Pundits predicted that the NHL lockout would drive away fans and lead to another decline in pro hockey’s popularity, just like the 2004-’05 work stoppage. Nothing could be further from the truth. The NHL wrapped up the season with the most-watched Stanley Cup Finals in history and the most-watched playoff season since 1997.
Television viewership bounced back — eventually — after the last lockout, one that wiped out an entire season. So there’s certainly precedent that the sport’s ratings can weather the lost games and perceived greed of a work stoppage. “Hope the passion for hockey bubbles back to the surface very quickly,” NBC Sports Executive Producer Sam Flood said Tuesday. “The hockey fan is a passionate group, and we’re cautiously optimistic they’ll come back. It won’t be instant. You’ve got to regain the trust, regain the passion.”
With the season on the line, the NHL and the players’ association agreed on a tentative pact to end a 113-day lockout and save what was left of a fractured schedule. A marathon negotiating session that lasted more than 16 hours, stretching from Saturday afternoon until just before dawn Sunday, produced a 10-year deal.
NBC is pulling out all the stops in support of its inaugural NHL Black Friday broadcast, promoting the game during its coverage of the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and enlisting the support of its biggest on-air talent.
The deal will help the broadcaster build up its sports properties under Comcast.
Exclusives
Comcast and the National Hockey League have announced a new agreement that will give NBC and Versus rights to televise hockey games for the next 10 years at least.
Over the past year, the NHL has either renewed or started a series of new league sponsorships. The list includes McDonald’s, Geico, Starwood Hotels, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Cisco Systems, Honda, Bridgestone, Discover Card, Verizon, LG Electronics, Tim Hortons and Hershey’s Canada.
The National Hockey League and NBC Sports unveiled a campaign today that integrates Facebook, Twitter and national television on the New Year’s Day broadcast of the 2011 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic. The campaign is a “watch and win” promotion that gives viewers a chance to win either a Honda CR-Z, or trips for four to both Universal Orlando Studios and the 2011 NHL All-Star Game.
NBC and the National Hockey League have scored an early sellout of sponsorships and commercial time during the Winter Classic weeks ahead of last year, enhancing the annual outdoor contest as one of sport’s fastest-growing new events.
In a move that would serve to kneecap the ambitions of Comcast-NBC Universal, ESPN is poised to take a run at the rights for the National Hockey League. And the battle for the NHL could function as a dry run for ESPN’s pursuit of a far bigger prize: the Olympics. That said, Bristol does not have an open field spread out before it; as the incumbent cable rights holder, Comcast’s Versus has first dibs.
