I don’t mind paying for any subscription that will let me watch Road games as well as home games, even if I have to pay say an extra five dollar fee PER blacked out home game. I would do it in a heartbeat.
Or those near my region, I live near three regions, allegedly (nearest is 5 hours away) and not only do I not see any of their home games, I can’t see my favorite team playing in the cities.
That shit SUCKS.
darksouls_1988
Ive given up trying to watch games, and just watch highlights now. Too much of a PITA.
ChronicAbuse420
It’s the American way of business, short term profits above all else, even long term sustainability.
Tapirium
Shannon is awesome. He’s the only hockey Youtuber that I enjoy watching. Dude is wholesome as heck. Not to mention that he is incredibly knowledgeable about the league.
sitboaf
Keep speaking truth to power, Shannon!
ryathal
I’d pay say 300/season if it actually got me every game. I’d pay 100 or so for a single team for every game. No such option exists though.
NoBid5853
I’ve never watched this guy before but that was a great video. I’ve been watching hockey for 30 years now and its only recently that I’m starting to get fed up with it. The saying used to be “I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out.” I think the updated version is “I watched an advertisement and a hockey game broke out.” And with all of those ads, I haven’t seen a price drop anywhere along the line for consumers. It’s becoming frustrating.
TathanOTS
As much as I hate them, I don’t think Shannon is correct about the board ads.
I can’t find hard data and it’s tough to quantify how much this turning off fans costs but if the helmet ads made $100m and the board ads are that much more visible I have to imagine they are making a decent chunk off of them. Enough to offset the losses elsewhere.
If they made the games free stadium would be packed every week. The tickets cost money so less people go. This is the same thing. Monetizing something almost always lowers the participation.
The real mover has to be going to a better system for paying to view. Blackouts and such are archaic. People will just sail the seas or not watch. And I say this as a fan who lives somewhere that ESPN+ means only missing 2-3 games a season per team I or people in my household like (plus however many NHL network and TNT poach).
I do like the tiered service idea though. Let people pay extra and not view board adds. It makes it the “rested bonus” problem. It changes the way people view it. Instead of this add being on the thing people pay for now it’s well I’m saving $x by not paying, so these adds are fine.
terithegreat
It’s absolutely tragic that hockey is arguably one of the best “Big 4” sports and the NHL has far and away the worst marketing.
Putting ads and sponsors on literally every available surface is cringe, and if that’s what they’ve got to “grow” league revenue, Shannon is absolutely right—they’re making the wrong calls for the long-term health of the sport. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.
Clean_Command_4897
It’s a sport where 200-pound men stand on knives while beating the shit out of each other, and the NHL has zero ideas on how to market it.
Punish players for having personalities. Sit out of multiple Olympics. Have reality tv stars present NHL awards. Use bands that were popular 20 years ago. Local blackouts. The list goes on and on. What a joke.
tcrex2525
They def lost my money. I had NHL.tv for years, but then ESPN took over, and as of last season I’ve canceled any subscription services I had.
11 Comments
I don’t mind paying for any subscription that will let me watch Road games as well as home games, even if I have to pay say an extra five dollar fee PER blacked out home game. I would do it in a heartbeat.
Or those near my region, I live near three regions, allegedly (nearest is 5 hours away) and not only do I not see any of their home games, I can’t see my favorite team playing in the cities.
That shit SUCKS.
Ive given up trying to watch games, and just watch highlights now. Too much of a PITA.
It’s the American way of business, short term profits above all else, even long term sustainability.
Shannon is awesome. He’s the only hockey Youtuber that I enjoy watching. Dude is wholesome as heck. Not to mention that he is incredibly knowledgeable about the league.
Keep speaking truth to power, Shannon!
I’d pay say 300/season if it actually got me every game. I’d pay 100 or so for a single team for every game. No such option exists though.
I’ve never watched this guy before but that was a great video. I’ve been watching hockey for 30 years now and its only recently that I’m starting to get fed up with it. The saying used to be “I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out.” I think the updated version is “I watched an advertisement and a hockey game broke out.” And with all of those ads, I haven’t seen a price drop anywhere along the line for consumers. It’s becoming frustrating.
As much as I hate them, I don’t think Shannon is correct about the board ads.
I can’t find hard data and it’s tough to quantify how much this turning off fans costs but if the helmet ads made $100m and the board ads are that much more visible I have to imagine they are making a decent chunk off of them. Enough to offset the losses elsewhere.
If they made the games free stadium would be packed every week. The tickets cost money so less people go. This is the same thing. Monetizing something almost always lowers the participation.
The real mover has to be going to a better system for paying to view. Blackouts and such are archaic. People will just sail the seas or not watch. And I say this as a fan who lives somewhere that ESPN+ means only missing 2-3 games a season per team I or people in my household like (plus however many NHL network and TNT poach).
I do like the tiered service idea though. Let people pay extra and not view board adds. It makes it the “rested bonus” problem. It changes the way people view it. Instead of this add being on the thing people pay for now it’s well I’m saving $x by not paying, so these adds are fine.
It’s absolutely tragic that hockey is arguably one of the best “Big 4” sports and the NHL has far and away the worst marketing.
Putting ads and sponsors on literally every available surface is cringe, and if that’s what they’ve got to “grow” league revenue, Shannon is absolutely right—they’re making the wrong calls for the long-term health of the sport. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.
It’s a sport where 200-pound men stand on knives while beating the shit out of each other, and the NHL has zero ideas on how to market it.
Punish players for having personalities. Sit out of multiple Olympics. Have reality tv stars present NHL awards. Use bands that were popular 20 years ago. Local blackouts. The list goes on and on. What a joke.
They def lost my money. I had NHL.tv for years, but then ESPN took over, and as of last season I’ve canceled any subscription services I had.
The water’s fine out here! 🏴☠️👍