Comments on: Olympic Hockey A Tremendous Success Across United States

By: Southern Canuck

Southern Canuck — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 23:49:05 +0000

I’m a Canadian expat living in Central America. I drove 2 hours to a hotel that carries NBC to watch Sunday’s game, expecting what non-Americans typically perceive as very biased announcing (very blatant in the downhill ski races earlier). However, I was incredibly impressed by the announcing and the commentator panel who did an excellent job on that game. Kudos to NBC and even to Jeremy Roenick (a very talented player who used to drive Canadians nuts with his mouth)!! I was, as a Canadian, disappointed to see that the best 2 players in that game were American: Patrick Kane and Ryan Miller. Maybe we can dangle some cute Canadians in front of them and get them to immigrate north in time for the 2014′s…

By: The Real Deal Dylan

The Real Deal Dylan — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 22:50:28 +0000

Especially when you consider that the NHL is leaning to resigning with Versus at the end of the season. Sunday is the only consistent day of NHL hockey on television and it is dominated by the Blackhawks, Red Wings, and Capitals. For example replacing the Stars vs Avs matchup on March 14th with the Hawks and caps.

By: Russell

Russell — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 21:57:05 +0000

I agree with the previous poster that NBC completely ignores the west coast.For NBC Chicago is the west coast.Nevertheless I do think there will be a slight boost in the ratings temporarily at least.Hey,NBC they have a hockey team in LA,the 2nd biggest market in the US and they’re a playoff team.

By: Andy C

Andy C — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 16:17:47 +0000

“Despite a heartbreaking loss in overtime, the hope is that the NHL retains the fans they gained for the day, building the sport even more in the U.S.”
The only problem is that the crappy TV contract the NHL has will prevent this from happening. How can you expect to capitalize on the kind of interest generated from yesterday’s Gold Medal Game if your fans can’t tune in to watch? And with the Western markets completely ignored by both Versus and NBC, how do you possibly keep those fans?
The NHL will fail to build on this momentum, and Gary Bettman has no one to blame but himself for it.