NHL Ratings on ESPN/TNT not good

[PromoTheRobot]

"Rur-roh, Rorge."

https://barrettmedia.com/2025/02/05/nhl-games-struggling-on-espn-tnt-sports-per-reports/

[mjd1001]

What days and times are the games on?  Give me a routine, if you have games on 3 days of the week and they always start at a certain time, then I will know where to go for them.  Now, if they have a set schedule already, I don't know what it is so hammer that home to viewers (after coming in from every break or in intermissions, remind viewers something like "Remember, you can watch the NHL on TNT EVERY (Tuesday, Thursday, whatever) and (7pm, 8pm, whatever).

For years, I knew/know I can watch the NFL Sunday at 1pm.  I know Sunday night baseball on ESPN.  Let me know, without fail, the days and times I can rely every week on seeing an NHL game.

I like watching out of town NHL games.  If not directly, I will have them on the TV anyway while I do other things around the house.  But I'm not going to search them out.  I either KNOW when they are on...I randomly stumble upon them before  stumble on something else...or I miss them and don't watch.

Edited 2 hours ago by mjd1001

[Porous Five Hole]

Who has cable anymore other than me?

[mjd1001]

2 minutes ago, Porous Five Hole said:

Who has cable anymore other than me?

Spectrum here, but not traditional cable.  We dont' have a box, we use the app on our TV's and everything is done over wifi.  That also allows us to have the really cheap (cheaper) package where we just get the basics and get to select 10 other channels (MSG, ESPN and TNG being among the choices).

Not sure if you consider that 'cable' or not.

Edited 2 hours ago by mjd1001

[Hawerchuk]

One of the problems is the NHL Network channel isn't available on many streaming apps (especially YouTubeTV). This obviously hinders access to more games. Wake up NHL and get your programs available to more households.

I have ESPN+ and get a lot of the games, but their announcers are mostly terrible.

[mjd1001]

1 hour ago, Hawerchuk said:

One of the problems is the NHL Network channel isn't available on many streaming apps (especially YouTubeTV). 

I have ESPN+ and get a lot of the games, but their announcers are mostly terrible.

I think this speaks to a bigger issue....just how available are the games?

A lot of the NHL owners are older, they have existing business partners and they are used to working with them. They want to keep on making money the same way, the way they know how, and that is mostly through traditional media deals.

I read a survey once a couple years ago that I cannot find, but I'll reference what I read in it and say my anecdotal beleifs align with it:  Younger audiences are less likely to pay to view an event or to pay for a TV package for an event, but they spend a greater percentage of their money on jerseys, food and drink when they do go to games, gambling...etc.  So they key to making money off of younger audience is to KEEP THEM ENGAGED (give them your product really cheap or free to watch) and you'll make up the money from them on the other things. Put a moat around your product and make them pay a toll to be exposed to it, and you are likely to lose them entirely.

In my personal family and group of friends, EVERY SINGLE person I know over 50 has a traditional cable TV package and very few of them have any streaming service (we tried to get my parents and inlaws to try Netflix and Hulu over the last few years, they watched a bit of it but then gave up and they go back to their old fashioned cable tv where they have the old fashioned cable box hooked up to their TV).   On the other hand, almost everyone I know under 40 does not subscribe to cable TV at all (daughter and her fiancee, 2 nieces, 2 nephews). They are 100% streaming only and none of them watch the Sabres at all. My nephew, who is in his early 20s, was a huge fan of them, but since he moved out and got his own place....now nothing with him regarding the NHL. I talked to him over the holidays and he says he 'kinda' misses the Sabres, but he almost laughed at the prospect of getting a Cable TV package just to get MSG to watch the games. Its not even an option he would consider. 

It happend with me with Baseball.  I grew up in Buffalo and as a little kid (well under 10 years old) I could watch the Blue Jays on local TV (CFTO or CTV? I forgot which one). But they they started going cable only.  living at home with my parents, I picked up on watching the Braves (TBS) and Yankees, but lost track of the Blue Jays and totally stopped going to games in Toronto.  Now with us having a limited cable package, I don't watch much baseball at all.  I went from as a Kid watching evey baseball game I could, buying trading cards and sticker books, asking for a jersey for my birthday, playing ever MLB video game I could find, and begging to go to games in person in Toronto....to now being a person that hasn't watched a full 9 inning game in years and hasn't spent $1 on MLB in...maybe a decade? on MLB.  And it started with how available the games were to watch on TV.

Personally I hate gambling. I never gamble, I strongly dislike the ads for gambling, and I look down on it. HOWEVER, if the NHL made most of their games available for free....if they had a game free on streaming every single night, I would bet (no pun intended) that they could make a LOT of money on 18-35 year old guy hanging out with their friends at bars placing bets on NHL gams if they can watch them/check in on them live for free.

The NFL is above all the other sports, but how did it get that way? You almost always knew when you could find a game on TV, and there were always games, especially the home team, that were on for free.  Other leagues may not replicate the success of that, but that is where they should start with their product.

The NHL owners don't want to give up those traditional sources of revenue though networks, but by doing so, they are losing some of the younger fan base. Yeah, there are a lot of younger fans when you watch games in cities like Boston and Columbus and Dallas in the stands, but they could have SO many more if they made their games more available.  Its the old "The owners could get $10 now and $10 in the future, or they could take $5 now and a LOT more than $10 in the future...and they are electing for the $10 now over the prospect of more in the future"

Edited 1 hour ago by mjd1001

[Porous Five Hole]

17 minutes ago, mjd1001 said:

Spectrum here, but not traditional cable.  We dont' have a box, we use the app on our TV's and everything is done over wifi.  That also allows us to have the really cheap (cheaper) package where we just get the basics and get to select 10 other channels (MSG, ESPN and TNG being among the choices).

Not sure if you consider that 'cable' or not.

I’m similar. We have this little box called Xumo that connects to our tv and uses WiFi to deliver the cable. I said who has cable anymore, but I should have said are these Nielsen ratings? Where is this Breeze fella getting his numbers from? 

[CallawaySabres]

The NHL is slowly becoming the NBA to me. It's absolutely crazy to think that i would ever feel this way. I mean, Sabres were on par with the Bills for most of my life, and now, they are barely an afterthought. 

[mjd1001]

7 minutes ago, Porous Five Hole said:

I’m similar. We have this little box called Xumo that connects to our tv and uses WiFi to deliver the cable. I said who has cable anymore, but I should have said are these Nielsen ratings? Where is this Breeze fella getting his numbers from? 

I would think people that use the streaming apps....it would be easier to track them without having to use traditional methods. For example, If I am watching a Sabres game on MSG but doing so with the spectrum app....that should be a lot easier (if not automatic) to track just who is watching, how many pepole, for how long.

But as you said, I'm not sure if those numbers are even being used when talking about 'tradional ratings'.

I would think those numbers they would want to keep private and only use them in negotations with advertisers.

[Doohicksie]

The article seems like a hodge-podge of random data points.  Not sure you can draw any conclusions from it.  It never said how league viewership is doing overall.

[EM88]

Lets not forget about ad revenue.

How much money does the NHL make from their regional network suscribers or their national contract that is on Cable TV?  I would be interested to find out how much revenue that is per game.

Then let us suppose many of the games were available on a free app.  No cable subscription. No pricey app.  Just a free game and your revenue per game is what you can sell in ads.  I would think giving the game away for free with many more viewers might not be all that far behind the other revenue generated per game.

So take that 2nd free option where you get the ad revenue. Maybe charge a small fee for the app, like $10 per month.  Project how many more fans you will have on the long term going to games and buying merch.  I would think in the long run the 2nd model may not be all that bad.

The owners want that guaranteed income generated the old fashioned way.  They also seem to not want to give away their product for free. It may generate more revenue long term but some of those crusty old owners do not want anyone to get over on them and get their product without paying something.

Cable companies and networks are nothing but a way to distribute your game. The need for them is less now than it was before put more games on the NHL network and make games free on streaming.  Oh, and make sure its easy to take those games streaming on a pc or phone or tablet and cast them to a full sized tv. Why not cut out the middle-man cable company/network totally? The cable companies and networks have to make money off the games, why not take that profit, keep it for yourself, or keep some of it for yourself and use the other to grow your fan base by making your games more available?

Edited 1 hour ago by EM88

[Demoted]

OK so they had a bad night of views... what is this supposed to be telling us? A game at 10:30pm est between 2 bad teams won't get many views?

[Ctaeth]

NHL...centralize your games onto two platforms and im sure that the numbers will go up.  One for streaming and one for cable.  There are too many different channels/streaming services playing games. Espn/espn+/nhl network/tbs/trutv/msg/msg+/abc is way too much.  And thats not even with me listing out Canadian broadcasts.  I feel like I'm taking crazy pills just listing this all out.

And side note:  I agree with the sentiment that the article is picking and choosing games.  If you are going to make a sweeping conclusion like "nhl games struggling on platform x", you should be coming to that conclusion based on more than a handful of individual games.  

[mjd1001]

6 minutes ago, Ctaeth said:

NHL...centralize your games onto two platforms and im sure that the numbers will go up.  One for streaming and one for cable.  There are too many different channels/streaming services playing games. Espn/espn+/nhl network/tbs/trutv/msg/msg+/abc is way too much.  And thats not even with me listing out Canadian broadcasts.  I feel like I'm taking crazy pills just listing this all out.

And side note:  I agree with the sentiment that the article is picking and choosing games.  If you are going to make a sweeping conclusion like "nhl games struggling on platform x", you should be coming to that conclusion based on more than a handful of individual games.  

I think there is an arrogance, not only among the NHL but among many content providers....that the viewers "will find us".  The owners look at their product and think they are going to maximize revenue and if someone is fan..the fan will find them.

What they don't get is looking at it from the fans point of view.  Cable. TNT, ESPN. Streaming on ESPN+, sometimes Hulu.  Network TV on the weekends (they still do that). Then add in the things we all deal with that don't have anyting to do with the NHL, we deal with other Cable networks, Netflix, Max, Peacock, and others. We may have subscriptons to other entertainment products that dont' even have to do with watching content.   

For many consumers, this is all WAY TOO MUCH.  So what happens when we have too much in our lives to deal with? We focus on the top 2-3, maybe 4 things, and we forget about the rest.  Is the NHL at the top of that list for most viewers? No way.

I know Nascar isn't a big following for many fans, but they have been making the same mistakes. In the past, there was one, maybe 2 networks you could watch every race on, and most races started in the early afternoon..  The ratings have been going down for years, for a lot of reasons, but you want to watch Nascar this year? Well depending on the race of the year you may have to watch The CW....or Fox...or FS1....TNT...oh, now Amazon prime for some races....and even Max.  REALLY? I LIKE nascar and I'm watching a lot less just because I don't want to figure all that out.

If you are the NFL, you can probably push people to 'jump through a few hoops' to view your product. Even they are getting some pushback. The NHL? They need to make their product as EASY to find and view as possible. They aren't doing that.

Edited 58 minutes ago by mjd1001

[All Along The Watchtower]

The NHL was such a clean game, now it's fraught with ads everywhere...on the boards, ice, jerseys, and helmets.  Go back and watch a game from the 70s and 80s...such a great product.   Save for an occasional Sabres game, and those are becoming less frequent, the NHL is unwatchable.