I think hockey is the worst of the major sports at making themselves available to fans
Objective_Fun2827
This is why the league isn’t growing as it should. Baseball has a product problem. Hockey is lucky, their product is great! They just can’t help themselves from limiting their own exposure.
rhunter99
I mean we have an entire Sunday just for football. Why can’t hockey be spread out a bit
Yung_Corneliois
I mean to be fair it’s Saturday. Most people aren’t going to be sitting in front of their tv all day. They’ll watch their team but I wouldn’t be watching Leafs/Lightning if it were on at like 4pm.
whack-a-mole
And FFS they wait until Thursday to set the time for the LAK / EDM game, so if you have a life it’s hard to plan…
shwysdrf
Can’t wait for the Sunday night game 7, 9:30 Eastern, on a day with only two games 🙄
Rep-Binks
Put them on a bunch of different channels so that people without a cable subscription can’t watch any (legally)
sheldonOrange
no team wants that early afternoon slot
thereal_omegavince
Personally I’m preferring it the way it is today because I am not available to sit down and watch hockey for the first half of the day
haihaiclickk
No idea what you guys in the east are complaining about. Hockey starts at 4pm for me here 🙂
Ovechkin8_caps
for me the games go 5:00, 5:30 7:00, 7:30 on weekdays and I personally think it works well
MrTuesdayNight1
I would imagine most teams would rather play the most important games of a playoff series at night. Many players are routine oriented and having games during the day throws that off.
Sucks for the fans, but I understand it from a player perspective.
TimmytheTurtle121
Most players say they don’t like day games (Throws their routine off). So the nhl tries to keep the start times later, especially playoffs. It’d be great for us fans but getting the best out of the players is more important.
Mediocritologist
I don’t think Gary Bettman is scheduling hockey games. There’s a lot that goes into and the venues might not even be available earlier in the day. But I agree with the overall sentiment that the NHL makes hockey less accessible.
cdizzle6
Two teams in the central time zone starting at 8:50 is fucking ludicrous.
Live-Breath9799
There was a 7:30 game on either TBS or TNT that had no pre game just started at 7:30 with puck drop around 7:40. They had Con Air playing until 7:30. It’s ridiculous how little ESPN cares about having the NHL.
bostondangler
Let’s make everybody buy three different cable packages so they can watch all three games also! @nhl is a fkn joke for that this season
hnaq
On the east coast and was really hoping for a mid-afternoon local start for the Avs or Oilers, and not 9:30 on a Sunday night… which turns into 6am hockey for me.
I8Cosmos8I
I understand why they have weird times, for players game day is a whole morning to night ritual. I remember watching a “vlog” from some player from the jets iirc and he had a laid out schedule that was followed to a T, workout from this time to this time take a nap from 3-5 etc etc. making games start at say noon would throw off that whole routine and mess with players mental prep. Hockey players are often superstitious and have their weird rituals and prep they do every night and it helps them mentally prepare and get in the right mindset to perform well. It sucks for us but for the players a game is kept at the same local time so they can do their routines as usual.
Emperor_TaterTot
The kings oilers game 5 was Tuesday, game 6 is Saturday an inexplicable 2 day delay.
Just makes zero sense.
ArnieAndTheWaves
I don’t think Bettman is the one in charge of game scheduling, lol.
Vanny__DeVito
Why is it so difficult to watch a fucking hockey game?? I really don’t understand what’s going in with the NHL’s broadcasting deals…
Metalsheepapocalypse
I mean it could be worse….you’ve got 3 games that start at 7, 8 and 10 est so only one game overlaps (unless there’s OT).
dasnoob
Yeah if fucking sucks. Me and my kids can’t watch the games because we end up falling asleep around 10:30pm. His bedtime is 8:30 and I’m already letting him stay up late trying to get him more into the game.
BillyJayJersey505
Do you guys have access to the ratings numbers? For all you know, these games are going to have higher ratings competing with each other in these time slots than they would being spread out throughout the day. Not many people can sit home and watch hockey all day for two consecutive weekends.
brendan87na
the scheduling this year has been absolutely atrocious
BossScottie
Bettman doesn’t want to grow the game. He wants to pimp it, hence all the digital ads on the boards and ice. As well as all of the terribly short sited decisions like not taking part in the Olympics, and no hockey World Cup. The leagues making a lot of money but losing viewers hand over fist. And now fanatics will be selling us trash for ten years. This is the same guy who lied to everyone saying the salary cap was needed to keep ticket prices down, and then every single team jacked up prices. He’s a snake in the grass.
danstewart42
Bettman gotta go
Concertvids34
Few things here
1. Most casual NHL fan’s have plans from children’s tournaments, tee times, hunting/fishing boating, and other weekend warrior activities and so on. If I text a friend who is a casual fan “hey games on at 2pm and 4pm and 7:30 pm you should watch” they aren’t wasting their Saturday watching hockey. But if go out to grab drinks at 7:30 they will watch one game/game that has more local importance. 2. Pro players prefer night games. Day games can take a period or so for player to get adjusted at times. Going to pro games at 1pm or even 4pm I have seen teams take a period to adjust. 3. Hockey doesn’t have the leverage to grab national TV slots for the first round of the playoffs and many times even later in the season. The argument that they are forcing fans to get 3 different cable or streaming plans is a moot point. NBC wouldn’t put all the Stanley Cup games on NBC.
Ratings will most likely be higher for all NHL games tonight the way they are as opposed to staggered starts in the spring for a niche sport filling up the afternoon. Ratings are driven up by casual fans and casual fans aren’t spending their afternoon watching hockey on the east coast where the start times hit the latest. They may focus on 1 game a weekend if that. Later start times means they are available after they spend their Saturday’s doing other activities then come home when it gets dark to turn the TV on grab a beer and watch the game.
blewsyboy
Players hate afternoon games and complain every time they have to play one…
ttipj
As a European fan, I feel the same way. It’s mildly infuriating
youjustgotjammed9940
But how could they possibly compete with the ratings juggernaut that is Day 3 of the NFL Draft????
Status-Resort-4593
The NFL has proven that people will watch sports all day. Why would they not spread the games? They could probably even command higher prices for commercial time because people won’t be split between games.
33 Comments
I think hockey is the worst of the major sports at making themselves available to fans
This is why the league isn’t growing as it should. Baseball has a product problem. Hockey is lucky, their product is great! They just can’t help themselves from limiting their own exposure.
I mean we have an entire Sunday just for football. Why can’t hockey be spread out a bit
I mean to be fair it’s Saturday. Most people aren’t going to be sitting in front of their tv all day. They’ll watch their team but I wouldn’t be watching Leafs/Lightning if it were on at like 4pm.
And FFS they wait until Thursday to set the time for the LAK / EDM game, so if you have a life it’s hard to plan…
Can’t wait for the Sunday night game 7, 9:30 Eastern, on a day with only two games 🙄
Put them on a bunch of different channels so that people without a cable subscription can’t watch any (legally)
no team wants that early afternoon slot
Personally I’m preferring it the way it is today because I am not available to sit down and watch hockey for the first half of the day
No idea what you guys in the east are complaining about. Hockey starts at 4pm for me here 🙂
for me the games go 5:00, 5:30 7:00, 7:30 on weekdays and I personally think it works well
I would imagine most teams would rather play the most important games of a playoff series at night. Many players are routine oriented and having games during the day throws that off.
Sucks for the fans, but I understand it from a player perspective.
Most players say they don’t like day games (Throws their routine off). So the nhl tries to keep the start times later, especially playoffs. It’d be great for us fans but getting the best out of the players is more important.
I don’t think Gary Bettman is scheduling hockey games. There’s a lot that goes into and the venues might not even be available earlier in the day. But I agree with the overall sentiment that the NHL makes hockey less accessible.
Two teams in the central time zone starting at 8:50 is fucking ludicrous.
There was a 7:30 game on either TBS or TNT that had no pre game just started at 7:30 with puck drop around 7:40. They had Con Air playing until 7:30. It’s ridiculous how little ESPN cares about having the NHL.
Let’s make everybody buy three different cable packages so they can watch all three games also! @nhl is a fkn joke for that this season
On the east coast and was really hoping for a mid-afternoon local start for the Avs or Oilers, and not 9:30 on a Sunday night… which turns into 6am hockey for me.
I understand why they have weird times, for players game day is a whole morning to night ritual. I remember watching a “vlog” from some player from the jets iirc and he had a laid out schedule that was followed to a T, workout from this time to this time take a nap from 3-5 etc etc. making games start at say noon would throw off that whole routine and mess with players mental prep. Hockey players are often superstitious and have their weird rituals and prep they do every night and it helps them mentally prepare and get in the right mindset to perform well. It sucks for us but for the players a game is kept at the same local time so they can do their routines as usual.
The kings oilers game 5 was Tuesday, game 6 is Saturday an inexplicable 2 day delay.
Just makes zero sense.
I don’t think Bettman is the one in charge of game scheduling, lol.
Why is it so difficult to watch a fucking hockey game?? I really don’t understand what’s going in with the NHL’s broadcasting deals…
I mean it could be worse….you’ve got 3 games that start at 7, 8 and 10 est so only one game overlaps (unless there’s OT).
Yeah if fucking sucks. Me and my kids can’t watch the games because we end up falling asleep around 10:30pm. His bedtime is 8:30 and I’m already letting him stay up late trying to get him more into the game.
Do you guys have access to the ratings numbers? For all you know, these games are going to have higher ratings competing with each other in these time slots than they would being spread out throughout the day. Not many people can sit home and watch hockey all day for two consecutive weekends.
the scheduling this year has been absolutely atrocious
Bettman doesn’t want to grow the game. He wants to pimp it, hence all the digital ads on the boards and ice. As well as all of the terribly short sited decisions like not taking part in the Olympics, and no hockey World Cup. The leagues making a lot of money but losing viewers hand over fist. And now fanatics will be selling us trash for ten years. This is the same guy who lied to everyone saying the salary cap was needed to keep ticket prices down, and then every single team jacked up prices. He’s a snake in the grass.
Bettman gotta go
Few things here
1. Most casual NHL fan’s have plans from children’s tournaments, tee times, hunting/fishing boating, and other weekend warrior activities and so on. If I text a friend who is a casual fan “hey games on at 2pm and 4pm and 7:30 pm you should watch” they aren’t wasting their Saturday watching hockey. But if go out to grab drinks at 7:30 they will watch one game/game that has more local importance.
2. Pro players prefer night games. Day games can take a period or so for player to get adjusted at times. Going to pro games at 1pm or even 4pm I have seen teams take a period to adjust.
3. Hockey doesn’t have the leverage to grab national TV slots for the first round of the playoffs and many times even later in the season. The argument that they are forcing fans to get 3 different cable or streaming plans is a moot point. NBC wouldn’t put all the Stanley Cup games on NBC.
Ratings will most likely be higher for all NHL games tonight the way they are as opposed to staggered starts in the spring for a niche sport filling up the afternoon. Ratings are driven up by casual fans and casual fans aren’t spending their afternoon watching hockey on the east coast where the start times hit the latest. They may focus on 1 game a weekend if that. Later start times means they are available after they spend their Saturday’s doing other activities then come home when it gets dark to turn the TV on grab a beer and watch the game.
Players hate afternoon games and complain every time they have to play one…
As a European fan, I feel the same way. It’s mildly infuriating
But how could they possibly compete with the ratings juggernaut that is Day 3 of the NFL Draft????
The NFL has proven that people will watch sports all day. Why would they not spread the games? They could probably even command higher prices for commercial time because people won’t be split between games.