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NBC Fading
by Paul on 07/31/07 at 06:04 AM ET
Comments (3)
from the Vancouver Province,
Turn out the lights. The NBC-NHL party is just about over. The U.S. TV network has one year plus an option left on its deal with the hockey league and with numbers sinking faster than the Lusitania the rats are already jumping ship.
The NHL on NBC now makes “Joanie Loves Chachi” look like an Einstein-like programming decision.
In response, the network has now cancelled its studio show and has reduced three games on Saturday to just one on Sunday.
Gone are Brett Hull, Bill Clement and Ray Ferraro.
“Of course I was disappointed,” says Ferraro. “Three minutes into the call and you know you’ve got to start earning a living some place else.”
read on & some HNIC news too…
Filed in: Hockey Broadcasting | KK Hockey | Permalink
Comments
Much as I might want the rumors of an NHL/ESPN reunion to be true (even though I have serious issues with the Worldwide Leader, the fact is that ESPN is a monopoly and the one route to national exposure for a major sport in this era,) nothing about this article rings true. To wit: Brett Hull left for a job with the Stars, a natural fit for him; Milbury’s one-time employment in Bristol (more than a decade ago!) doesn’t even begin to suggest that hockey is on its way back to the Leader (if they signed Buccigross, that might be another story); Bill Clement, while a decent analyst, was always a terrible fit as main studio host, and wasn’t showing any signs of improvement; and scrapping the pregame show (if it’s true - I haven’t seen it reported anywhere else) is meaningless, since there will obviously continue to be a studio show between periods. No one needed to watch three middle-aged guys skating around haplessly on Rockefeller Plaza to better understand hockey.
Posted by Sam from Minneapolis, MN on 07/31/07 at 04:58 PM ET
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Though he’s got valid points, I wouldn’t listen to Pratt’s doom and gloom. If you ever hear him on the radio, you know he’s an idiot. I didn’t know Clement and Ferraro were gone, but Hull left for another job and the schedule/studio change were announced a long time ago. And for what it’s worth, I believe the NHL on NBC’s ratings were actually up a tiny tiny percentage over last year and the network added more games on to its schedule and was profitable, even if that profit was $1. I’m not saying that NBC’s in it for the long haul or necessarily happy, but at least this article doesn’t have the facts totally straight.
Posted by Mike Chen on 07/31/07 at 12:03 PM ET