Category Archives: NHL

Emrick and McGuire: NBC Sports Network putting them to work on college hockey

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I went to the United Center in Chicago Wednesday night to see a Dave Matthews concert. Terrific show and talk about being a gamer. Matthews played on despite clearly being under the weather.

However, I was depressed by one thing I didn’t see at the UC: Ice. The floor was a floor, because the Blackhawks and hockey are on ice for now, and after what happened last night, for the forseeable future.

NBC Sports Network is trying to fill the huge gap by airing college hockey. They are using the A-team with Mike Emrick and Pierre McGuire. Friday, they’ll be on hand for Michigan State at Notre Dame.

Given Emrick’s stature, this is almost like Vin Scully being on the call for a MSU-Notre Dame baseball game.

It’s always great to hear Emrick on hockey, but it’s not the same. College hockey is a long way from the NHL. Everything, from the size of the arenas to the caliber of play, is on a much smaller scale.

Time to come back NHL. I need to see some ice at the United Center.

 

 

 

 

 

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NBC Sports Network anxious about NHL labor situation; league releases national TV schedule

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The NHL released its national TV schedule today. Unfortunately, several of the early games may never get played.

Needless to say the folks at the NBC Sports Network are concerned about the labor situation. At this point, the prospects look bleak for the season starting on time.

A prolonged dispute could leave the NBC Sports Network with some huge holes in the schedule beginning in October.

“I’m not a big Twitter follower, but I do follow the NHL on Twitter to find out as much as I can about the situation,” said NBC Sports Network President Jon Miller. “It’s very important for us for the two sides to come together and for the season to start on time. The NHL is our most important property. To not have a start of the season would be tough on us.

“It’s not for us to get in the middle here. These two sides have to work out their differences.”

Miller said the network is examining contingency programming.

“There are a lot of things we’re looking at,” Miller said. “We’re having conversations with groups. We’re looking in-house. You never know. It’s a hard position to be in.”

 

 

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Stanley Cup Final could have used a Gretzky; Game 1 ratings soar with LeBron, Durant

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It’s all about big, big stars.

The NBA has them for its final; the NHL didn’t. Just look at the ratings.

Final numbers for the Stanley Cup finals were the lowest since 2007. The Los Angeles Kings-New Jersey ratings were down 33 percent from last year, averaging 3 million viewers per game.

Meanwhile, Game 1 of the NBA Finals did an 11.8 overnight rating, the highest ever for a game on ABC. And it only figures to get bigger if LeBron James and company can win a few games in this series.

The NBA rating speaks to the star power of a final that includes James, Kevin Durant, Dwyane Wade, Russell Westbrook. As much as people hate the Heat, they still tune in to watch. I thought it was great that they made the finals. Rooting for Miami to lose to Boston is sort of like wanting Jack Nicholson’s Joker to be knocked off with 45 minutes left in Batman. I wanted more Heat, not less.

As for hockey, would the ratings have been down if the Kings still had a player named Wayne Gretzky? Definitely not.

Gretkzy, though, is long gone, and the league doesn’t have another transcendent star, given the uncertain health status of Sidney Crosby. As a result, the final featured two mostly unknown teams. And the Kings going up 3-0 also dulled the ratings momentum.

The NHL’s parity is great in the early rounds, when the No. 8 Kings proved that the seeds don’t really matter in hockey. The new format of airing every game on NBC’s various platforms resulted in a nice increase in the ratings.

However, the problem with parity is that sometimes the big-name teams and players get knocked off before the finals. For the first time since 2007, there wasn’t an Original 6 team or Crosby-led Pittsburgh in the Finals. Instead, the NHL got Los Angeles-New Jersey, two teams that don’t necessarily move the meter even in their home markets.

There are plenty of positives for hockey. But as the ratings for the Final showed, there’s plenty of room for improvement.

 

 

 

 

Ratings report: Stanley Cup down; Golf Channel has huge May

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The Stanley Cup Final isn’t exactly how the NHL hoped to finish its season. It has been a ratings buzzkill.

Monday’s Game 3 was watched by 1.743 million viewers, down 37% from 2.757 last year for Bruins-Canucks. The game did a 1.03, down from a 1.58.

It doesn’t figure to get much better tonight with Los Angeles holding a 3-0 lead in the series. The clincher will be on NBC Sports Network if the Kings can complete the sweep. Again, not what the NHL wanted.

Channeling up: It’s big times for another Comcast-owned network. Ratings are soaring for the Golf Channel, which enjoyed its biggest May ever.

From Golf Channel:

Coming off its best year ever in 2011, Golf Channel continues to build on its momentum with a strong start to 2012. Based upon five-plus quarters of growth since becoming part of the NBC Sports Group, Golf Channel is the fastest-growing network on cable (among networks serving 80 million or more U.S. homes). Through May, average viewers are up 20 percent over 2011 and 52 percent over the same time period two years ago. Four out of five months in the books so far this year – and the last consecutive four months – have set a “most-watched” record for that month.

And more good news:

MAY MOST-WATCHED: Golf Channel averaged 112,000 viewers per day during May, spurred by compelling PGA TOUR coverage and strong performances from the network’s original entertainment series:
· The second episode of Big Break Atlantis (May 21) was the highest-rated and most-watched (0.3/349,000) original entertainment program in primetime this year and of any Big Break Episode Two in four years.
· The Feherty episode featuring guest Donald Trump (0.2/215,000) was the highest-rated Feherty premiere this season. The series has bolstered the network’s primetime Monday lineup of original shows, which is up 64 percent over 2011.
DIGITAL KEEPS PACE: GolfChannel.com continues to attract new users in 2012, with page views up 41 percent and unique users up 58 percent so far this year over last year. Page views for the site’s mobile application are up 368 percent over 2011.

 

Just like Scully, all praise for beloved Mike Emrick; Even Mushnick likes him

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It’s official: Mike Emrick is the Vin Scully of hockey.

In an era of rip, rip and then rip some more, Emrick finds himself buried by an avalanche of bouquets during the Stanley Cup playoffs. The only other person in broadcasting who receives such universal praise and adoration is the living legend in the Dodgers’ booth.

Richard Sandomir evoked operatic terms in today’s piece in the New York Times:

They are Emrick’s arias: dramatic tales of passes, shots, checks, crashes into boards, saves, interceptions, goals and line changes accentuated by the sound — “OhhhhHHHHHHH!” — of his internal thermostat rapidly heating up, as if close to exploding. He hits his highest note with variations on a single word: “SCORES!”

Richard Deitsch of SI.com came out with his media power list this week. One guess at who is No. 1:

I call him NBC’s Bard of Spring. With NBC airing every NHL playoff game  nationally since the second round, Emrick has been a welcome visitor in homes  for weeks, and at 65, he’s never been better at his craft.

And here’s the ultimate barometer of Emrick’s appeal. Even Phil Mushnick of the New York Post wrote nice things about him in a column this week, and he doesn’t like anybody. Mushnick writes:

Beyond that, if there were ever a play-by-player who should be encouraged to  speak as much as often as possible, it’s Emrick. Imagine hiring Emrick and  telling him to speak half as much. Would you ask DeNiro, Sinatra, Einstein,  Pele, Magellan, Sonny and/or Cher to give it less than all they’ve got?

“Hey, you, Michelangelo! Get down off that scaffold! You wanna kill  yourself? Paint something down here!”

Wow, opera and Michelangelo references for a hockey announcer. Has to be a first.

It’s great to see Emrick get the recognition. He’s really benefitted by the new playoff format in which every game has aired on NBC’s various networks.

Like Scully, the man clearly has a way with words. Earlier this week on an NBC teleconference, he got everyone fired up with this opening:

This is our best time of year. How’s that for an understatement? …You see bearded people, you see people with goatees, because that’s a part of our tradition. You see smiles on every face because of the anticipation of living up to a lifetime dream – and that’s getting your name on a trophy that you can’t keep, and getting a ring that’s too big to wear, and having the experience, and to be referred to as a Stanley Cup Champion for the rest of your life.

Here’s hoping we all get to hear Emrick call seven games in the Final.

 

 

 

Miami-Boston rules over Cup opener in NY, LA markets; Buffalo does higher local rating

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This has to be unprecedented. If not, then I can’t remember the last time it happened.

Wednesday, a Stanley Cup Final opener couldn’t pull better ratings in the local cities of the two participating teams than an NBA semifinal playoff game with out of market teams.

Basketball, not hockey, was the top-rated sporting event for the evening in both New York and Los Angeles. The Miami-Boston game drew a 7.4 rating in New York and a 6.1 in Los Angeles.

Meanwhile, Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final featuring local teams in New Jersey-Los Angeles did a 5.1 rating in New York and a 4.2 in Los Angeles.

As predicted, it shows the limited ratings appeal for the New Jersey Devils in the New York area and the Los Angeles Kings in LA. You could be sure the New York numbers would have been much different if the Rangers advanced to the Final.

As for the Los Angeles component, can you imagine a Miami-Boston basketball game doing a better local rating in Chicago if the Blackhawks were playing Game 1 of a Cup Final? Or Detroit? St. Louis? Even Nashville?

And furthermore, Buffalo, with a 7.8 rating, led all major markets, easily beating New York and LA. Minneapolis actually tied LA for third at 4.2. Again, hard to remember when one of the participating team’s market wasn’t No. 1 for a Final game.

All told, Game 1 did a 2.4 rating, down 25 percent from last year’s game 1 between Boston-Vancouver.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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New Stanley Cup promo captures the feeling

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The NHL certainly has done an impressive job with promos capturing the joy of winning the Stanley Cup.

This year’s entry shows a montage of winning teams gathering around the Cup on the ice for those epic group photos. Simple and cool. Very cool. Kudos to Young & Rubicam for their idea and execution.

Here are the previous entries. The 2010 spot shows players getting choked up in their moment of victory.

Here’s the one from 2008 on raising the Cup.

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No swear zone: NBC producer defends McGuire

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If the coaches start launching F-bombs over Pierre McGuire’s head during the Stanley Cup Final, executive producer Sam Flood said NBC will handle it the same way it did during Game 4 of the Rangers-Devils series.

During a conference call Tuesday, Flood said if McGuire doesn’t cut off his microphone, the truck would. Flood supported McGuire, who has come under fire for censoring the heated exchange between Rangers coach John Tortorella and New Jersey coach Peter DeBoer.

Flood said:

Pierre is going to give the information. It’s simply two coaches who are not getting along. What they’re saying is not ready for broadcast. (McGuire can say) ‘I can tell you they’re mad at each other’ He can tell you the context without any words. That’s his job.

Later Flood added:

He and I talk after every situation and how it was handled….In terms of language, I certainly wouldn’t want my children to listen to that. So why should I put it in living rooms across the country?

McGuire said:

It’s not an overly sanitized place to work. We’re not in a sound chamber. Also, there’s a responsibility. If somebody uses unbelievable amounts of vulgarity, which happens from time to time in professional sports, I don’t think it’s appropriate to comment on that.

 

 

The Beat: Big market Stanley Cup Final really small; McGuire under fire; writers on move

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Making the rounds:

Small time: Usually, a final featuring the New York market and Los Angeles is the ultimate. But not for this Stanley Cup final.

New Jersey Devils-Los Angeles Kings may have big market demographics, but this final could play out like a small market series for NBC and the NHL. The Devils, seeking their fourth Cup since 1995, are the San Antonio Spurs of hockey. Despite their success, they have little appeal beyond New Jersey, and that includes the folks in Manhattan. They weren’t featured once on one of NBC’s telecasts this year.

Now the New York Rangers, that would have been a different story.

As for the Los Angeles Kings, all most people know about the franchise is that Wayne Gretzky once played for them. They do have a passionate fan base in LA, but it is very narrow in scope compared to the Lakers and Dodgers.

This marks the first time the NHL hasn’t had one of its ratings-grabber teams in the finals since 2007: Detroit-Pittsburgh (2008 and 2009); Chicago-Philadelphia (2010); and Boston-Vancouver (2011). It has triggered a steady and strong increase in ratings for the Stanley Cup finals. Last year’s Game 7 did an all-time best 5.7 rating.

Much of that was fueled by a staggering 43.7 rating in Boston. Neither Los Angeles nor New Jersey will come close to producing those kind of numbers in their hometowns this year.

I’d be surprised if the NBC and NHL PR machines will be churning out releases about strong ratings for this final.

Under fire: Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News was the latest to call out NBC’s Pierre McGuire for hitting the mute button during a John Tortorella-Peter DeBoer  shouting match in game 4 of the Rangers-Devils series.

While that’s lame, taking it upon himself to hit the mute button on his  microphone, so viewers could not hear what Snorts and DeBoer were saying, is  even worse. McGuire has absolutely no right to dictate what fans can or cannot  hear. He’s paid to analyze a hockey game, not to engage in censorship.

And please, spare us from tired lines like: “Oh, he did the right thing.  They were cursing. We wouldn’t want kids to hear it.” That’s absolute  garbage.

If the NHL and NBC suits gave a darn about the kiddies “well being” they  wouldn’t continue to market violence at all hours of the day and night,  promoting upcoming games with video of fights replete with blood flowing out a  players nose, mouth, or some other body part.

On the move: Good luck to old friends Michael Rosenberg and Randy Harvey. Rosenberg is leaving the Detroit Free-Press to become a senior reporter for Sports Illustrated. Harvey is jumping from the Los Angeles Times to become a columnist for the Houston Chronicle.

 

 

 

 

 

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Milbury-Roenick have heated debate on Brown hit

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It’s just a matter of time before Mike Milbury and Jeremy Roenick drop the gloves and start brawling during one of their NHL studio segments on NBC Sports Network.

Last night, they got into a heated debate about the Kings’ Dustin Brown’s hit on Phoenix’s Michal Rozsival. Roenick thought it was a clean blow; Milbury not so much.

At around the 1:40 mark, things really get heated.

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