Why No One Is Seeing the NHL's Great Game

[amsoil33 13]

What a dream series for the NHL. The league's two best players, Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals and Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins, are going goal for goal, assist for assist, in an Eastern Conference semifinal series headed for a deciding Game 7 Wednesday night. In Game 2, a captivating 4-3 Capitals win, both guys scored hat tricks. Five of the games have been decided by one goal, and three have gone into overtime.

It's a once-in-a-decade duel — the kind of rare treat that somehow exceeds the hype. So tonight, tune into channel 603, and catch the last game of an instant classic.

That's right: channel 603, square in television's Yukon Territory. Since the hockey playoffs are on Versus, formerly known as the Outdoor Life Network, viewers in many markets will have to search the hinterland of channel listings in order to watch the games. Versus is channel 603 on DirectTV, and its placement isn't pretty on cable, either. On Time Warner Cable's Los Angeles system, it's channel 267; in New York, Cablevision puts Versus on channel 146; and in Dallas, Versus gets prime position on channel 254. Of the nation's 115 million television households, some 40 million do not even get Versus. (See pictures of runners-up.)

Due to Versus' limited carriage and penalty box position on many channel lineups, what should be a transcendent series for hockey in America is barely cracking mainstream consciousness. Versus has carried all of the Penguins-Caps series except for Game 1, which NBC broadcast on May 2, and has averaged 1.04 million viewers, according to the Nielsen Company. The series is drawing a smaller audience than last year's College Baseball World Series, on ESPN, when it averaged 1.4 million viewers. On May 8, only 647,000 viewers tuned into Game 4 of Penguins-Capitals, making it the 81st highest-rated program on cable that night. The Crosby-Ovechkin dream duel clocked in behind both a Batman episode on the Cartoon Network (1.5 million viewers), and a "Reba" rerun on Lifetime (930,000). The Los Angeles Lakers-Houston Rockets NBA playoff game on ESPN, with nearly 6 million viewers, came in first. The May 9 NASCAR Sprint Cup race, a regular season affair, drew 7.5 times more viewers than Game 5 — an overtime thriller — shown the same night on Versus.

How did hockey skate into this mess? Coming out of the 2004-2005 lockout, Versus outbid ESPN for rights to hockey games. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman chose cash over the increased exposure any sport gets from ESPN, which is currently in 98 million homes. While the game has gotten better — new rules have increased scoring and phenoms like Ovechkin and Crosby gave the game new blood — Bettman lost a mainstream audience to which he could market this improved product. So while Ovechkin-Crosby plays out in the wilderness, Bettman should wonder what might have been. (See TIME's picks for the best and worst sports executives of 2008.)

Many hockey insiders are frustrated. "Quite frankly, I don't believe people know what Versus is, and I still don't know what they do," says Chicago Blackhawks chairman Rocky Wirtz, whose team will face the winner of the Detroit-Anaheim series in the Western Conference Finals (Broadcast on Versus, of course). The players' union has already griped about getting back on ESPN, but that's not happening anytime soon. The NHL and Versus are stuck with each other through 2011. So enjoy tonight's Game 7. Just get ready to climb up the dial.

http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1897847,00.html

[cusimano_brothers 1,655]

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman chose cash over the increased exposure any sport gets from ESPN, which is currently in 98 million homes.

[evilmrt 636]

On May 8, only 647,000 viewers tuned into Game 4 of Penguins-Capitals, making it the 81st highest-rated program on cable that night. The Crosby-Ovechkin dream duel clocked in behind both a Batman episode on the Cartoon Network (1.5 million viewers), and a "Reba" rerun on Lifetime (930,000).

And the owners still tolerate Bettman WHY? What a disgrace...meanwhile he tries to keep failing teams alfloat in non-hockey markets through revenue sharing....in order to expand the market audience? Um...am I missing something here, folks?

I wonder how good that Batman cartoon was....

[Guest Shoreline]

The ratings are utterly pathetic indeed, especially given the playoff game.

It's time for Bettman to step down, get voted out, or much worse.

[Chunkylover 26]

This is a stupid article. You know why nobody knows what VS is? Because hack media "professionals" don't care about doing their job until the end of the second round of the playoffs in the fourth year of the contract. This chump didn't follow game one of the post-lockout NHL because it was easier to write columns after watching Sportscenter, which is probably where he found out there was a game seven between Crosby and OV while he was looking for news on Manny Ramirez or European Soccer.

Bettman and Versus appreciate the sport of hockey, which is more than anyone can say about ESPN.

[Statts 4]

The NHL was on ESPN before the lockout and nobody gave 2 s***s about it then. The NHL on VS. is #1. The NHL on ESPN would be behind bowling at this point most likely. ESPN may be more convenient, but personally, Im glad Bettman went in a different direction after the lockout.

[Cern 0]

Bettman and Versus appreciate the sport of hockey

dohohohohoho. If Bettman appreciated hockey he'd have given the game decent exposure instead of going after his paycheck.

[Cern 0]

The NHL was on ESPN before the lockout and nobody gave 2 s***s about it then. The NHL on VS. is #1. The NHL on ESPN would be behind bowling at this point most likely. ESPN may be more convenient, but personally, Im glad Bettman went in a different direction after the lockout.

This reminds me of a lot of the anti-Canada arguments made about franchise moving. People are making the argument that even a fraction of the potential US getting behind hockey would overshadow Canadian interest, yet being #1 on a channel barely anyone even has, let alone watches, is somehow better than even marginal support on a channel with infinitely more viewership.

[Chunkylover 26]

dohohohohoho. If Bettman appreciated hockey he'd have given the game decent exposure instead of going after his paycheck.

Except it was the owners' paychecks he was actually going after. They tell him what to do. Put yourself in his position: do you really think you could look your thirty powerful bosses in the face and tell them they should choose the low-ballers at ESPN over the higher bid from a network seeking prominence and more likely to put actual effort behind promoting the game?

If you say yes you are lying.

[Chunkylover 26]

This reminds me of a lot of the anti-Canada arguments made about franchise moving. People are making the argument that even a fraction of the potential US getting behind hockey would overshadow Canadian interest, yet being #1 on a channel barely anyone even has, let alone watches, is somehow better than even marginal support on a channel with infinitely more viewership.

ESPN has the ability to cover hockey, but aside from their website they rarely choose to do so.

[evilmrt 636]

Anyone claiming that that huge Crosby vs. Ovechkin game 7 matchups are best left on VS because "they value hockey more" has never taken a business course in their life. Its about maximizing exposure and marketing the product effectively...but how can you market a product if its on a network that many people aren't even able to watch?

[Cern 0]

Put yourself in his position: do you really think you could look your thirty powerful bosses in the face and tell them they should choose coverage from a network that virtually every American with a TV has access to over virtually nobody being able to watch the games you're trying to promote.

Fixed.

[Joe S 11]

The reason nobody watches NHL hockey is because the mainstream sports fan isnt interested in roller derby or all-star wrestling on ice. The average potential hockey fan believes, with a lot of justification, that its all about the fights. The management of the NHL is still stuck on the idea that fighting and "sending a message " is a legitimate part of the game. ESPN got outbid because they knew they could make more money broadcasting something else. The NHL will never achieve the market share that the NFL or NBA have until they clean up their act. Last night's fight at the end of the game, when a five minute major,even if called, would not have impacted the game, is a good example. Niedermayer and the others should get some suspensions, but nothing will happen. They get to use the skill players as punching bags after the game with not even a two minute penalty. What a joke! Its no wonder that the major sports networks arent interested. If you check into it, you will find that Versus is real big on cage fighting, kickboxing, all-star wrestling and all that crap, so I am not suprised that they got the NHL contract , but I am suprised they dont show all the Ducks games. Joe S

[Jwo 7]

ESPN is way worse. They put the NHL on ESPN2.

[Guest Shoreline]

ESPN is way worse. They put the NHL on ESPN2.

Semi true. During the playoffs it was on both ESPN and ESPN2, as well as an ESPN Alternate. Make no mistake their coverage was better in terms of the fact that most people have ESPN, fewer have Versus, and more are likely to watch hockey on ESPN. However, the quality of coverage and knowledge was still absolute s***.

[Booster313 138]

What a dream series for the NHL. The league's two best players, Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals and Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins, are going goal for goal, assist for assist, in an Eastern Conference semifinal series headed for a deciding Game 7 Wednesday night. In Game 2, a captivating 4-3 Capitals win, both guys scored hat tricks. Five of the games have been decided by one goal, and three have gone into overtime.

It's a once-in-a-decade duel — the kind of rare treat that somehow exceeds the hype. So tonight, tune into channel 603, and catch the last game of an instant classic.

That's right: channel 603, square in television's Yukon Territory. Since the hockey playoffs are on Versus, formerly known as the Outdoor Life Network, viewers in many markets will have to search the hinterland of channel listings in order to watch the games. Versus is channel 603 on DirectTV, and its placement isn't pretty on cable, either. On Time Warner Cable's Los Angeles system, it's channel 267; in New York, Cablevision puts Versus on channel 146; and in Dallas, Versus gets prime position on channel 254. Of the nation's 115 million television households, some 40 million do not even get Versus. (See pictures of runners-up.)

Due to Versus' limited carriage and penalty box position on many channel lineups, what should be a transcendent series for hockey in America is barely cracking mainstream consciousness. Versus has carried all of the Penguins-Caps series except for Game 1, which NBC broadcast on May 2, and has averaged 1.04 million viewers, according to the Nielsen Company. The series is drawing a smaller audience than last year's College Baseball World Series, on ESPN, when it averaged 1.4 million viewers. On May 8, only 647,000 viewers tuned into Game 4 of Penguins-Capitals, making it the 81st highest-rated program on cable that night. The Crosby-Ovechkin dream duel clocked in behind both a Batman episode on the Cartoon Network (1.5 million viewers), and a "Reba" rerun on Lifetime (930,000). The Los Angeles Lakers-Houston Rockets NBA playoff game on ESPN, with nearly 6 million viewers, came in first. The May 9 NASCAR Sprint Cup race, a regular season affair, drew 7.5 times more viewers than Game 5 — an overtime thriller — shown the same night on Versus.

How did hockey skate into this mess? Coming out of the 2004-2005 lockout, Versus outbid ESPN for rights to hockey games. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman chose cash over the increased exposure any sport gets from ESPN, which is currently in 98 million homes. While the game has gotten better — new rules have increased scoring and phenoms like Ovechkin and Crosby gave the game new blood — Bettman lost a mainstream audience to which he could market this improved product. So while Ovechkin-Crosby plays out in the wilderness, Bettman should wonder what might have been. (See TIME's picks for the best and worst sports executives of 2008.)

Many hockey insiders are frustrated. "Quite frankly, I don't believe people know what Versus is, and I still don't know what they do," says Chicago Blackhawks chairman Rocky Wirtz, whose team will face the winner of the Detroit-Anaheim series in the Western Conference Finals (Broadcast on Versus, of course). The players' union has already griped about getting back on ESPN, but that's not happening anytime soon. The NHL and Versus are stuck with each other through 2011. So enjoy tonight's Game 7. Just get ready to climb up the dial.

http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1897847,00.html

Do u think that might have something to do with the fact that 10+ times as many people have ESPN as VS. Those numbers are skewed! Give them an even playing field.