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Signs Point To NBC Not Picking Up Broadcast Option
by Paul on 07/31/07 at 09:53 PM ET
Comments (3)
from William Houston of the Globe and Mail,
The online publication SportsBusiness Journal reported this week that the NHL has started preliminary talks with ESPN about replacing NBC as a television partner in 2008-09.
In response, an NBC spokesman said it was premature to speculate on what the network will do with its 2008-09 option.
What’s more, NBC will employ a flexible NHL schedule in 2007-08, from which it will pick the best matchup — a move that should push up ratings.
“This is the first opportunity that NBC will have to really fight for the rating number that it considers to be its target,” an NHL source said.
Still, if the NHL is talking to ESPN, it’s almost certain NBC has informed the league it is preparing to pull out.
Networks make programming decisions months in advance. It’s unlikely the NHL would have approached ESPN unless it knew NBC was not planning to pick up its option.
Update 2:30am ET:
More thoughts from TIB,
Giving up exclusivity for publicity would be a smart move for the young network. ESPN, which has mocked the channel on occasion, would now be helping remind its audience it not only exists, but carries similar content. Somewhere Alanis Morissette is smiling.
Despite the jokes directed at Versus, Comcast has done a good job getting it onto more cable systems since the NHL deal was signed, and continuously improving the hockey broadcasts as they’ve gone along.
Filed in: Hockey Broadcasting | KK Hockey | Permalink
Comments
If Comcast would like their channel everywhere then they need to lower their carrier fee and stop trying to strong arm carriers. The minute they got the NHL they jacked up their fee and started threatening to remove the channel if carriers didn’t bend to their will.
For the content the carrier fee is pretty high which is why a lot of carriers don’t carry it or only offer it on premium tier packages.
Comcast sucks.
Posted by moocat on 08/01/07 at 10:32 AM ET
moocat,
ESPN employed those same tactics when they got the NFL. Believe me, nobody charges more, or uses more strong arm tactics for carriage then Disney (ESPN’s owner). That’s just the way the industry works.
Posted by Rob from Stamford, CT on 08/02/07 at 07:10 AM ET
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The truth is, Versus has done a mostly bang-up job with the contract and the league. For being the rinky-dink operation they started as with the first yerea of it, they put out a pretty good product (once they moved the scoreboard out of the way and learned to zoom back out a bit again during games. And props to them for picking up CBC telecasts when needed, to get more games and more coverage on.
I know a lot of people complain that they don’t get the channel—that’s not the league or Versus’ fault, it’s your carrier if that’s the case. Complain to them, not to the league or to Comcast. It’s not like Comcast wouldn’t like their channel available everywhere, but some other carriers are fueding with them over it, and some markets are simply stubborn. I’d very much like to see the NHL remian on Versus, and Versus to pick up even more rights and properties for some other sports, to continue to make ESPN sweat. Because the truth is ESPN as a network has slowly been losing ground to FoxSPorts, and now Versus.
Posted by Primis on 08/01/07 at 07:19 AM ET