEW, so I'll watch whatever games are on that. Other than that, I'll just find streaming sites. Not paying extra just to watch hockey.

 

[JP Mick]

down 22% compared to last year.

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Viewership Decline

The NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs are experiencing a significant decline in viewership, with early games showing double-digit percentage drops compared to last year.

www.newsbreak.com

They are forcing people to watch ESPN. Everyone streams now. Go figure.

 

[WillardJFredricks]

I think there is another reason why viewership hype might be tanking. The hype is not there. I remember when National TV coverage would show the opening pregame stuff and the atmosphere of the building. I'm reminded of that because I'm watching the Washington game and they were just talking about Landeskog returning for Colorado. How awesome would it be to see that opening from Ball Arena and the ovation he gets on his return. We won't though because this current game is running long and we have to go back to the studio to see what PK Subban is saying. I would love to see the openings and introductions for each game and I think that is something the NHL site can provide. We don't need in your face analysis all the time.

Good call. I remember years ago loving getting to see the pre-game of the Canucks games because the crowd was crazy and the anthem singer got everyone going even more. As a viewer at home it got me a lot more excited. Now it's just a bunch of people talking and then "we're ready for puck drop" and it literally switches to the ref getting the cue that they can drop the puck.

 

[Nsjohnson]

Assuming this is a well done report, with main markets who are out of it accounted for, then it's because of people like me who, despite having two smart TV's, phone's, etc. I can't for the life of me find a way to watch. I have ESPN+. I am not willing to do anything more. They can figure it out.