Hockey was once one of the four major American sports. The big four were the National Football League, Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League. But yet, even as some in those group dominate the others (the NFL dominates all sports in terms of popularity), the NHL has not been able to really keep up with the others.
However, hockey as dropped off the list of major sports. Right now, NASCAR racing is likely more popular with the general public than NHL hockey. Once one of the most important sports in the US, hockey is now seemingly shut out of the top tier looking in.
How did this happen to the NHL? Was it the entire season that was lost to the lockout that did this? No, that wasn't the reason, that lost year to the lockout was actually a symptom of the problem itself. The lockout was held because salaries were getting out of control and many franchises, outside of the most popular ones such as the New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings, simply could not afford to keep paying as much to their players as they were.
They weren't making enough revenue to pull it off. Revenue is brought in for sports teams through several areas, the most important of which are television rights and ticket sales. As the popularity of the sport waned, these sources of income did as well. Therefore the lockout was a result of the problem, not the cause of the problem.
The lockout however certainly didn't help the situation. When hockey returned the next season they made a deal with the network known as OLN - now Versus - to broadcast their weekly national games. However that cable station reaches only a small fraction of the homes that the major networks reach. This means that hockey simply isn't viewable by a great deal of the population, leaving it in a spot where it can hardly increase its popularity.
Adding to this problem is the fact that hockey isn't the most captivating sport to watch on television. It is a fantastic sport to take in live. This helps explain why the sport is so popular in major metropolitan areas where there is a hockey team. These fans get to go to the games and take in the rabid culture. You can hear the turns and stops of the skating, you can feel the jarring checks as players hit the ice and fall into the boards. The speed and precise nature of the game comes out in a way that it simply cannot on television. Those people who never see a game in person therefore, may not even know what they are missing out on by not being a hockey fan.
While it has slipped from the top four and there are some problems which need to be ironed out to truly convey all of the action and excitement of NHL hockey on TV, if the league can find a new broadcast carrier with a larger market share, it may still be able to return to its former status as one of the most important American sports. The NHL may be down, but it's too early to count it out just yet. - 16887
However, hockey as dropped off the list of major sports. Right now, NASCAR racing is likely more popular with the general public than NHL hockey. Once one of the most important sports in the US, hockey is now seemingly shut out of the top tier looking in.
How did this happen to the NHL? Was it the entire season that was lost to the lockout that did this? No, that wasn't the reason, that lost year to the lockout was actually a symptom of the problem itself. The lockout was held because salaries were getting out of control and many franchises, outside of the most popular ones such as the New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings, simply could not afford to keep paying as much to their players as they were.
They weren't making enough revenue to pull it off. Revenue is brought in for sports teams through several areas, the most important of which are television rights and ticket sales. As the popularity of the sport waned, these sources of income did as well. Therefore the lockout was a result of the problem, not the cause of the problem.
The lockout however certainly didn't help the situation. When hockey returned the next season they made a deal with the network known as OLN - now Versus - to broadcast their weekly national games. However that cable station reaches only a small fraction of the homes that the major networks reach. This means that hockey simply isn't viewable by a great deal of the population, leaving it in a spot where it can hardly increase its popularity.
Adding to this problem is the fact that hockey isn't the most captivating sport to watch on television. It is a fantastic sport to take in live. This helps explain why the sport is so popular in major metropolitan areas where there is a hockey team. These fans get to go to the games and take in the rabid culture. You can hear the turns and stops of the skating, you can feel the jarring checks as players hit the ice and fall into the boards. The speed and precise nature of the game comes out in a way that it simply cannot on television. Those people who never see a game in person therefore, may not even know what they are missing out on by not being a hockey fan.
While it has slipped from the top four and there are some problems which need to be ironed out to truly convey all of the action and excitement of NHL hockey on TV, if the league can find a new broadcast carrier with a larger market share, it may still be able to return to its former status as one of the most important American sports. The NHL may be down, but it's too early to count it out just yet. - 16887
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