Welcome to the blogosphere The NHL Is Back first and foremost, as this is the source where I derive this post from.
Phil P. over at the site cites Media Week as he comments about the four network broadcast companies in play with the NHL’s cable broadcasts.
For me, Spike, ESPN and TNT all would be fine choices. ESPN is the safe bet, that will probably end up in mediocre ratings. Spike is riskier but could do great things for the NHL. And TNT is a solid choice, as long as the playoff situation is cleared up. One thing is for sure, it cannot go to Comcast. That would be a disaster.
First off, for the record, the players in play are Disney (ESPN), Viacom (Spike TV), Time Warner (TNT) and Comcast (OLN)…. Just wanted to make that clear (and to correct Phil on who owns TNT).
Secondly, I have to voice my major objections to ESPN and the discrediting of Outdoor Living Network. ESPN and Disney have both mistreated the NHL over the years and as of right now, ESPN is grossly oversaturated with sports that they air. It might be the Outdoor Games, it might be the X Games, the NBA, the NFL, MLB, Poker, Westminster Kennel club, College Football, College Basketball, etc, etc, etc… The NHL is trying to win back the fans and having the fans lost in teh glut of other sports on ESPN does not aid the league whatsoever. It’s like an girl going back to an abusive boyfriend just because she’s lonely. Sure, he treats her mean, might beat her up verbally or physically… But it’s better than being alone, right?
Wrong.
Spike TV — a Viacom network — offers probably the best bet for the league with the fact that not only are it’s sister networks tied indirectly to it (Viacom owns MTV, Nickelodeon and plenty of other stations around the cable dial) and that might help promote the league being played on their network… It’d also give the league exposure to a younger demographic.
TNT — I can’t dis the idea or support it. TNT gives me the willies because of it’s NBA ties and NASCAR ties. It routinely airs repeats and movies (much like Spike for that matter or NBC Universals USA Network) so there is space for original NHL broadcasts (games, news shows, etc)…
OLN is the Dark Horse of the four networks in play. It’s national broadcast reach is not as broad as any of the other players and OLN’s marquee program right now is the Tour De France each year. Comcast owns a great deal of regional cable providers though in major markets and can force OLN’s way into the regions to solidify the deal…
This story is almost as interesting as the hot stove talk that is already heating up elsewhere in teh league.
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2 Comments until now
Thanks for the welcome. You were right about my mistake, and I fixed it in my story (with a nice link to your site
First, OLN reaches almost 40% fewer households than Spike, that’s a huge difference. Second, on most cable providers, it’s high up in the numbers, away from stations you scroll through. I never browse to see what’s on OLN, but I do for TNT, ESPN and Spike. That is important. And like I said, ESPN will probably provide mediocre ratings again, but it does bring stability to the table. And I was reading some forums and someone from Australia posted and said, “If it’s not on ESPN, I will get to see zero games.” No center ice, no nothing. It is important to remember the size and force of ESPN. When you are in a hotel room somewhere, you KNOW there will be ESPN. It has the market share.
Anyway, just thoguht I would comment as I love the debate.
Phil, while you’ve got a valid point about OLN (thus my “Dark Horse” comment)… I really can’t say that ESPN is bringing stability to the table.
We’re talking US media here so unfortunately the Australian comment has to be tossed out (that’s another point I will get to in this reply, I hope)… We got to deal with the American side first and foremost….
When you talk national cable deals here in the US and exposure, you can’t mention ESPN. ESPN helping the NHL’s product be marketed isn’t going to happen as they have already demonstrated in the latter years of their relationship with the NHL. They’ve reduced broadcasts and they’ve reduced coverage. NHL2Nite was canceled, further ailinating their committment to hockey… And most likely any ESPN broadcasts of the NHL will be relegated to ESPN 2 with an occasional broadcast on the big network. ESPN 2 has a smaller reach than it’s parent if I do so recall?
You also have a good point about TNT and Spike being more part of the regular TV relationship of an American couch potato as compared to OL Network. And with Spike, you have the multimedia ties that could further bolster the NHL if they are smart in negotiations or can wet Viacoms appetite and leave the big V asking for more. TNT also has the large cross-promotion base being a Time Warner company. Time Warner… CNN, TBS, Print Media, etc… You can usually see cross promotion through Time Warner channels (Braves Baseball commercials on several of their channels, other programing ads for their networks also appear regularly on their channels)… That’s a better possibility than just going back to the abuser that is ESPN.
As for the International element (the Australian viewers, etc)… The NHL has to market it’s product globally. I would not be surprised if Australian media would happily pick up games for late night broadcasts (or early morning hour broadcasts?). That goes the same for several countries around the world with interest in Hockey - and there is globally interest in the sport outside of Europe (as the message board comment you cited shows).
Honestly, I think ESPN is just as bad as OLN - probably worse for the sake of the league. Re-upping with Disney is just not thinking about all things through with how the game will be treated / exposed on ESPN.