Not very long ago, hockey was right up there with NFL Football, NBA Basketball and Major League Baseball as one of the most popular sports in the US. The other three are still going strong, with the NFL still dominant in the American sports scene.
However, hockey as dropped off the list of major sports. Right now, NASCAR racing is likely more popular with the general public than NHL hockey. Once one of the most important sports in the US, hockey is now seemingly shut out of the top tier looking in.
How did this happen to the NHL? Was it the entire season that was lost to the lockout that did this? No, that wasn't the reason, that lost year to the lockout was actually a symptom of the problem itself. The lockout was held because salaries were getting out of control and many franchises, outside of the most popular ones such as the New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings, simply could not afford to keep paying as much to their players as they were.
As any fan who lives in a city with a NHL franchise knows, declining ticket sales aren't the cause of NHL franchises' slumping revenues; games continue to be well attended and eagerly looked forward to. The reason for the lower revenue has to do with broadcast rights, a significant source of income for the NHL. Hockey is simply less popular as a televised sport than it once was.
The lockout however certainly didn't help the situation. When hockey returned the next season they made a deal with the network known as OLN - now Versus - to broadcast their weekly national games. However that cable station reaches only a small fraction of the homes that the major networks reach. This means that hockey simply isn't viewable by a great deal of the population, leaving it in a spot where it can hardly increase its popularity.
There is also the problem that many fans think that hockey is a sport which doesn't lend itself well to the medium of television. Fans prefer to watch hockey games in person; and NHL games are often sold out. However, hockey fans think that some of the speed and the finesse of the sport are lacking in televised games. Sadly, this has led to hockey being harder and harder to watch at all and there are a lot of people who may never know just what they're missing.
While it has slipped from the top four and there are some problems which need to be ironed out to truly convey all of the action and excitement of NHL hockey on TV, if the league can find a new broadcast carrier with a larger market share, it may still be able to return to its former status as one of the most important American sports. The NHL may be down, but it's too early to count it out just yet.
However, hockey as dropped off the list of major sports. Right now, NASCAR racing is likely more popular with the general public than NHL hockey. Once one of the most important sports in the US, hockey is now seemingly shut out of the top tier looking in.
How did this happen to the NHL? Was it the entire season that was lost to the lockout that did this? No, that wasn't the reason, that lost year to the lockout was actually a symptom of the problem itself. The lockout was held because salaries were getting out of control and many franchises, outside of the most popular ones such as the New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings, simply could not afford to keep paying as much to their players as they were.
As any fan who lives in a city with a NHL franchise knows, declining ticket sales aren't the cause of NHL franchises' slumping revenues; games continue to be well attended and eagerly looked forward to. The reason for the lower revenue has to do with broadcast rights, a significant source of income for the NHL. Hockey is simply less popular as a televised sport than it once was.
The lockout however certainly didn't help the situation. When hockey returned the next season they made a deal with the network known as OLN - now Versus - to broadcast their weekly national games. However that cable station reaches only a small fraction of the homes that the major networks reach. This means that hockey simply isn't viewable by a great deal of the population, leaving it in a spot where it can hardly increase its popularity.
There is also the problem that many fans think that hockey is a sport which doesn't lend itself well to the medium of television. Fans prefer to watch hockey games in person; and NHL games are often sold out. However, hockey fans think that some of the speed and the finesse of the sport are lacking in televised games. Sadly, this has led to hockey being harder and harder to watch at all and there are a lot of people who may never know just what they're missing.
While it has slipped from the top four and there are some problems which need to be ironed out to truly convey all of the action and excitement of NHL hockey on TV, if the league can find a new broadcast carrier with a larger market share, it may still be able to return to its former status as one of the most important American sports. The NHL may be down, but it's too early to count it out just yet.
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