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It’s Not Working Gary
by Paul on 01/23/07 at 09:15 AM ET
Comments (3)
from Mark Spector of the National Post via Canada.com,
What really tips the scales, though, is what Bettman set out to acquire right from the start. Under his guidance, the NHL has gone through Fox, ABC, and ESPN, and now NBC and Versus in ever-decreasing rights deals. Hockey has reached rock bottom on the television front: a network deal that is worth nothing until NBC sees a highly unlikely profit; a cable deal with a channel that is carried scarcely throughout the States, and has returned national numbers in the 195,000-viewers range.
It was a helluva try, Gary. But it’s just not working.
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Comments
Eliminating the instigator rule is going to get the NHL a better TV contract? Color me skeptical.
Posted by Blackcloud on 01/23/07 at 09:42 AM ET
Nothing is going to get the NHL a better contract, and anyone who has any better ideas than Bettman should stand up and say so.
It wouldnt have mattered who the commissioner was in the last 10 + years, the league would be in the same position as it is right now.
Maybe what the NHL should consider is leaving these boring USA markets that cant fill seats no matter how good the team is, and move them to a city closer to the Canadian border or in Canada…
the TV numbers are never bad in Canada, never.
Posted by PuckHound61 from Speckville USA on 01/23/07 at 10:04 AM ET
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Simple. Eliminate the instigator rule. I’m not one of those guys who goes to see the fights, but you have to admit they bring an excitement and passion to the game. People don’t stand up to watch for no reason. Of course, now the league has boxed itself in, bowing to the politically correct crowd. As attendance/interest plummets, maybe they’ll wake up and give us our game back.
Posted by Ronnie on 01/23/07 at 09:31 AM ET