 |
 |
NHL Playoffs are down, NBA playoffs up
Mon, 01 May 2006 12:33:53 -0400 rec.arts.tv
previous
David...
|
from media life magazine
For the NHL, the big hopes are fizzling Last fall it looked like the fans were returning By Toni Fitzgerald Last fall, it looked like the NHL had indeed bounced back from a hurtful lockout. Ratings were up, attendance was up and goals per game were up too, as people generally applauded hockey management’s contrite approach to wooing back fans. But now, these six months later, it looks like that judgment was premature. Hockey is not in fact back, and it may be worse off than ever on TV. fruitbat...
The playoffs started two weeks ago amid practically zero buzz. Ratings were way down for both the regular season on OLN and the first few playoff games on NBC. Eight clubs continue to lose money. And though the league did set an attendance record, averaging 16,550 per game, that was up just 2.4 percent over the 2003-’04 pre-lockout season, and those people sure didn’t get their friends to watch on TV. fruitbat...
Perhaps it’s time to admit that hockey just isn’t interesting to Americans. The NHL made some smart moves by instituting shoot-outs, which have been popular with fans, and changing the rules to boost scoring. And many curious non-hockey fans were willing to watch last fall, when all the buzz was about the sport’s return. But they evidently did not like what they saw. fruitbat...
Though the first nine NHL games carried by OLN averaged 194,000 viewers, by year’s end that had flattened to an average 165,000, or down 15 percent. fruitbat...
Ratings were less than half of what they were on ESPN two years ago, though that network is available in nearly 30 million more homes than OLN, which is in some 63 million. Perhaps most alarming, ratings for the playoff openers last weekend on NBC dipped about 20 percent versus the same games on ABC in 2004, from a 1.5 to a 1.3 household rating. NBC has already been criticized for its coverage of the playoffs, which could turn off casual fans. The announcers have been derided for playing cheerleader for the league, and camerawork for the fast-paced games has been lacking. That won’t help build an audience. “If you didn’t know better, you’d think [NBC announcer] John Davidson ... was under strict instructions to follow the company line and sell, sell, sell the game despite its obvious imperfections,” writes Jerry Lindquist of the Richmond Times-Dispatch. fruitbat...
Interestingly, hockey is still as popular as ever with its most devoted fans. To the north, Canada’s LeReseau des sports network recorded its best ratings in its 17-year history for games two and three of the Montreal Canadiens’ playoff series with the Carolina Hurricanes, drawing just over 1 million to each game. But those are the fans that the NHL did not need to reach. It needed to reach new fans, the ones that will help the sport grow toward a future where every club will make money instead of losing it or breaking even. That seems less likely now. fruitbat...
Meanwhile, in other sports event ratings for the week ended April 23, Fox’s Saturday NASCAR coverage ranked No. 1 with a 4.8 household rating. ABC’s two NBA playoff game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns Sunday averaged a 3.4 rating, a full point ahead of Saturday’s game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Washington Wizards. Both games were up compared with the same timeslot last year. Ian J. Ball...
|