The head of the NHLPA would like to see the league back on ESPN, perhaps in some sort of shared cable arrangement with Versus, the NHL's current exclusive cable home.
I would not be surprised at all if this in fact comes to pass for the 2008-09 season.
John Skipper, ESPN's content boss, has said often he is open to the idea of bringing back the sport, which has devolved into a backwater in the view of the universe from Bristol.
We'll see.
Comments (8)
when did the hockey srtike end?
Yes it ended. Hockey is an acquired taste but aren't all sports?
Soccer is the worst....back and forth...back and forth....snorrrrrreee
Unfortunately for hockey, no matter what channel it's on, it will always be "hockey".
There was never a strike.
There was a lockout, but not a strike.
NHL should've never left FOX. FOX was offering to broadcast all 7 games in the SCF on national TV, and use games to fill programming on FX and FSN. Instead they took Disney's cash.
I agree with Steve Lepore. How the NHL quit FOX and later dropped ESPN/ABC is beyond me. What great exposure they could have had. Versus and NBC are the second worse case scenario besides CBS! ( even Ted Turner could promote hockey better!)
Anyway, This would be huge for te growth of the sport in America. After the launch of the NHL Network and more regional stations taking more of an interest in hockey, I think hockey would have a very good chance of getting to where it was back in the early 90s.After all, why do you think inline roller skating and the Mighty Ducks movies got so much popularity? ESPN did so good marketing and presentning the game, and it idid for hockey what it did for all sports by putting them on the map. With the NBA struggling, and NASCAR and Poker fizzling, I think this would be a great fit for both parties involved (besides, Bill Clement needs a real job)
I agree with Steve Lepore. How the NHL quit FOX and later dropped ESPN/ABC is beyond me. What great exposure they could have had. Versus and NBC are the second worse case scenario besides CBS! ( even Ted Turner could promote hockey better!)
Anyway, This would be huge for te growth of the sport in America. After the launch of the NHL Network and more regional stations taking more of an interest in hockey, I think hockey would have a very good chance of getting to where it was back in the early 90s.After all, why do you think inline roller skating and the Mighty Ducks movies got so much popularity? ESPN did so good marketing and presentning the game, and it idid for hockey what it did for all sports by putting them on the map. With the NBA struggling, and NASCAR and Poker fizzling, I think this would be a great fit for both parties involved (besides, Bill Clement needs a real job)
Hockey made a mistake in completely leaving ESPN. But they (and soccer) should understand that they will never be a huge national sport. A solid fringe sport with dedicated fans, yes, but not a national one the casual fan really cares about. as far as "Mighty Ducks movies did well so hockey will" it's not the same thing. Popularity radio singers like Kate Smith, Liberace and Luciano Pavarotti were all given movie roles because studios figured their fans would pay to see them on the silver screen. Didn't happen. On the TV screen hockey looks like a bunch of faceless men skating willy-nilly up and down the ice with an occasional fight thrown in.
NA$CAR may be slipping but they are still very popular. Their races outdraw NBA playoff games, if that is a valid comparison.
OK I understand what you're saying, but I disagree with you on some parts. Pro sports are a lot different than the rest of pop culture. Most musicians don't make it as actors because they aren't cut out for the job. With sports movies, you only make the movie if you know it will succed, otherwise what's the point? If hockey wasn't already in the American forefront by 1991, Disney would never have made The Might Ducks to begin with and they would never have thrown their hat into the NHL expansion ring. (and they only made Miracle in 2004 because it was a great story in general, after all, 2004 was the lockout year. If you made a Ducks movie that year I'm sure it would have failed miserably with the general public.) Hockey fans , even some casual fans will pay to see hockey anything if it is marketed right, and that's what this whole thing is about. Marketing the game. But I'm sure we can all agree that leavig ESPN was a bone head move by the NHL. I mean it's gonna take a whole decade to this game back to where it was in 1991. By the time the 80s started, hockey was looked at as nothing but mindless goons skating around and fighting. But by the time the 80s ended, people went crazy for the high scoring, ebent flow and mix of speed and skill. ESPN helped out then, and they're gonna need to help them now.