17 responses to “And We Need the NHL Network Why?”

1. Hey buddy, I’ve been lurking around your page for some time and have seen you post on HF from time to time as well. Keep up the good work!

   As for NHL on TV…I’m in a unique position. In order for me to get VS., I have to put a 10′ dish on my roof (in addition to the 4′ dish I already have) as I live in Fairbanks, Alaska and the line of sight on the two different satellites that carry broadcasts for CI on DishNetwork and DirectTV require this. Or I could continue to pay for DishTV and add a premire cable package (which does not offer CI) just to get the VS. channel. While I’m upset, I realize I am in the minority here because of my location…

   My solution has always been simple…instead of a league wide package, offer a team package. All games (home and away regardless of who has broadcasting rights) and in addition, all home games that are televised of that team’s farm club. In this case we are talking the Avalanche. I would get all games for the AVs and all home games of the Monsters (which are televised locally in Cleveland for $200ish bucks a year. Yeah, I would miss out on some other games but seriously, when the AVs are playing I’m watching them…when they are not playing, I’m catching up on House, Burn Notice (epsisodes I recorded but missed,) and the news…not to mention being a husband to my wife and other factors of life I put on hold when an AVs game is on…there is a line between watching hockey and having it consume all of my time that I will not cross.

   As for the playoffs…it sucks that I get CI but lose most of the playoffs because VS. has their rights to cover these games. Again, my location may play a large part in this, but count me disgruntled. ESPN at least got the playoffs into my home. (On a totally almost un-related side-note, some bum of a judge in Florida made it impossible for me to get NBC, CBS, ABC and Fox on my dish….I actually have to use rabbit-ears on my TV to get playoff games now….Imagine that…I own a TV and a dish capable of picking up signals from outer freakin’ space but have been forced to go back to rabbit ears on my TV to watch playoff hockey…I guess that just shows there are a multitude of problems that need adressed, not only in hockey.

2. These suggestions make far too much sense!! The NHL will never take them into consideration

3. i just want more hockey. *kicks a rock and walks away*

4. Mark – Damn, I feel your pain. If I ever get a gig where I’m not on tour, perhaps we can work out a Slingbox / DVR deal. You are the type of fan the NHL should be more flexible with, maybe dedicate some personal attention to. If they can bring the fans, rather than just the mass audience, they may be able to get a real fan base again.

   Jez – I know, man, I know.

   Pokecheck – I’m with you there.

5. Tapeleg…I can’t go into it too much now because I’m short on time, but let me give you a bit of insight into the NHL Network situation from someone inside the business.

   Remember…the NHL Network is a business, the same as ESPN, NHL Network, NBC or any other channel. The programming schedule is driven by one thing…money! If the NHL felt it was most profitable to air 900 games on the network…then they would. But the truth is that regional and national networks pay them money to carry games so putting the on their own network is not as profitable. Most of the games they are carrying are simply not available elsewhere in the country at that time….thus making them a reasonable option to air.

   If you want better programming on the network…who will pay for it? Major networks would air CSI and Desperate Hosewives 24/7 if it made business sense. But it doesn’t. That’s why most daytime programming is crap, and a lot of prime programming is sandwich in between more crap. Because there is a limited amount of eyeballs out there and you can only count on your share.

   If you wanted to put the channel for $2-$3 a month on NHL.com…it wouldn’t even cover the cost of the bandwidth, admin costs, etc… to do it. Despite what the hardcore techies preach…the number of people watching sports ***consistently*** online is negligeable.

6. Hockey Insider,

   You bring up a good point…”Despite what the harcore techies preach…the number of people watching sports ***consistently*** online is negligeable.”

   I wouldn’t argue against you if it wasn’t for this…I would watch and sign up for on-line content if I could get more than 30 seconds without having to buffer for another 2 minutes even on a 1MB DSL line.

   As much crap as I give the NHL over VS and other TV deals, I can’t fault them for trying like heck to get the game on-line. If only technology in this neck of the woods could catch up I’d be a happy camper.

   Personally, I feel folks don’t tune in on-line because like me they don’t have the patience and time to watch a product buffering continuiously. Once the internet is capable of putting games in real-time in homes without those buffering issues I’d imagine an NHL.online type of thing could actually replace CI.

   Again, this is just my own two worthless pennies.

   Now, on a completely different topic…Your idea of the NHL being a business is a stretch. I’m sure it is a business, but thank GOD it is not one that is traded on the market. It is possibly one of the worst run businesses I’ve ever stumbled upon. Come on, a labor stoppage pulled the plug on an entire year? Not even Ford, GM or US Steel saw that kinda crap. Baseball might’ve lost a World-Series but they didn’t lose the entire season as well.

   If the NHL wants to be a model-business they should start by making their product more available to fans and not worry about masses. My take on this is that they really don’t want to be a business…they have shown a complete willingness to rely on die-hards like us to cover their costs without actually doing anything to seriously further the products foot-hold on the public scene. The NHL might be a business but it is a poorly run one at best. From top down there are a lot of holes to fill. The biggest success they have is that the players who play the game keep those of us who can’t do so professionaly wrapped up in it. When we have a summer off and the biggest story from the NHL is a new costume for the players to wear….well, it’s not really a great off-season is it?

7. H.I. – I’m not sure what business you are inside of. If you wish to claim to be “inside of” hockey or television, you can leave a resume.

   Programming is driven by money? Really?

   The NHL Network is a business, yes, but it is part of the NHL. Creating a network that is boring as hell, has only one reasonably decent program worth watching, and that no one is going to see is not a viable business plan. Sure, exposure is good for the league, but a lower tier network is going to get them less exposure and renewed interest in the sport and the league than putting a highlight show on their current national TV carrier.

   No, they are not going to air 900 games, but 40? Who is going to upgrade their cable package for that? They might as well get Center Ice, and have enough games to fill their needs, and a little choice to go along with it.

   I understand how regional television deals work, but I also know that blackouts work in those instances where the two broadcasts would collide.

   And if no one is going to pay to produce better programming, then why bother having the channel? Sure, it isn’t like Comedy Central is putting out tons of great stuff every hour. But if the programming is just going to be nine hours of the same show repeated over and over, then who’s going to pay to see it? And if no one is watching, you can watch your cable and satellite deals dry up any money put into the production of the network. At this point, I doubt the NHL has any idea what would be profitable and what wouldn’t.

   As far as bandwidth and costs, funny how Yahoo can put streaming games online, and not charge me a cent for the privilege. How much bandwidth does Center Ice online take up? Or NHL.com and it’s video portal? Going online is certainly viable.

8. mark – I agree with you, if the technology was improved there would be more people who watch online, but it still is difficult to make it viable because the number of people like you who would watch is still far too limited.

   As for how successful a business the NHL is…don’t be fooled by the sight of owners walking around with their pockets turned inside out. The NHL is a huge money maker, obviously not in the realm of MLB or NFL, but trust me there is enough money flowing through the owners pockets to make the vast majority of them happy. The few cases where this is not true are failures of hockey in the market, and not the financial structure of the business. As for the impact of the strike…the owners and the top 50% of players are laughing all the way to the bank since the owners have a guaranteed profit if they are smart, and the players who are worth it are making more than they were prior to the strike. The fools….are the fans who didn’t skip a beat and came back with cash in hand. Attendance is up, merchandising is up, and TV viewing is Canada is up and pretty well flat in the US. What impact??

   Tapeleg – I figured you’d be defensive, but that is usually expected when someone is challenged and they don;t have the opportunity to shake their fist or raise their voice in opposition. I don;t need to leave a resume to prove anything…you can take what I say at whatever value you assign to it. That’s your prerogative.

   Last I checked, the NHL did own Versus. So they can’t place anything on the network. If it was financially a good idea, Versus or any other network wouldn’t need the league to tell them it is a good idea. That’s why you create your own network…ask the NFL and MLB if they disagree.

   As for the viability of the network, they don;t need everyone to subscribe, just enough to break even. After that if it makes money, all the better. But at least they already have a back-up if they ever get into a case where they cannot get the TV deals they want. It’s simply a case of covering your ass. The NHL Network will be a niche sports network, and nothing more.

   As for the cost pf producing stuff for the network…it’s costing them nothing because the network is already up and running in Canada. So…it’s costing them nothing to just feed the programming to the US. Even if they collect 10-cents per subscriber…10 million subscribers is $1 million profit for little to no increase in costs. Now I’m sure it isn;t that clear cut, but not far off. The NHL I’m sure didn’t even consider taking a more aggressive stance with the cable companies considering the NFL is fighting a losing battle with them regarding their net. On that point…how many NFL games are on their network?

9. Sorry…saw a typo in the 4th paragraph…meant to say “…NHL did NOT own Versus.”

10. H.I. – Look, you said in your first comment that you were going to give some insight from someone inside th business. If you wish to bank on your insider-ness (or whatever the word would be), then yes, you need to show your credentials. You brought it up. If you had just said you had an opinion, that’s one thing. You did something else. We’ll get to the rest of that little paragraph in a moment.

    Now that we have that out of the way, I think the best point you make is the last one. It wouldn’t cost anything to produce what they are already putting on the Canadian version. But I believe that if this is all they are going to have on the channel, there isn’t going to be much of an audience. No audience, no ratings, no ad sales. You know how it works.

    The NFL has a (short) 16 game season, a marketing machine that works, games on multiple cable and broadcast station, and TV agreements that make them serious money. They have recap shows on major cable channels (NFL Live, for instance), and have few other places it could expand. It’s own network is the only place left. It has very little resemblance to the NHL. On top of that, the NFL has been running NFL Films for years. They seem to have a better overall grip on how the sports on television thing works lately. How many games do they have on the NFL Network? I don’t know, I don’t track them. But 40 NHL games does little to want me make upgrade a cable package.

    I understand the NHL doesn’t own Versus, but they are in a good position to get favorable terms on a twice a day recap show. The NHL put Versus on the map, and now have grown to the point that they are showing College football. No small feat for a network that nobody knew about before hockey came along.

    Now, on to your first bit of trolling. I don’t care what you think of my “defensive” behavior. I don’t agree with you, and it’s that simple. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to come back. You are frankly acting rudely, and while I’m sure there are blogs and forums and the like that would welcome that sort of thing, I do not. You came in to the conversation by telling me you were an insider, then don’t back it up. That tells me what kind of value I can assign your comments. And after your latest comment, your behavior tells me I should assign even less. You are welcome to disagree with me on anything I say, but when you act poorly, you are going to get called on it, or just plain ignored.

11. ” Despite what the hardcore techies preach…the number of people watching sports ***consistently*** online is negligeable.”

    That’s because it doesn’t exist. At least not in a top-notch offering. And if it’s not viable…why bring online? Why NHL.tv. Because the NHL knows darn well they should be doing more work with their online offerings.

    People don’t ride unicorns. Not because they don’t want to but because they don’t exist.

12. Geez. Drink coffee then type. “why bring Center Ice online?” is what I meant.

13. Some thoughts sparked from your post:

    The NHL Network became part of Center Ice best it could this season. That was what the NHL used to get cable systems to carry it. It was risky, and why you couldn’t order Center Ice on most systems until very late in the game. They have the network on the sports tier, like all other leagues, because they figure the reach will be higher there than the CI subscriptions (which it is).

    Center Ice online should be free or extremely cheap with the TV subscription. I’m far from the only one suggesting it, but the fact that the NBA offers online for free if you buy the tv package only makes it harder to swallow that the NHL doesn’t throw it in as well.

    MLB is starting a channel. If any sport should have it, it’s baseball. Recap shows and vintage games could fill a day easily.

    The NHL Network showing live games is harder than you’d think. However, they should attempt to show more replays, like you’d see if you get the regionals on systems like DirecTV (since you can’t see the games live without CI). It’s something, and some different daytime programming.

    All league networks ignore minors/int’l games too much. It’s costly to broadcast it on their own, but they could definitely buy some rights to games already being broadcast cheaply. Those leagues all want more exposure.

    A podcast recap is a must. MLB lets you make your own in a way. The NHL is already making highlight clips for sites like Youtube and such. You could easily tag those things up and let people have customized podcast highlights, if nothing else.

    A podcast of the entire On the Fly show isn’t even a bad idea. It’d be good for branding purposes at a relatively low cost and the tradeoff between viewers and downloaders is probably nothing.

    Simulcasting the entire channel online would be costly. It’d be a great thing to do, but there’s a reason no one is doing it yet. It costs money to do it right and even at a higher margin than 2-3 bucks, it’d be rough for them to offer.

    I have the network, like what I’m seeing so far, but I’m also looking at it as young, despite it being available in Canada for a while. It’s got potential.

14. i’m a college student in south, GA but im from pittsburgh. i’ve ordered center ice on comcast digital for the past 5 years, but when i moved to college the apartment won’t allow a dish, or any other form of cable besides their own. i thought this was the end of my enjoyment to see the penguins in action for 82 games. BUT WAIT!! the greatest thing the NHL has done in a while…BROADCAST GAMES on the internet for the same price!! im sold, you got it NHL, i’ll watch games from my computer, yeah its choppy sometimes, but that just means to buffer for 15 seconds and you’re good to go. so im pumped after this six day break to see the penguins again, and the center ice says its…WHAT??? BLACKED OUT??? ohh, because its on this “NHL Network” which of course i dont get. so i’m left to either listen (for free) to the game on the internet while my 162 dollars gets wasted, or find someone with comcast, dish network, etc. to let me spend 2.5 hours in their house so i can watch the game. i know this blog is over a month old, but i needed to rant.

15. How is Dish customer support soooo bad?

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