Who is Going to Watch: NBC and NHL prepare for the finals that no one saw

[Pookie]

This is like concern-trolling on a topic nobody is concerned about.

Right. You aren’t concerned about me posting some numbers. 3 teams mentioned. Yet the long suffering Vegas fans are upset.

 

[kladorf2005]

I have a wonderful idea. Keep it away from the NBA finals. Start the season 2 weeks later or drag out the season 2 weeks.

I just had a conversation with a Cavaliers fan about this yesterday. He pointed out that very few NBA fans are also NHL fans and vice versa. Aside from the handful of cities with teams in both sports, I imagine the overlap isn't very large. And probably not impacting ratings that much if a SCF game is being played on the same night as an NBA Finals game.

I personally hate the NBA, and most people I know watch only one or the other. Not both.

 

[kladorf2005]

OP - you come across as more anti-Vegas than anything else. Do you mind if I ask who your team is? I'm going to venture a guess that's it's a team that hasn't won the cup in a few decades. I find most of the Vegas haters are coming from cup starved fan-bases.

 

[KingsFan7824]

Stop blaming the NHL and start blaming the incompetent GM’s in the league. When Don Waddell gets a GM job and an expansion team makes it to the cup, it is time for the management of teams to look at themselves in the mirror.

Yeah. Other teams should hire another former GM, possibly a good old boy, that is endlessly criticized for making one of the worst trades in the last who knows how many years. Then got criticized for supposedly not doing enough in the expansion draft. If anything, maybe nobody should go too crazy about Waddell. The Canes will win next year if we do, sweeping all 4 teams they face in the process.

 

[GKG18]

I'm sorry I sifted through some of this thread.

 

[66871]

OP - you come across as more anti-Vegas than anything else. Do you mind if I ask who your team is? I'm going to venture a guess that's it's a team that hasn't won the cup in a few decades. I find most of the Vegas haters are coming from cup starved fan-bases.

I agree, it seems to be mostly cup starved fan bases with a sense of entitlement: Leafs, Rangers (some) and even a small number Bruins fans. Add in some Caps fans and some Jets fans licking their wounds and that about sums it up.

I really hope there are no Sharks fans bitching about it since their expansion draft basically allowed them to destroy another team (and, yes, I'm aware of the history of the Seals/Barons)

 

[willy702]

I’m not sweating anything.

I posted an observation with data involving 3 teams.

Seems the remaining Vegas “fans” we the ones sweating the fact that they might not draw big numbers.

If you don’t sweat it... why post in this thread?

I couldn't care less if you or anyone else watches the Finals. You are the one sweating the ratings. Teams who win don't go back and say "but oh did we draw viewers?" and then if they didn't hand back over their hardware.

Vegas fans, even those who don't know anything about hockey, aren't missing the games on TV. This has become as much as about city pride as hockey. That's what hockey gets. It doesn't get fake NBA or NFL fans who "root" for the Warriors because of Curry even though they live in Alabama or the hordes of "Tom Brady can do no wrong" fans from around the world. Those people drive TV ratings, but their fandom is an inch deep. NHL fans pay more for playoff tickets than basketball and baseball, and wouldn't dare root for a rival to do well no matter what "story" the media came up with. They watch because they care about the team's playing, not because someone is doing $10 squares or is showing all new commercials.

 

[DudeWhereIsMakar]

Steven Stamkos winning the cup will make me so happy as he's one of my favourite players in the league and isn't a whiner.

 

[tony d]

Given the feel good story around Vegas I think it'll be a highly watched final series. Imagine if they actually do this and win the Cup.

 

[Cyclones Rock]

I mean if you said that you cared about hockey related revenue going up so that the cap could rise, I’d get it.

We are all a little tired of the Canadian teams doing all the heavy lifting.

If you think that a significant portion of NHL revenues are going to be derived from a national US deal and that the participants in this year's final are going to have any major impact on whatever deal is struck, then you are deeply mistaken.

Viva VGK!

 

[Reality Check]

Between Winnipeg and Vegas, NBC is ecstatic that Vegas won.

Ecstatic.

 

[JianYang]

Vegas definitely brings a compelling storyline, but I doubt that translates on national ratings.

I'm also a bit surprised that LA/NYR didn't get more viewers just due to sheer market sizes.

 

[Jozay]

im willing to bet ratings will be high because of vegas

 

[jkrdevil]

1.) comparing rating from 20 to 25 years ago is dumb because media has fragmented so much in that time. Neither the World Series, NBA Finals or any tv programming has the same ratings as they did 20 and 25 years ago.

2.) the tv contract isn’t up for 4 more years, so this year’s ratings likely won’t matter when it comes time to negotiate. Cup ratings hit their low point in 06 and 07 and still just 3 years later signed a record (for them contract)

3.) even with the NHL’s lower ratings the Cup final is still more valuable st this point than potential replacement programming.

4.) NBC is probably just ecstatic that Winnipeg is out. Ratings are up across the board this year with exception of the Winnipeg series which misses local market. Vegas ratings are probably better than most of the western alternatives

 

[AndreRoy]

Steven Stamkos winning the cup will make me so happy as he's one of my favourite players in the league and isn't a whiner.

Tampa really has a likeable team for the most part. Dotchin’s a hothead and Kunitz has a history of questionable hits but aside from those two I can’t think of anybody on the roster that people would have reason to dislike (unless they’re really going to hold a single momentary act of stupidity for which he apologized repeatedly and profusely against Hedman.) It helps that Yzerman got rid of the likes of Brown, Drouin, and DeAngelo.

 

[Legionnaire11]

Here's an idea. You can commission a new trophy called "The Pookie Cup" and award it annually to the NHL team that you deemed to have the most compelling storyline each season.

Produce a 90 minute show where the winning team's season is recapped in a feel-good documentary, and at the end you physically hand the Pookie Cup to them and let them celebrate on-air for several minutes.

 

[Pookie]

I couldn't care less if you or anyone else watches the Finals. You are the one sweating the ratings. Teams who win don't go back and say "but oh did we draw viewers?" and then if they didn't hand back over their hardware.

Vegas fans, even those who don't know anything about hockey, aren't missing the games on TV. This has become as much as about city pride as hockey. That's what hockey gets. It doesn't get fake NBA or NFL fans who "root" for the Warriors because of Curry even though they live in Alabama or the hordes of "Tom Brady can do no wrong" fans from around the world. Those people drive TV ratings, but their fandom is an inch deep. NHL fans pay more for playoff tickets than basketball and baseball, and wouldn't dare root for a rival to do well no matter what "story" the media came up with. They watch because they care about the team's playing, not because someone is doing $10 squares or is showing all new commercials.

You can turn this into a me vs Vegas thing if it floats your boat but that's not what I'm doing.

I'm highlighting that ratings will likely be poor based on the time zone, age of the team and storyline. That's it. That's all.

It has nothing to do with the season ticket holders getting joy out of a Cup Final. That's awesome for them.

It has nothing to do with the players who get to legitimately play for the Cup. That's awesome for them.

It has nothing to do with the residents of Las Vegas, who endured a pretty horrific attack just a short time ago. This experience should be awesome for them.

The responses in this thread seem to be chalked up to "Social media outrage" - someone said something I disagree with.

I'm not watching. Millions less may be watching. Folks need to get over it. It's only a big deal for the TV ratings.

 

[Pookie]

If you think that a significant portion of NHL revenues are going to be derived from a national US deal and that the participants in this year's final are going to have any major impact on whatever deal is struck, then you are deeply mistaken.

Viva VGK!

Yeah it's too bad.

NBC paid $2B for a 10 year deal.

In Canada, Rogers paid $5.2B for 12 years.

We just have 7 teams. Y'all have 24. Will hockey ever be more than a fringe sport there?

 

[Canadian Time]

I think it might be because Leaf fans aren't used to holding their attention this long in the playoffs.

Vegas now has more playoff wins in one year than the Leafs have in one year in their entire existence. Strange but true, let that sink in!!

 

[Pookie]

Between Winnipeg and Vegas, NBC is ecstatic that Vegas won.

Ecstatic.

That's true. Given the choice, I'm sure they would have preferred Chicago but when Canadian teams are in it, they don't draw well in the US.

The Canadian Networks would have been ecstatic. Hockey Night in Canada regular season Saturday night games averaged more than the US Networks drew for Las Vegas - Jets in the playoffs (1.8M vs 1.4M).

A Jets Final would have been massive up here. Likely double/triple that number. 2011 Bruins-Canucks game 7 drew 8.76M Canadian viewers.

 

[Pookie]

I think it might be because Leaf fans aren't used to holding their attention this long in the playoffs.

This is true. We turn the TV off with 10 minutes to go in the 3rd period of game 7 as there is nothing that could possibly go wrong when we have the lead

 

[VinikToWinIt]

I will never understand why hockey fans give a shit how much money a television company makes.

 

[Guy Gadowsky]

Vegas has been pulling the highest playoff ratings not involving Chicago

People will watch the Finals because, well, bloody Vegas is in the Stanley Cup Finals

 

[SavedByRoy]

This thread and others have shown me there are just as many people whining about people that are rooting against Vegas as there are people whining about Vegas.

 

[zizbuka]

A bigger question is, if Pittsburgh doesn't really draw, why does the NHL cater to them so much?