The ups and downs of the NHL season are more than for the players, the media has highs and lows too and right now it appears that that Rogers Media is in a real low with it's NHL product. If you did not see the new article in the Globe and Mail from Dave Shoalts it's
worth reading.
The funny thing about this is that Rogers is not the only broadcaster struggling. In certain markets where TSN has rights they too will sometimes run a loss lead on the product for the season or parts of it. Certainly the issue of having no Canadian teams in the post season hurts and not just when the playoffs start. There was no hope for any of the Canadian teams and no really story with them. But in some regards that's not just about teams and nationality but we'll get to that later.
As for Rogers' struggles it's interesting because after they secured the NHL rights for 5.2 Billion Canadian dollars over 12 years, they had to build the infrastructure to support the purchase. In some ways it's the reverse of 'if you build it, they will come' The bought the audience but did not know what to build for them.
More curious than anything else is the deconstructed a Canadian national institution, Hockey Night in Canada. Could there have been a bigger miscalculation? Canadians are a funny bunch when compared to our American neighbours as we don't have the population the and what we do have is spread out over a VAST area. We cling to things and hockey might be the one thing that Canadians hold onto more than national healthcare and there was no bigger branch than Hockey Night in Canada. It was a forum and production that slowly evolved over the years without swift dynamic change but a steady evolution to keep it's place as the benchmark hockey broadcast. TSN may have had the Insiders but when it came to Saturday night it was all HNIC and CBC.
Is that even the case anymore? It does not help that assured Saturday night team the Toronto Maple Leafs are no more interesting to watch than the Canucks, or Flames or Oilers but the broadcast itself is hardly close to what it was. In fact it looks an awful lot like NFL broadcasts, huge sets, props and noted celebrity hosts but without any competition. What is keeping the production honest when you have the national right to almost everything in Canada?
Take last night's final sale to Rexall/Northlands Colosseum. Was Mark Spector, and the other 'guys' who you wanted to see and hear from? No they were still in j-school trying to figure out what to believe about Peter Pocklington when the Oilers glory days were there. How different would the coverage have been with Ron MacLean as the lead and adding Don Cherry?
Despite Cherry's obviously diminishing ability to articulate and adapt to the current NHL game he is some one the majority of Canadians still will watch, but he was also 'there'. MacLean may be the best anecdotal story teller in Canada after
Stuart Mclean (no relation). What's the common element there? Oh both with or formerly with the CBC.
Maybe that's the problem, the deconstruction of the CBC product with hockey took away something Canadians felt was part of them. A link to something that bound them nationally. That is what the CBC does best and did the best with HNIC. Rogers took apart a national institution and kept some talent but tried to build their own institution and has thus far failed miserably.
Rogers essentially bought some prime real estate at the top of the market and tore much of it down hoping something new and shiny would appeal to the neighbourhood. It's Vancouver of the broadcasting world.
There are some other challenges that even Rogers can't control though. What story in the NHL season is of interest to all fans? Are records being broken? Is any team doing something miraculous or compelling?
There was a twitter thought by HB alumni
Travis Yost that made a lot of sense.
The only thing that matters in Canada now is which Canadian team (if it happens) gets the top draft pick for 2016? That's not driving viewership to watch teams lose, it's pushing them to hope for bad things for their teams. That's not the right way to sell ads or hockey.
Had Connor McDavid been healthy for the year there may have been something to hope for in terms of a story that more than Oilers fans could follow. That being said, the Canadiens were intriguing and captivating before Carey Price went down with injury and they are the second biggest hockey market in Canada. What has dogged the NHL from a media angle has been the concussion issue, the emails, and office troubles for superstar players, even if one of those players is going to win the scoring title. How about the challenge with scoring and the goaltending equipment? There's more away from game discussion about that than games themselves.
What Travis mentioned later is exactly what the NHL needs to understand about it's product right now- it's stale. It does not captivate it's most ardent and committed fans.
The Warriors are a prime example of this and certainly the Raptors, Canada's lone team, help too. But things happen in the NBA, records and such are challenged and teams like the Warriors can be built. The same in the NFl happens too. The NFL addressed something awhile ago that has helped the game immensely when they turned it into a passing league. A small but significant rule change about they way receivers can be covered from the line of scrimmage made a huge impact to the way the game was played.
The NHL has allowed hockey to be manipulated by the players and the equipment. The excuse for the huge goalie pads was for safety from the new technology in sticks. The increased penalties called was to open up the game for skilled players but it made it faster and the hitting rules did not change thus more injuries. The result has been that hockey has become to systematic and tactical to allow for creative skill to flourish the kind of stuff that drives the casual fan's interest. They aren't there to discuss Corsi or possession approach, they are there to be entertained and this season may be one of the least entertaining hockey seasons I've ever seen.
If people aren't entertained, they are not going to tune in and will decide to do something else. That's where Rogers sits just two years into 12 year deal and it's not all their fault but they certainly haven't helped themselves either.
Winnipeg Jets Blogger •Winnipeg Jets Writer • 
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