Is the nhl catching the nba?
- Thread starter dognutz
- Start date
Nobody ever accused Americans of being overly intelligent and I guess that includes their viewing public. Basketball is a much simpler game to follow.
Roughly 2/ 3rds of global population is not exposed ice or snow. Unless we start seeing global cooling,I’m guessing the broadcast rights are going to stay low.
5 billion per year is 40 times bigger than 0.625 per 5 years.
Perhaps widening the gap is more appropriate.
Perhaps widening the gap is more appropriate.
The NHL is also in the seventh year of a 12-year agreement with Rogers Media worth just over C$5.2 billion over the life of the deal (approximately $4.2 billion in U.S. dollars). Each team receives 11.1 million US annually
No Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup since Bettman became Commissioner. The DesRicardo comment is accurate, in part because NBA broadcasters aren't incessantly whining that basketball is the greatest game in the world. The NBA is widening the gap.
(EDIT - to be fair to Superstar, he was using the numbers in the OP,,,, based on those the calc's are accurate. But the numbers in the OP were wrong)
The $625 million is annual figure for the NHL - not the total for 5 years. So its "only" 8 times the size. Although speculation is the NBA US deal is closer to $7 billion. (so make it 10 times)
If you bring in Canada, the multiple for North America as of now, is probably closer to 6 since the NBA probably gets peanuts from Canada, and Canada gives them over $400M.
Of course the NBA also has China which is apparently a huge TV deal.
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Current US TV Contract = $635 million per year
US TV Contract in the last year before Bettman Started = $5 million per year in 1991 (or arguably $0 for 1992)
Growth of 12600%.
The Last US TV Contract in the years prior to Bettman was the somewhat disastrous Sports Channel America TV contract which alienated a number of viewers (due to limited homes). Sports Channel America paid $17 million for the first 3 years (88-90), but then negotiated a deal of only $5 million for its last year. They then had to beg major networks prior to 92/93 season to basically take the NHL for free... this was the situation Bettman walked into.
From Wiki "Taking over for ESPN, SportsChannel's contract paid $51 million ($17 million per year) over three years, more than double what ESPN had paid ($24 million) for the previous three years. SportsChannel America managed to get a fourth NHL season for just $5 million.
Unfortunately, SportsChannel America was only available in a few major markets, and reached only a 1/3 of the households that ESPN did at the time. SportsChannel America was seen in fewer than 10 million households. In comparison, by the 1991–92 season, ESPN was available in 60.5 million homes "
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No doubt it was a mess before Bettman, but where did Bettman work before going to the NHL? Who was his mentor?
He already had the working model, it was just about implementing it. From a business standpoint, there are still a lot remaining to be untapped for the NHL.
While growth looks great at 12,600%. It was inevitable the industry would grow and he still has not resolved some key issues.
-Team expansions have had mixed results.
-Despite overall growth, the US market is still fragmented.
-Still had a ton of labour disputes.
-Transitioning from the old to the new (on and off the ice) still is a challenge.
PK could be the Charles Barkley of the NHL but every time he opens his mouth, the old guards complain.
Lets them complain, hockey isn't even in the top four of team sports in America, let PK do his thing. Hockey has an elitist image problem in the States, the old windbags need to be cleared out.
PK can learn much from Chucker.
Btw soccer is now in the 4th spot in the American team sports arena. Will Atlanta United FC play an exhibition match against BC Atalanta?
Hockey has NEVER been as popular and basketball and NEVER WILL BE. It is a pipe dream to think it will ever be otherwise.
Catching the NBA? Hahahahahaha.
