By Bob Smizik | Tuesday 11:30 a.m.
The National Hockey League’s continuing struggle to gain broad public acceptance has taken another kick in the teeth from -- of all people -- itself.
In a move that defies comprehension and exemplifies the kind of short-sightedness that has held the NHL back, the league has sided with NBC, its so-called broadcast partner, to deny the teams in the Stanley Cup final the right to carry tonight's crucial Game 6 to large throngs of people gathered in or near their respective arenas.
In other words, they are knowingly trying to turn off not just the league’s fan base, but its future fan base.
How stupid can they be?
Here’s what NBC and the NHL are killing:
* The Penguins giant party outside of Mellon Arena. This has been going on since last year’s playoffs and gets bigger and bigger with 5,000 to 10,000 fans cramming into the area outside of the main gate to watch the game in a party -- but non-alcoholic -- atmosphere.
* The Red Wings long-standing tradition of opening Joe Louis Arena and showing the game on a giant screen when the team has a chance to clinch the Stanley Cup on the road, as is the case tonight. In Detroit this is known as Joe Vision.
The Detroit Free Press reported the following today:
``A source familiar with the Joe Vision negotiations said the NHL asked NBC and CBC (which has Canadian broadcasting rights) not to allow the Wings to broadcast the game. An NBC spokesman declined comment.''
The Free Press also reported that Bernadette Mansur, the NHL’s senior vice president for communications,
said one of the league’s contractual agreements with NBC is that the clubs will not hold viewing parties in their arena.
And, presumably, outside their arenas because NBC has consistently refused to allow the Penguins to carry its games. By contrast, games carried earlier in the playoffs by Versus and FSN Pittsburgh, were allowed to be shown on the giant screen outside Mellon Arena.
Isn’t there someone involved with NBC or the NHL with a grain of common sense? Isn’t there anyone who realizes how counterproductive this stance is?
NBC is worried about its ratings being affected by a large group watching in one location and that will not count in the ratings.
I’ve got news for NBC. The vast majority of the crowd outside Mellon Arena wants to watch the game in a party atmosphere. They are mostly college students and they are not going home to watch it. They will go to their favorite bar. They still won’t count in the ratings.
The NHL is worried about offending NBC, which is beyond ridiculous since NBC pays nothing for the rights of the game. What little money the games earn on television is split between the league and NBC. It amounts to peanuts.
So for this the NHL is offending it fans and its future fans. Instead of bowing down to NBC, the NHL should be using all of what ever leverage it has to see this game is shown at Joe Louis Arena and outside Mellon Arena.
This has been a outstanding series, pitting Detroit, the most successful franchise in the NHL, against the Penguins, the team most likely to challenge the Red Wings in the future and with the kind of star power no other franchise has.
The NHL and NBC should be doing all in their power to show these games to as many people as possible.
Instead, incredibly, they are doing all in their power to deny these games being seen by as many people as possible.
Posted
Jun 09 2009, 11:20 AM
by
Bob Smizik