Versus is about every hockey fans friend. Its one of the only networks that shows love towards the league. Others include NBC, CBC and TSN. But what most Americans are missing is, Versus. Most Americans have ESPN, and ESPN2. Currently I see nothing coming out of ESPN about the NHL. Yeah maybe SportsNation shows some love for the league, and maybe theres a spot in the top 10 plays for an awesome goal, which is usually by only a big name player. Sometimes I might see something on SportsCenter, but nothing that makes me go, oh hey ESPN is showing love for the NHL. The last year ESPN had a show for the NHL was back in 2004. The lockout made ESPN opted out of a contract with the league. They did not even attempt to renew the contract after the lockout. I think its because ESPN thought that the NHL was done for. Look at them now, getting bigger and better every season. I personally believe that ESPN, NHL and AHL all should form an agreement and get games and a show on ESPN and ESPN2. The big time games for the NHL should be shown on one of the two channels, and the AHL should also get a game of the week televised. This is a big problem for the league. The only mainstream advertisement the league gets is NBC, and they only show a few games and cover the Playoffs. With the credibility from the major network, the popularity of the league will grow and the current NHL fans will be even happier. The NHL needs to get their act together and get a contract with ESPN. I will be happy, Big Frame will be happy, and everyone without Versus will be happy. Hell even people who have Versus will be happy! Sources BleacherReport.com[1]
so the channels that show NHL games show love to the NHL and the channels that don't show the games don't. I don't see your point. When Versus' NHL contract runs out, ESPN will likely get the rights back and start covering the league more.
Versus isn't popular, at all, and their broadcasting isn't that good. ESPN still can cover the NHL, but you show their love for the bs crap like a 1 hour show about LeBron saying "I choose Miami" and other bull.
Where the proof? LeBrons a drama queen anyways. And thats not even about this topic. Actually, I don't care if LeBron's ego boost got more views, the NHL and ESPN need to reunite again.
Im kinda suprised the Mullet hasnt jumped ship yet. Showing him for a brief sec. just to say "See, we like hockey, here is Barry" Its kinda sad
lol, it wasn't even close... LeBron - The Decision - 9.95 million viewers http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/12/lebron-james-decision-rat_n_642719.html NHL Cup Final - Game 6 - 5.8 million viewers http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/11/arts/television/11arts-STANLEYCUPFI_BRF.html
Lol, the Mullet. Barry Melrose is pretty cool but hes not getting the respect he deserves from ESPN. ESPN is a joke...
Holy shit, why did I put Sanders... Congrats Thrilla, you made this thread a joke. Like what you do with every other thread.
ok? I don't think it benefits ESPN to pimp the NHL when a) the games are on another network b) hockey isn't that popular compared to other sports. They are out to make money. That's why the changed the E in ESPN to stand for "entertainment"
Not everyone gets Versus. I already said that. Everyone gets ESPN. ESPN is currently a joke when it comes to NHL. They say that they show news about the league, but they hardly do. The "world wide leader in sports" should actually cover the top 4 sports. Instead they cover the top three. When the NHL was on ESPN, they had ESPN National Hockey Night which I liked better than Hockey Central.
NHL is a top 4 professional sport, but college basketball and football make more money for ESPN. Same with nascar and PGA golf, probably. IIRC, ESPN put up a bid for NHL games, but the NHL chose Versus, knowing full well it would hurt them since the network isn't carried by every cable/sat company. The NHL deserves some blame, as well.
I don't see the logic here. if the NHL is a top 4 sport, how is College basketball and football making more money? How is the NHL not making more money? NASCAR is another drama sport imo, and the old guys love golf, so they are getting their coverage there. Hell, MMA has a show on ESPN, and I don't think MMA is bigger then the NHL. How hard is it to give Barry Melrose a 30 minute show every night for the NHL. They will get more respect there. I'm pretty sure ESPN and the NHL are trying to work a deal, but Versus is doing a better job. Versus is only alive because of the NHL. ESPN can't do as much as Versus can, but ESPN can take a damn half hour of their time for NHL. Now this isnt a joke.
This discussion could have stopped after Thrilla's first comment. ESPN doesn't show a lot of NHL because it isn't under their broadcast control. Should they show more? Yes. Will they? No. Why? It doesn't make business sense for them to invest time in generating interest in someone else's product. On some levels, SportsCenter is an infomercial for what ESPN shows. The NHL playoffs are clearly more important than June baseball, but June baseball makes money for ESPN, so they'll push it.
