-
Get involved.
We want your input!
Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.
After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.
After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/
Thanks in advance and have fun!
RadioDiscussions Administrators
OK, NBC, you can exhale now
- Thread starter KeithE4
- Start date
It's interesting that not all seven games will air on the main NBC network. Two games are scheduled for NBC SN: Saturday and Wednesday. I understand the Wednesday night move, but Saturday seems strange, given that the playoff games on Saturday aired on NBC.
Game Date Time (ET) Pittsburgh vs. Nashville Networks
Game 1 Monday, May 29 8 p.m. Nashville at Pittsburgh NBC, CBC, Sportsnet, TVA Sports
Game 2 Wednesday, May 31 8 p.m. Nashville at Pittsburgh NBCSN, CBC, Sportsnet, TVA Sports
Game 3 Saturday, June 3 8 p.m. Pittsburgh at Nashville NBCSN, CBC, Sportsnet, TVA Sports
Game 4 Monday, June 5 8 p.m. Pittsburgh at Nashville NBC, CBC, Sportsnet, TVA Sports
Game 5* Thursday, June 8 8 p.m. Nashville at Pittsburgh NBC, CBC, Sportsnet, TVA Sports
Game 6* Sunday, June 11 8 p.m. Pittsburgh at Nashville NBC, CBC, Sportsnet, TVA Sports
Game 7* Wednesday, June 14 8 p.m. Nashville at Pittsburgh NBC, CBC, Sportsnet, TVA Sports
Game Date Time (ET) Pittsburgh vs. Nashville Networks
Game 1 Monday, May 29 8 p.m. Nashville at Pittsburgh NBC, CBC, Sportsnet, TVA Sports
Game 2 Wednesday, May 31 8 p.m. Nashville at Pittsburgh NBCSN, CBC, Sportsnet, TVA Sports
Game 3 Saturday, June 3 8 p.m. Pittsburgh at Nashville NBCSN, CBC, Sportsnet, TVA Sports
Game 4 Monday, June 5 8 p.m. Pittsburgh at Nashville NBC, CBC, Sportsnet, TVA Sports
Game 5* Thursday, June 8 8 p.m. Nashville at Pittsburgh NBC, CBC, Sportsnet, TVA Sports
Game 6* Sunday, June 11 8 p.m. Pittsburgh at Nashville NBC, CBC, Sportsnet, TVA Sports
Game 7* Wednesday, June 14 8 p.m. Nashville at Pittsburgh NBC, CBC, Sportsnet, TVA Sports
Last edited:
I don't know what it might cost the NBC mothership to air an NHL playoff game versus broadcasting on one of the digitnets but on a night when there was nothing prime playing on any of the major networks NBC still puts the game on a sub-net. Doesn't make sense to me. That game was one of the most intense games of the season and the winner was destined to go on to the finals so it had about as much importance as any hockey game this season. Yet NBC let it slide.
Isn't that SOP for NBC -- opener on the over-the-air network, then off to cable until Game 4? I believe the thinking is that they want any possible deciding game to be on the main signal.
Not really. Only two games on cable.
You're agreeing with me and don't realize it. A deciding game in the Stanley Cup finals (best of 7) can be Game 4, 5, 6 or 7. That's what's been carried on NBC (over the air) in past years, IIRC, along with the opening game of the finals. Are you under the impression that cable has had Games 4, 5 and/or 6 before this season? Because that's not the way I remember it.
I have no idea. You made it sound like all the games other than 1 and 4 were on cable.
Last year it was game 2 & 4 on NBCSN, but they had said they would flex a possible sweep in game 4 to NBC if necessary. As far as I can remember, there have been two games of the Stanley Cup Finals on NBCSN since they were renamed from Versus.
That's because NBC doesn't own a sports diginet
Plus, NBCSN gets (At least) TWENTY TIMES the ratings that COZI-TV does (Heck, it even gets at least 15 times the ratings as MeTV does). And given that USA Networkn is more of a general entertainment network & only carries sports programming when there are conflicts with NBCSN & CNBC (And sometimes NBC itself too) it makes perfect sense to balance the schedule between NBC & NBCSN (This keeps CNBC free for news & business programs along with MSMBC & USA Network free for WWE & general entertainment)
Also, keep in mind, there'll also be additional coverage on NHL Network too
All of this is laid out in the contract NBC has with the NHL. It's not all NBC's choice. Plus consider June is not a big ratings month anyway. They'd probably be running repeats or shows that didn't make the regular season, so live hockey isn't going to kill them. If the Stanley Cup Finals were in May, it would be a different story.
Common sense tells me that any time a live sport can be aired on a mothership as opposed to a sub-net it is to that sport's advantage in terms of exposure. Hockey seems to have enough trouble getting eyes on its games. If I were a NHL suit I would appreciate as much exposure as possible within the USA. I realize there might be irate fans who subscribe to Center Ice should the playoffs also be aired on a national free network but it would be to the game's advantage. Of course, those same suits are probably still fuming that the Rangers aren't playing Pittsburgh because everything in their world is big city centric.
Outside the northeast, midwest, the northern tier of western states, and expatriates therefrom, there's little interest in hockey. It's just not a Sun Belt sport, although some teams do draw fairly well if their team is successful. For example, NBC's ratings in southern California were probably decent while the Anaheim Ducks were playing, but now that they're out, they might not be as good.
I'm a Center Ice subscriber. They only air regular season games. All playoff games are on NBC-owned channels.
Fixed.
They're not called the Nooyawk Broadcasting Company for nothing, although I'm quite sure they wouldn't argue if the Blackhawks, Red Wings, or Bruins -- all big-market, Original Six teams -- were in the Final. All have won Stanley Cups in the last 10 years. No Noo Yawk-area team has won the Cup since the 2003 Devils. The Rangers haven't won since 1994.
Maybe. Here's a chart of the teams and their attendance. Sure you see Chicago at the top. But in the Top 10 is Tampa. Expatriates? Perhaps. Also some great marketing. Look down a little further and you see Dallas and Anaheim. It's actually pretty evenly spread. And a lot of those attendance figures are limited by the size of the arenas. They could probably sell more tickets if there were more seats.
http://www.espn.com/nhl/attendance
How does this translate to broadcasting? Here's what we can say: The hockey audience isn't big, but its very passionate. Last year, about 4 million people watched the Stanley Cup finals. That's substantially lower than the lowest rated World Series, which was 12 million in 2012. It would help if there were bigger cities in the finals. The last time that happened was 2013 with Chicago & Boston and over 8 million watched. Still smaller than the lowest rated world series. The NBA Finals, also in June, get about 20 million viewers. The lowest was 9 million in 2010.
But as I said in an earlier post, it's June, and HUT is also a bit lower this time of year. Most networks are in reruns. This is original content. The only thing NBC has to do is meet their audience projections with advertisers. If they're smart, they set them low, knowing that a lot of big cities didn't even make the playoffs. If they go six games, they should make some money. If it's just four games, with no drama or excitement, they'll probably lose.
Last edited:
The star power of the Penguins, and the fact that the Pens are the defending champions, helps quite a bit. Nashville is a tough sell outside of its home market, but it could have been a lot worse. Five Canadian teams made the playoffs this year, and one nearly made the final. An Ottawa-Edmonton matchup would have been a financial bloodbath for NBC no matter how low the projections were.
The Ottawa-Pittsburgh series came down to 1 goal in a 2 OT game. That is about as tight a finish as I can remember and that game could have easily gone either way.
Anyone who has watched the playoffs so far knows Nashville is for real. They may not be well known in hockey circles yet but they have, arguably the NHL's best goalie and a bunch of serious and talented players in front of him. I think it is going to be a good final and I am not betting against the Preds.
Think of it this way. Who is a bigger star: Sidney Crosby or Garth Brooks? Every playoff home game, the Predators have featured a different star singing the national anthem. They've turned it into a promotion: Who will sing tonight? Carrie Underwood, Kelley Clarkson, and Trisha Yearwood have done it so far. They haven't even begun to tap the pop stars who live in that city. So it could all make for great TV. But yes, I agree an all-Canada final would have been deadly.
- Status