Storm warning for NHL on NBC

No, we're not talking about Hannah Storm. We're talking about tomorrow's Washington-Pittsburgh game on NBC.

The game starts at 1 p.m., which is all fine and good except for one potentially big problem: NBC has the Kentucky Derby starting at 4. According to NBC, should the hockey game go into overtime or simply run past 4 p.m., it will advise American viewers to go to Versus, though NBC affiliates in Washington and Pittsburgh will continue to show hockey until its conclusion. The rest of the NBC stations will start the 90-minute build-up to the Derby.

Odds are it won't happen, but there's no guarantee the NHL won't be given another slap in the face. It happened two years ago when NBC ditched overtime in an Ottawa-Buffalo playoff game for, of all things, the pre-race show for the Preakness. That meant millions -- okay, tens of thousands -- of NHL fans were left out because they didn't have Versus.

The cable channel has grown since then and odds more most die-hard NHL fans in the U.S. have it. But a lot of those who might be curious about this Crosby and Ovechkin thing probably don't.

So what they'll get is: Step right up and see the two most exciting players in the game at least until the horses start sweating.

The NHL should do a better deal than this one. Oh yeah, we forgot. It didn't have any choice if it wanted a big network to carry hockey in the U.S.

Comments

[Jim]

typical parochial Canadian pap
whinging about a thing that might not even happen
and if it did, why wouldn't it? do you've any idea what Derby ratings are and how completely out of the orbit of hockey they are?

[Tabber]

No, Kim, I don't. And wouldn't it be more accurate to ask about (or even give) the ratings for the pre-race show? Typical parochial Canadian pap not giving a hoot about others. So, c'mon Jim, what are the pre-race ratings and the race ratings?

[Godot]

Jim:
Whinging? Really? Unless the article has been dramatically re-edited since you first read it, the only whinging I see on this page is yours.

Chris: I'd be interested to know the Kentucky Derby ratings. I know they are high in the U.S. -- but do those figures peak for the actual race? I love watching the K-Derby and the Queen's Plate but the build-up can be very long. I usually flip to something else between races as I'm sure many casual viewers do. How do they measure that? Do you know?

Also, how does the K-derby compare to the Queen's Plate for Canadian viewers? It's interesting to see how the cross border hype affects Canadian ratings when compared to events only promoted on this side of the border (a la the CFL draft you talked about in your previous post).

[Jim]

Godot,

Zelkovich made the claim it would be "a slap in the face" to the NHL.

NHL on NBC last week 1.7 rating/4 share
Derby average this decade 8.5-9 rating/22 share (and somehow I don't think the pre-race ever gets as low as 1.7)

so how would that be a slap in the face?

This story gets written every year here in Canada and it's the very definition of whingeing. Can we not just accept hockey - which is awesome - isn't the biggest story in the sports universe every day? Would it be better that the game not be televised in the US at all? Just not seeing what the big issue is.

[Dave]

NHL needs to strike a deal with Spike TV it's in as many homes as NBC