Who says the NHL needs a new TV deal? Through the first five days of playoff hockey, Versus has scored its highest playoff ratings since 2002. The network averaged a 0.6 household rating (up 50 percent) and 543,000 viewers (up 21 percent), according to Neilsen data. The 2009 postseason numbers were 0.4 and 447,000 respectively. Versus saw a boost in key demographics including 6 percent in 18 to 34 males and 18 percent with men 25 to 54.
The last time the NHL saw numbers this high, the league could be seen on ESPN2.
Some highlights from regional sports networks included a12.2 overnight ratings for the Buffalo Sabres vs. Boston Bruins Game 1 on MSG Network and a 21.6 rating for Game 3 of the Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Ottawa Senators.
So why the boost? Here’s five reasons why the NHL’s ratings are up:
Olympics
USA vs. Canada introduced us to a few things: How great hockey can be when something is on the line and the Olympics introduced casual fans to the league’s top American players. Fourteen players from the USA men’s hockey team are currently playing in the NHL playoffs.
Close games
This one’s pretty self explanatory, if games are close, people will want to watch them. Here’s the score through those first five days: 18 of the first 20 games were separated by two goals or less.
Ovechkin and Crosby
These guys are the faces of the league, they are clearly the most recognizable and most exciting players in the league. Plus, they benefit from having contrasting images; you’re either a Crosby person or Ovechkin person, you can’t like both. When these two are in it, casual fans will watch. It’s kind of like having two Tiger Woods’ without the….nevermind.
Scoring
Casual fans like goals. Heck, fanatics like goals. There has been an average of 5.75 goals per game, which is up 46 percent from 2004, the last year of clutching and grabbing.
NHL.com
The league’s website is one of the best among sports leagues. It’s accessible, it’s easy to navigate and the site is very easy to navigate. And, it’s very easy to find where to find the goods. The SHOP.NHL.COM link is right at the top above all the team names along with pictures of merchandise (orders are up 37 percent).
In a press release by Versus, the network listed growth of unique visitors to NHL.com through the first five weeks of the playoffs:
Phoenix (+121 percent)
Buffalo (+100 percent)
Nashville (+ 85 percent
Denver (+74 percent)
Boston (+63 percent)
Chicago (+42 percent)
*Dallas-Ft. Worth (+41 percent)
Ottawa (+41 percent)
Montreal (+34 percent)
Los Angeles (+34 percent)
Philadelphia (+22 percent)
Washington D.C. (+21 percent)
Vancouver (+17 percent)
Tampa-St. Pete (+13 percent)
Pittsburgh (+11 percent)
*Toronto (+10 percent)
*Atlanta (+6 percent)
*Edmonton (+6 percent)
*team did not make playoffs
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Matthew Coller is a staff member of the Business of Sports Network, and is a freelance writer. He can be followed on Twitter
That didn’t take long. Only days after the city of Glendale, Ariz. released the proposals from the Reinsdorf group and Ice Edge Holdings, the city made its choice. The Glendale City Council approved the proposed arena lease agreement by the Reinsdorf Group Tuesday. The council rejected the plan submitted by Ice Edge Holdings, shooting down the group of Canadian and U.S. investors by a vote of one yes to five no.
The Reinsdorf Group, headed by Chicago Bulls and White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf, had their proposal unanimously OK’d by the council. The City (and the NHL for that matter) are determined to keep the team in Glendale and part of the Reinsdorf Group’s proposal is to keep the team for the duration of the 24-year lease of the stadium.
Reinsdorf has an out, though. According to the New York Times, if certain conditions related to the facilities district aren’t met, the group could give 180-days notice that it intends to sell the team. The city would then have to find a buyer who would keep the team in Arizona.
Ice Edge told Glendale “seller beware,” before the council voted. Chief executive officer Anthony LeBlanc warned the council about taking a proposal that with an out clause. But, some questioned whether Ice Edge actually had the capital available.
The Reinsdorf Group hopes to reach an agreement with the NHL within 90 days.
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Matthew Coller is a staff member of the Business of Sports Network, and is a freelance writer. He can be followed on Twitter
Glendale has released the two competing buyers of the Phoenix Coyotes’ lease proposals. The two groups are Ice Edge Holdings and Reinsdorf Group, which includes Chicago sports tycoon Jerry Reinsdorf.
Things apparently got –to use a hockey term – chippy between Ice Edge and the city of Glendale, Arizona. According to the Arizona Republic, Ice Edge, a Canadian and American investor group threatened early last week to walk away after Glendale asked for changes to its proposal.
The agreements released are broad outlines of how Ice Edge and Reinsdorf plan to pay Glendale to use Jobing.com Arena. The city built the facility in 2003, spending $180 million. The Reinsdorf group would buy the team for somewhere between $100 and $165 million. Ice Edge plans to offer the NHL between $140 and $150 million.
Both groups said they would raise parking fees, while Ice Edge would raise money on non-hockey events and through ticket surcharges. They said the team would keep the Coyotes in Glendale for the 24-year duration of the arena lease.
No matter which proposal “wins,” the Phoenix Coyotes will no longer be called Phoenix. Part of both proposals is to change the name of the team to either Glendale or Arizona.
Whichever teams buys the Coyotes will be in for a challenge, the team hasn’t turned a profit since moving to Arizona in 1996.
• Buy the team from the NHL for $65 million, less than half of what the league paid for the Coyotes in bankruptcy court.
• Fund the team's purchase price and up to $100 million in losses over seven years through a community facility district, which the city would create around the arena within 120 days. The independent taxing district would sell bonds and collect other revenues.
• Raise parking fees to between $8 and $20 per car and share the revenues with the city at the current level.
• Take over arena operations.
• If, after five years, the Coyotes continued to lose money, the city would cover the losses or the group would sell the team for no less than $103 million.
Ice Edge Holdings LLC would:
• Offer the NHL between $140 million and $150 million, the price paid by the league for the team last fall, through bank financing.
• Raise $14.5 million per year from landowner fees, parking fees and ticket surcharges, including non-hockey events, paid through a community facility district, to cover team losses.
• Give any money above $5 million from landowner fees to the city for 10 years.
• Share part of the parking proceeds with Glendale.
• Have the option of playing five games in Canada.
• Have the first right of refusal if Glendale sold the arena.
• Honor the 24-year duration of the arena lease.
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Matthew Coller is a staff member of the Business of Sports Network, and is a freelance writer. He can be followed on Twitter
The Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik announced Monday that the team has fired head coach Rick Tocchet and general manager Brian Lawton. In a statement the owner said the hockey operations department “needs a fresh start in order to help us fulfill our goal being a word-class organization.”
Neither Tocchet nor Lawton had been in their position more than two years. The team missed the playoffs the past three seasons after making the post-season four seasons in a row from 2002-03 to 2006-07. The Lightning, let go coach John Tortorella after missing the playoffs in 2008, then hired Barry Melrose to start the 2008-09 season, but he was fired after just 15 games (5-7-4). Tocchet replaced Melrose going 19-33-14 in the remained over 2008-09 and 34-36-12 this season.
Lightning star Steven Stamkos, who was among lead leaders in goals scored this season, was not shocked by the firing. "It's not something that was a huge surprise," Stamkos told NHL Live! Monday. "Obviously, the success wasn't there the last couple of seasons and there was a lot of media attention surrounding what was going to happen. This is the first of a lot of moves that'll be made this summer and it's something you have to respect and just go out and do your thing."
In the statement by Vinik, he also mentioned that the search for a new CEO is underway and that the team is in the process of interviewing candidates. By the start of 2010-11 season, the team will have a new CEO, GM and coach. Starting fresh is right. Here’s why the Lightning need a “fresh start:”
According to Forbes team valuations, the team scored a 72 in the “wins-to-player cost ratio” category. This category compares the number of wins per player payroll relative to the rest of the NHL. A score of 120 means the team achieved 20 percent more victories per dollar compared to the league average. To give you an idea how far the team has fallen off, their wins-to-player cost ration was a 196 in 2004.
The Lightning, who won the Stanley Cup in 2004, ranked 21st in attendance this season filling just 78.4 percent of the St. Pete Times Forum. Last season the team averaged filling 85.6 percent of the stadium. Both of those numbers are a major decline from 2008, when the team averaged 94.6 percent attendance drawing near 19,000 fans per game.
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Matthew Coller is a staff member of the Business of Sports Network, and is a freelance writer. He can be followed on Twitter
On Saturday, Maury Brown, the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, was on SportsRadio 950 ESPN in Rochester with fellow BSN staff writer, and The Blue Host for the show, Matthew Coller, talking about several issues in the NHL including possinle relocations in the NHL, specifially, the Phoenix Coyotes, how former MLBPA Executive Director Donald Fehr would impact matters if he were to become the Executive Director of the NHLPA, and more.
Click the icon below to listen to the segment through your browser, or the link provided to download in MP3.
Audio courtesy of SportsRadio 950 ESPN in Rochester
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Bill Daly, Deputy Commissioner of the National Hockey League, today released the following statement:
"In response to the many inquiries we have received in light of the story in the Phoenix Business Journal this morning, we would like to make clear that at this point in time the National Hockey League has no "deal" in place to move the Coyotes' franchise to Winnipeg -- or to any other city for that matter -- in the event a transaction cannot be timely consummated in Glendale. Our focus continues to be on completing a transaction with local ownership that is committed to operating the team in Glendale. Based on the communications and information we are receiving on a regular basis, the stakeholders involved continue to express a high level of confidence that that can be successfully achieved. We will not focus on completing arrangements for one or more alternative option(s) until such time as it may become necessary.
"With respect to Winnipeg and Messrs. Chipman and Thomson, we have had ongoing discussions over time regarding their potential interest in owning an NHL franchise (as we have had with a number of other individuals and cities around North America) and potentially bringing an NHL franchise back to Winnipeg. It remains an intriguing possibility and one we would consider given appropriate circumstances, but there is nothing new to report on that front at this time."
The article in question brings up renewed interest from Chicago Bulls and White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf in purchasing the beleaguered club. The reported deal would have the "city of Glendale giving him an out to move the franchise to another market if the team’s bottom line does not improve."
Several sources familiar with the Coyotes ownership situation say a Reinsdorf bid could include a clause that would allow the team to get out of its long-term lease at Jobing.com Arena in Glendale. That could mean a move to Las Vegas, Kansas City, Winnipeg or Quebec City.
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Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is available as a freelance writer. Brown's full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network.
Finally. That’s the word on so many hockey people’s tongues after the NHL players’ union approved a ban on head shots. The new rule prohibits “lateral, back-pressure or blindside hit to an opponent where the head is targeted and/or the principal point of contact.”
The executive board of the players’ union voted Thursday to accept this temporary rule effective immediately.
“We believe this is the right thing to do for the game and for the safety of our players,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement. “The elimination of these types of hits should significantly reduce the number of injuries, including concussions, without adversely affecting the level of physicality in the game.”
The blindside hits rule took nearly a month to get approved. Boston Bruins forward was severely injured on a hit by Penguins Matt Cooke that was eventually deemed legal. That hit and the lack of a suspension likely influenced the GMs to pen a new rule at the GM meetings in Boca Raton, Fla.
The NHLPA Competition Committee released this statement concerning the new rule:
“We have deliberated and endorsed to the NHLPA Executive Board the League’s proposal to implement supplemental discipline this season for blindside hits to the head. Our Executive Board will vote on this recommendation and we will respond back to the League with a decision in the next 24-48 hours.”
The rule will cover all 135 regular season games as well as the playoffs. An on-ice penalty for a head shot will be hashed-out over the summer and likely be enacted next season.
The NHLPA's Executive Board said in a statement that they want to cooperate in making the game safer. We are encouraged by the League’s recent willingness to explore on-ice rule changes as a means of reducing Player injuries and have no doubt that by working together, a safer working environment can be established for all NHLPA Members.”
Other than the on-ice penalty, the only thing missing from this rule is an outline to how suspensions will be determined. When Colin Campbell, the NHL’s head disciplinarian, faces his first head shots case he will set the precedent. Setting precedents, however, is something Campbell has been accused not sticking to. His inconsistency in deciding the Alex Ovechkin case most recently caused uproar.
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Matthew Coller is a staff member of the Business of Sports Network, and is a freelance writer. He can be followed on Twitter
Donald Fehr, the man who was the head of the Major League Baseball players union from 1985 until last year, will remain in charge of assisting the Search Committee work to find a replacement Executive Director for the NHLPA, but won’t be taking the position, at least today.
Fehr addressed NHL player agents today where speculation had swilled that he would move from heading the Search Committee to accepting the Exec. Dir. position. According to Ken Campbell of The Hockey News, Fehr said to the agents that “it is far too premature to discuss whether he’ll take the job for which he appears to be the frontrunner.”
The comments by Fehr leave’s the union still without an Executive Director after the NHLPA fired Paul Kelly eight months ago. His non-committal response will leave other potential candidates hang in the wind.
Numerous reports have circulated over the last several days that the rank-and-file players would like to see Fehr take over the position. Fehr would be a strong leader for the NHL players, but there have been concerns that since he just retired from the MLBPA, accepting the NHLPA position might be short-lived.
The players union for Major League Baseball is seen as the strongest union for professional athletes in the world.
Select READ MORE to see Fehr’s accomplishments during his tenure with the MLBPA:
On Saturday, Maury Brown, the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, was on SportsRadio 950 ESPN in Rochester with fellow BSN staff writer, and The Blue Host for the show, Matthew Coller, talking about several issues in the NHL including possinle relocations in the NHL, specifially, the Phoenix Coyotes, how former MLBPA Executive Director Donald Fehr would impact matters if he were to become the Executive Director of the NHLPA, and more.
