NHL Lockout to be Devastating for Canadian TV Channels
Unlike the United States, which has a number of sports the channels look forward to cashing from like baseball, football and basketball, the Canadian market is much more limited to hockey and with a lengthy lockout, Canadian television channels may be struck
the hardest when hockey nights in Canada are cancelled out.
Most channels in the nation have a stable cash flow due to the amount of hockey that goes on and with the relocation of the Atlanta Thrashers to Winnipeg, to become the Jets once again, Canada greatly profited with a huge boost in ratings.
Not only is hockey the national sport of Canada, but the most watched and highest rated as well, bringing the most revenue for any television channel at the moment and working around that will definitely be a challenge for most.
“In Canada, if you want to start a conversation, you either talk about hockey or the weather — and now we’re reduced to the weather,” said Jim Hughson, the play-by-play announcer for “Hockey Night in Canada, according to poststar.com.” “There isn’t any hockey
at the National Hockey League level to talk about, and I just don’t think that the networks have found adequate replacements for that.”
While Canada is a country in which hockey will be forever live and continue to hold the majority space on the air, most experts are worried about the impact a lockout could have on its new found popularity in the U.S.
With the Los Angeles Kings winning their first Stanley Cup in franchise history this time around, the NHL was able to touch markets and gain new viewership like it never had before and locking out the season right after it would just kill any gained momentum
for sure.
“At the end of the day, everyone wants hockey,” TSN vice president, Paul Graham, said. “That’s the sport of our country, and that’s the sport that brings in the most consistent ratings on our network.”
Fans and television channels alike are still hopeful that the league and Players’ Association will be able to work out a new labour deal in the upcoming days, to not only keep the excitement consistent, but also save the broadcasters that depend so much
on the sport.
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