Has hockey lost its spot in the USA?

[Bengal Dude]

I found this on ESPN:
NEW YORK -- The Stanley Cup finals have brought record low ratings to NBC for a prime-time program, sports or otherwise.
Ottawa's 5-3 victory over Anaheim in Game 3 Saturday night received a 1.1 national rating and a 2 share, the network said Tuesday. That matched a rerun of "The West Wing" on July 23, 2005, which also drew a 1.1 rating.
Saturday's rating was down 31 percent from last year's Game 3 between Edmonton and Carolina, which had a 1.6/3.
The national ratings for Monday night's Game 4 declined less sharply from last year. The Ducks' 3-2 victory received a 1.9/3, down 5 percent from the 2.0/3 for Game 4 in 2006.
The rating is the percentage watching a telecast among all homes with televisions, and the share is the percentage tuned in to a broadcast among those households with televisions on at the time. A ratings point represents 1,114,000 households.
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press
Has the USA fallen out of hockey or is it simply because hockey isn't on national television as much as it use to be.

[34inXXIII]

I do believe it's because of a lack of exposure combined with the multitude of other options available. The NBA's ratings are pretty poor, yet they are frequently featured on ABC, ESPN & TNT. I still believe the NHL will rebound in this country to at least be respectable in the big picture, but it's going to be a long struggle until they can start getting on more TV screens. Unfortunately, NBC has only one cable subsidiary they could even consider showing additional games on (USA). We'll get a better feel when the league gets around to negotiating its next TV contracts.

[Bengal Dude]

Good point 34.
I think the NHL needs to get out of any deal with NBC. They need to get with ABC because they'd be on a big network channel as well as be on the #1 sports network with ESPN and ESPN2, and even maybe slip on ESPN Classic like college football does sometimes. Also, I remember the MLB held some their playoff games on ABCFamily, maybe they could reach for that for their playoffs.

[calell83]

The reasons it is not gaining back popularity, IMO are
Too many Canadian analysts on all the Channels liek Melrose and Cherry who talk about the Canadian way of hockey of toughness over skilll.. and still believe Canada is the ned all be all of hockey when they are not any more
The Refs still put away the whistles int he playoffs
It is on Versus which I had for two years, like when it was OLN and did not know it...

I love Hockey and am a huge Penguins fan....and it saddens me that so many people do not even give it a chance. It is, by far, the most exciting sport to watch live....

[BFan71]

I'm a huge fan of all sports, but never really got into hockey until I went to see a live game - WOW! TV doesn't do it justice. I think the biggest problem for hockey is the lock out/strike a few years back...

[bengal_fan_in_toronto]

The reasons it is not gaining back popularity, IMO are
Too many Canadian analysts on all the Channels liek Melrose and Cherry who talk about the Canadian way of hockey of toughness over skilll.. and still believe Canada is the ned all be all of hockey when they are not any more
The Refs still put away the whistles int he playoffs
It is on Versus which I had for two years, like when it was OLN and did not know it...

I love Hockey and am a huge Penguins fan....and it saddens me that so many people do not even give it a chance. It is, by far, the most exciting sport to watch live....

well lets not get nuts here. There might be more and more Euro players coming into the league but Canadian born players always have and continue to rule the game. Here is a list of Conn Smythe winners. I think I saw 2 players on that list that were not born here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conn_Smythe_Trophy

[calell83]

The reasons it is not gaining back popularity, IMO are
Too many Canadian analysts on all the Channels liek Melrose and Cherry who talk about the Canadian way of hockey of toughness over skilll.. and still believe Canada is the ned all be all of hockey when they are not any more
The Refs still put away the whistles int he playoffs
It is on Versus which I had for two years, like when it was OLN and did not know it...

I love Hockey and am a huge Penguins fan....and it saddens me that so many people do not even give it a chance. It is, by far, the most exciting sport to watch live....

well lets not get nuts here. There might be more and more Euro players coming into the league but Canadian born players always have and continue to rule the game. Here is a list of Conn Smythe winners. I think I saw 2 players on that list that were not born here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conn_Smythe_Trophy


I didnt mean Canada didn't have good players, I mean the best Player in the world is a Canadian and a Penguins....
But Canada does not dominate international competition any more.
Also, THE US does not produce alot of Hockey players simply because it is not the favorite sport so most play football or baseball..

[bengal_fan_in_toronto]

The reasons it is not gaining back popularity, IMO are
Too many Canadian analysts on all the Channels liek Melrose and Cherry who talk about the Canadian way of hockey of toughness over skilll.. and still believe Canada is the ned all be all of hockey when they are not any more
The Refs still put away the whistles int he playoffs
It is on Versus which I had for two years, like when it was OLN and did not know it...

I love Hockey and am a huge Penguins fan....and it saddens me that so many people do not even give it a chance. It is, by far, the most exciting sport to watch live....

well lets not get nuts here. There might be more and more Euro players coming into the league but Canadian born players always have and continue to rule the game. Here is a list of Conn Smythe winners. I think I saw 2 players on that list that were not born here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conn_Smythe_Trophy


I didnt mean Canada didn't have good players, I mean the best Player in the world is a Canadian and a Penguins....
But Canada does not dominate international competition any more.
Also, THE US does not produce alot of Hockey players simply because it is not the favorite sport so most play football or baseball..

The US doesnt produce alot of players...however they have produced some gems when they do. See Brian Leetch, Brett Hull, Roenick etc... If more US kids got into hockey it would only be a matter of time before they dominated the sport just because of the massive size of the population of the US but the interest just isnt there.
Football, Basketball, Baseball the US has those locked up.
and yes sir you do have the best player in the world right now. Sid the Kid is the man the penguinos are lucky to have him. I actually really like their roster...good nucleus of young players. thank god they stayed in Pitt because when I think of the Pens I think Mario and that 66 jersey and i'm not a big fan of change when it comes to sports I like the traditions and the rivalries that come with the game.

[calell83]

The reasons it is not gaining back popularity, IMO are
Too many Canadian analysts on all the Channels liek Melrose and Cherry who talk about the Canadian way of hockey of toughness over skilll.. and still believe Canada is the ned all be all of hockey when they are not any more
The Refs still put away the whistles int he playoffs
It is on Versus which I had for two years, like when it was OLN and did not know it...

I love Hockey and am a huge Penguins fan....and it saddens me that so many people do not even give it a chance. It is, by far, the most exciting sport to watch live....

well lets not get nuts here. There might be more and more Euro players coming into the league but Canadian born players always have and continue to rule the game. Here is a list of Conn Smythe winners. I think I saw 2 players on that list that were not born here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conn_Smythe_Trophy


I didnt mean Canada didn't have good players, I mean the best Player in the world is a Canadian and a Penguins....
But Canada does not dominate international competition any more.
Also, THE US does not produce alot of Hockey players simply because it is not the favorite sport so most play football or baseball..

The US doesnt produce alot of players...however they have produced some gems when they do. See Brian Leetch, Brett Hull, Roenick etc... If more US kids got into hockey it would only be a matter of time before they dominated the sport just because of the massive size of the population of the US but the interest just isnt there.
Football, Basketball, Baseball the US has those locked up.
and yes sir you do have the best player in the world right now. Sid the Kid is the man the penguinos are lucky to have him. I actually really like their roster...good nucleus of young players. thank god they stayed in Pitt because when I think of the Pens I think Mario and that 66 jersey and i'm not a big fan of change when it comes to sports I like the traditions and the rivalries that come with the game.


I agree.....The Pens getting Crosby probably saved them and he appears to be a generally good person...
Penguins fans are very passionate, just hard to get some of those that think Football is everything to even consider watching a Hockey Game...Which is the best live sport...PERIOD

The year of the lockout me and couple friends were planning on catshing a Leafs game in Toronto, which would have been against the Flyers just to experience a hockey game in Canada....I bet that would have been great...I am hoping to maybe give that another shot this upcoming season, maybe when the Pens play up there.....

[bengal_fan_in_toronto]

I agree.....The Pens getting Crosby probably saved them and he appears to be a generally good person...
Penguins fans are very passionate, just hard to get some of those that think Football is everything to even consider watching a Hockey Game...Which is the best live sport...PERIOD

The year of the lockout me and couple friends were planning on catshing a Leafs game in Toronto, which would have been against the Flyers just to experience a hockey game in Canada....I bet that would have been great...I am hoping to maybe give that another shot this upcoming season, maybe when the Pens play up there.....

Hockey is a good game to watch live for sure. I'm sorry to say I did not watch a full game on TV this year its just not the same thing. If your going to come here to watch a game bring your cheque book i'll warn you....its astronomically priced from Maple Leaf Sports if you can get a seat. Scalpers are just crazy with their prices. Toronto Phily is a good one, Toronto Pitt would be the best for you. Believe it or not Leaf fans dont make alot of noise till the playoffs. Most rocking playoff Arena i've been to was in Montreal though...unreal when they played Boston a couple of years back...

[calell83]

Def would rather see the Pens play then Philly, but we were going and that games happened to be scheduled.

Hockey is nto cheap here either...although regular season seats can be got for a decent price....but you are int he back of the arena...
I agree hockey is not the same on TV. They have not found a way to present it right and down here, it is on some crappy channel that has poor production value anyway.

[BengalsOwnU]

Honestly IMO Hockey is one of the least liked sports. I really don't see Hockey gaining any popularity anytime soon.

[calell83]

Honestly IMO Hockey is one of the least liked sports. I really don't see Hockey gaining any popularity anytime soon.

It is not your opinion, it just is not popular in the states...but you forget, in the early 90's and late 80's hockey was way more popular, more popular then the NBA....so it is not unprecedented....

[johnson85chad=bengals]

no one really follows hockey anymore, but some people do. but i think it isnt as popular as it use to be and i dont like it and never did