Rite of Spring 2013 (NHL Playoffs): "You have no fear of the underdog, that's why you will not survive."

[ninersdd]

Now why does 2 Final games have to be on NBCSN? I get that it was like that for ESPN, but ESPN is way more popular then NBCSN will ever be. It seems very OITGDNHL to have championship games on that channel.

[The_Admiral]

They used to have Games 3 and 4 on Versus, which opened the possibility of ending the series on cable (and extended-tier cable, at that). As long as you have both channels, you can deal with it. They look the same and everything.

[Kramerica Industries]

I think that Game 3/4 thing was the case as recently as last year, no?

And, yeah, between 1995 and 1998, when every Final was a sweep, the final game ended up being on ESPN, or, at least, was supposed to be on ESPN as contractually obligated. For some reason, Game 4 of 1995 was on Fox.

[dbadefense1990]

Guy sets DVR and adds two hours to the recording, game ends six seconds later.

Should have gotten the DirecTV genie:

[Kramerica Industries]

You screenshot that thing four months ago?

[dbadefense1990]

Now why does 2 Final games have to be on NBCSN? I get that it was like that for ESPN, but ESPN is way more popular then NBCSN will ever be. It seems very OITGDNHL to have championship games on that channel.

They used to have Games 3 and 4 on Versus, which opened the possibility of ending the series on cable (and extended-tier cable, at that). As long as you have both channels, you can deal with it. They look the same and everything.

Since 2000, there has always been a split of SCF coverage between a national and its corresponding cable network. In the early 2000s, ESPN had the 1st two games, while ABC had the remaining games. That pattern continued after the 2005-lockout, with OLN/Versus/NBCSN having Games 1 and 2 and NBC having Games 3-7.

Starting in 2009, national NBC did Games 1, 2, 5, 6 and 7, while 3 and 4 were moved to cable. The problem was a possibility of viewers not being able to see a cup-clinching Game 4 (that can only happen in a series-sweep situation, which is rare in hockey today) because they don't have cable; those fears became full fruition last year when the Kings jumped on the Devils 3-0. Many Kings fans became infuriated when they realized that a championship-clinching game would not be available to everyone, so they voiced their displeasure at NBC.

So to prevent a near-screwup of last year (fortunately the series extended to 6 games and everyone saw the cup being clinched), NBC switched the broadcasters of Games 2 and 4. That way, national NBC keeps its coveted broadcasting rights to open the Cup Final series (this has paid dividends for last night's Game 1), but also ensures that any cup-clinching game, no matter how long the series goes, gets to be aired on a national basis.

[Sodboy13]

Good news everyone!

Game 1 of the Bruins/Blackhawks NHL Stanley Cup Final earned a 4.8 overnight rating on NBC Wednesday night, up 100% from Kings/Devils Game 1 last year (2.4), and up 50% from Bruins/Canucks Game 1 in 2011 (3.2). The 4.8 is the highest overnight for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final since Red Wings/Flyers on FOX in 1997 (5.1), and the third-highest Game 1 overnight since the final returned to broadcast television in 1995. Only Panthers/Avalanche Game 1 in 1996 (5.2) and the aforementioned Red Wings/Flyers game earned better numbers.

LINK

It really says something about how deleterious the dead-puck era and lockout(s) were that we can have this gift from above of a star-studded big-city matchup, yet it still falls well short of a 1996 final featuring a team from Denver that didn't exist a year prior and an expansion team from Miami that was utterly bereft of star power and elite talent. And to think, we were excited about Bruins-Canucks getting that 3.2!

Ratings ain't what they used to be, you know. Last night's 4.8 won the night handily for NBC. That 5.2 in 1997 probably kept Fox in 4th. That any non-NFL sporting event can match its TV numbers of 16 years ago is pretty remarkable.

We're at a point where nationally-televised baseball longs for hockey's numbers, especially in the money demos.

[CubsFanBudMan]

Guy sets DVR and adds two hours to the recording, game ends six seconds later.

The good news is, those 6 seconds he missed were probably the most replayed the rest of the night and today on NHL Network, etc.

[Alex Houston]

I think the ratings results are just a confirmation bias in action. No a championship game between two big markets in established cold-climates are going to do well in this sport. I'd be more interested to see how it does in warmer weather areas and then factor in the snowbirds to try and analyze just how many newer hockey fans are watching or how many people are getting interested in hockey because of the great talent on display.

If soccer could ever catch in with the American sports fan mindset, it wouldn't surprise me if it slowly gained hockey's position in one of the Big Four.

[Sodboy13]

Wrigleyville unlicensed T-shirt vendors are a special breed of scumbag.

http://www.cubbytees.com/ShirtPages/Chicago_Strong_Blackhawks_Stanley_Cup_Shirt.html

[GFB]

I think the ratings results are just a confirmation bias in action. No a championship game between two big markets in established cold-climates are going to do well in this sport. I'd be more interested to see how it does in warmer weather areas and then factor in the snowbirds to try and analyze just how many newer hockey fans are watching or how many people are getting interested in hockey because of the great talent on display.

[CS85]

[dbadefense1990]

Wrigleyville unlicensed T-shirt vendors are a special breed of scumbag.

http://www.cubbytees.com/ShirtPages/Chicago_Strong_Blackhawks_Stanley_Cup_Shirt.html

Well, there was this guy with his sign:

And we all know how that story ended...

[dbadefense1990]

You screenshot that thing four months ago?

No; it's called the 2nd row of images from Google Image Search.

[dbadefense1990]

[dbadefense1990]

If soccer could ever catch in with the American sports fan mindset, it wouldn't surprise me if it slowly gained hockey's position in one of the Big Four.

Except for the fact that MLS already did try to appease to casual, American sports fans...and failed miserably at it.

From the April-to-October calendar, to the backwards clock, the NHL-style penalty shootouts, the best 2-of-3 playoffs and MLS Cup final game at a predetermined location and the branding of teams as typical "city-nickname" monikers, the first four to five years of Major League Soccer saw the league try to hone in on the booming popularity of soccer in the 1990s.

But all of these actions didn't bring enough casual fans into the seats, and traditional football diehards were distraught in how MLS turned their sport into a commercial joke. Add the fact that the majority of teams were still owned by 2-3 men (Phillip Anschutz, Lamar Hunt) and teams were drawing sparse crowds inside megalithic NFL stadiums, and you had a recipe for a league floundering before getting one foot off the ground.

Fortunately today, Major League Soccer is growing at a sustainable pace, a pace which allows it to live, without the rush of wanting to be a major league to casuals with those usual disastrous results which lead to the league dying. There are soccer-specific stadiums, diehards are bringing in casual fans through supporter groups, there are diverse and numerous owners, once dormant soccer markets are tapped for the main stage (Pacific Northwest area), and the league's financial system is in check and solvent.

While I do look back at its infancy, MLS has come a long way and is getting there as a major American sports league, at its own timetable.

But this is an NHL forum, so why don't we move back to our regularly scheduled program, already in progress?

[DaRadniz29]

Wrigleyville unlicensed T-shirt vendors are a special breed of scumbag.

http://www.cubbytees..._Cup_Shirt.html

Well, there was this guy with his sign:

And we all know how that story ended...

Here's the quote from the owner of t-shirt site or supposed quote.

We love Boston and support/admire its people, but don’t believe that the homicidal lunacy of two disturbed locals has rendered its teams invincible. This is about hockey, this is about O-6 pride, this is about the Cup.

OK, when will people get that the Boston Strong slogan is not about originality, creativity. It's about a coming together to support a city, it's people, their family and friends that have been affected by the tragedy. The only commonality is has in sports is the teams using it to show their support for those directly and indirectly affected. To market something that pokes fun of a tragedy is classless tasteless and despicable. I wonder if the Blackhawks will do or have done anything.

[Sodboy13]

I tweeted at the team and the league that their IP was being stolen for skeezy business, so we'll see.

[Magnus]

[speedy]

I know I should hate this, but this is awesome.

We love Boston and support/admire its people, but don’t believe that the homicidal lunacy of two disturbed locals has rendered its teams invincible. This is about hockey, this is about O-6 pride, this is about the Cup.

OK, when will people get that the Boston Strong slogan is not about originality, creativity. It's about a coming together to support a city, it's people, their family and friends that have been affected by the tragedy. The only commonality is has in sports is the teams using it to show their support for those directly and indirectly affected. To market something that pokes fun of a tragedy is classless tasteless and despicable. I wonder if the Blackhawks will do or have done anything.

Well said.