Saying you’re sorry makes it ok, I guess.

HA, the ratings for the Preakness were so high because people were tuning in to see what all the yelling was about. It was carry-over from the game.

I don’t get why the “blogosphere” feels like they were wronged somehow by this switch.  NBC had a choice to make and they made it, plain and simple.  They were under contract for the Preakness?  Even easier then.  The NHL didn’t lock that timeslot with their contract, so NBC sold it to someone else, plain and simple.

NBC doesn’t owe hockey fans anything.  The only people NBC owes anything to are it’s shareholders.  You’re upset because you didn’t get to see the end of the game?  Well, plenty of other people would have been upset if they missed the horse race, so who’s right?

Shareholders demand good fiscal performance. Viewers demand a quality service. Without attendance to the latter, you are unlikely to achieve the former.

FYI, the horse race was run about an hour after the hockey game was concluded. There was no urgent decision here. They cut away from the hockey game to show pre-race patter and pre-produced clips.

I don’t blame NBC for doing what was obviously the better decision ratings-wise.  The NHL leadership (no names, please) should be spanked for allowing our favorite sport to end up in this position.

“Well, plenty of other people would have been upset if they missed the horse race, so who’s right?”

I think you mean “plenty of other people would have been upset if they missed 15 minutes of celebrity interviews, fashion showing off, track trotting and ‘Is this the year for a Triple Crown champion?’ commentary during the 90 minute pre-race show, so who’s right?”

... right?

This should never have been an afternoon game to begin with…

Hey,

I don’t watch the crap, but it was bought, paid for, advertised, and got better ratings than the NHL. So yes, plenty of people wanted to watch whatever the hell was on.

And fiscal responsibility does ultimately mean quality viewing service, I’m simply saying that OUR ideas of quality programming may be different than other people’s ideas, and that their ideas have at least equal merit.

If you’re going to be mad at someone, be mad at the NHL for not forcing a “no-switch” clause into the contract like other major sports do.  NBC made a choice, one that you’re unhappy with and others are happy with.

People are afriad to say “It’s Bettman Fault”

the only thing i give bettman credit for beening good at telling white lies.......

I’m in Canada so I watched it on CBC, we didn’t miss a thing, however, I understand why hockey fans are p.o’d. The right person to blame is Bettman.  He’s been screwing things up for years. 

I Say Gretzky for Commish