Jeremy Laura: Playoff ratings released, ECHL test pilot?

There will be no season. See you in December of 21

A while back, you wrote something about the NHL slowly releasing financials, etc....You intimated it was intended to soften the blow.....Profit Jeremy, the 1st shoe has dropped.

I just don't see how any type of season is tenable without fans/revenue. There needs to be butts in the seats or the season will either need to be cancelled completely or pushed past vaccine saturation. There's just no way.

🤞 for another season, even if it's abbreviated as long as there are fans.

There will be no season. See you in December of 21
- TJYTJY

It is such a different time. Lockouts/strikes someone has control. No one he a real grasp yet

A while back, you wrote something about the NHL slowly releasing financials, etc....You intimated it was intended to soften the blow.....Profit Jeremy, the 1st shoe has dropped.

I just don't see how any type of season is tenable without fans/revenue. There needs to be butts in the seats or the season will either need to be cancelled completely or pushed past vaccine saturation. There's just no way.

🤞 for another season, even if it's abbreviated as long as there are fans.
- mcmastermike1968

Thanks brother. The NHL has been carrying teams that don’t make enough $. The push to keep growing with 5-10 teams needing felt like a bit of a stretch. There’s no way to support 15-20 teams if they lose money. Scary times

I think the fans are saying four words to the NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB.

YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW.

1. All lives matter. Tell people otherwise, you lose viewers.

2. Push your propaganda on people telling them they are "systemically racist" when they would never condone nor participate in any such act, you lose viewers.

3. You attack a profession of people, many of which have given their lives to save others, as bigots and racists, you lose more viewers.

3. You then top it off by kneeling for the presentation of the greatest symbol of freedom this world has ever seen and you lose any self respecting person who loves their country.

So I, as a person that will ALWAYS stand for my country's national anthem, and will NEVER take a knee while it plays, would like to thank our politically correct major league sports. I owe you a debt of gratitude for reminding me how nice it is to settle in to a comfy chair and read a book, spend time with my family and focus on the things that really matter in life.

I think the fans are saying four words to the NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB.

YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW.

1. All lives matter. Tell people otherwise, you lose viewers.

2. Push your propaganda on people telling them they are "systemically racist" when they would never condone nor participate in any such act, you lose viewers.

3. You attack a profession of people, many of which have given their lives to save others, as bigots and racists, you lose more viewers.

3. You then top it off by kneeling for the presentation of the greatest symbol of freedom this world has ever seen and you lose any self respecting person who loves their country.

So I, as a person that will ALWAYS stand for my country's national anthem, and will NEVER take a knee while it plays, would like to thank our politically correct major league sports. I owe you a debt of gratitude for reminding me how nice it is to settle in to a comfy chair and read a book, spend time with my family and focus on the things that really matter in life.

Very true. Spoken like a true American, Thank you.

Jets fan here, I come in peace.

Interesting piece like most of your stuff, good job and keep up the good writing!

I'm not as political as I once was so I just don't pay much attention to the protest stuff, I support the causes and everyones right to express themselves but I don't watch hockey cause I want a lecture, I just tune it out.

With that said I'm not convinced the protests was what hurt their ratings all that much, I think it was more the timing then anything else, basically summers are short and who's watching hockey in August other then die hard fans.
I consider myself a bigger hockey fan then most but I had a tough time getting into watching the playoffs and for me a big part of it was I just thought the whole playin format was really stupid, so was the unfinished regular season and the way the draft lottery was handled, I just couldn't get into it cause it was all so stupid imo.

Going forward idk how they can have a season without paying customers in the seats and who knows when large gatherings will be allowed again.

Jets fan here, I come in peace.

Interesting piece like most of your stuff, good job and keep up the good writing!

I'm not as political as I once was so I just don't pay much attention to the protest stuff, I support the causes and everyones right to express themselves but I don't watch hockey cause I want a lecture, I just tune it out.

With that said I'm not convinced the protests was what hurt their ratings all that much, I think it was more the timing then anything else, basically summers are short and who's watching hockey in August other then die hard fans.
I consider myself a bigger hockey fan then most but I had a tough time getting into watching the playoffs and for me a big part of it was I just thought the whole playin format was really stupid, so was the unfinished regular season and the way the draft lottery was handled, I just couldn't get into it cause it was all so stupid imo.

Going forward idk how they can have a season without paying customers in the seats and who knows when large gatherings will be allowed again.
- JetFuel

I really appreciate you chiming in! I can say that, personally, I received a lot of messages of “I’m done” at the time of the protest. Dallas had to admit they were getting calls from some pretty angry fans who subsequently cancelled their season tickets. We’d have to see the exact numbers of when the viewership dropped more. The format was rough, for sure. You nailed it with talking about customers in seats. With all revenues shrinking due to that, it’s painful to say but coming back with a bad format could bankrupt teams. The other side of that, not coming back will bankrupt some teams as well. This is all so bizarre, I just can’t wrap my head around it.

Uh...they put games on in the middle of the day when most people work. Could that have anything to do with it? Having more smaller market teams involved (e.g. Florida and Arizona)? Having small hockey markets get to the finals? Having a bunch of meaningless round robin games in there no one watched? Not to mention that the annual 3rd largest out of market viewer pool has given up on hockey.

All of these things are guaranteed to bring down viewership averages down. That is called math.

Maybe mention some of these contributing factors is worthwhile? You know, for accuracy and integrity's sake? But no, push your agenda like everyone else does. Who cares about thinking and reasoning anymore...

Add to that the NBA were in the playoffs at the same time, MLB end of season race. beginning of the post season. Hockey in the summer.

There was just simply too much stuff going on for the average fan. I

The die hards enjoyed it, I know I did, but I'm not sure it's the same for the casual or new fans.

People watch less TV during the summer than the spring.

People watch less TV during the day than during prime time.

More sports and leagues were in direct competition with each other.

The NHL / NBA was also more in competition for ratings with news networks / programs due to the season being extended into election season. Plus the pandemic.

Some people probably just fell out of the “groove” when the season stopped, realized they didn’t miss it, and never got fully dialed back in. I wouldn’t be surprised if this was extra true in markets where the local team didn’t make the play-in or got knocked out very early, although I don’t have data that would confirm that.

Very few "marquee" teams made it deep. Arguably the only two with strong national followings (in the US anyway) that even made it to the second round would be the Bruins and Flyers, and both were out before the conference finals.

Basically I don’t think there’s any one particular reason that was primarily responsible for the huge drop in ratings. It’s a combination of a ton of little things IMO. We’ll see if / how things changes whenever the next season gets off the ground, but I’d expect at least some bounce-back.

Uh...they put games on in the middle of the day when most people work. Could that have anything to do with it? Having more smaller market teams involved (e.g. Florida and Arizona)? Having small hockey markets get to the finals? Having a bunch of meaningless round robin games in there no one watched? Not to mention that the annual 3rd largest out of market viewer pool has given up on hockey.

All of these things are guaranteed to bring down viewership averages down. That is called math.

Maybe mention some of these contributing factors is worthwhile? You know, for accuracy and integrity's sake? But no, push your agenda like everyone else does. Who cares about thinking and reasoning anymore...
- cjp2112

First, daytime viewership during the pandemic was up in every category. People were home. Second, the finals were in prime time. Those saw ratings plummet. Third, The NBA lost more than 70% of viewers as the tournament went on (meaning they weren’t taking fans). Dallas Stars front office admitted that directly after the protests fans were calling and cancelling season tickets saying “never again”. People were watching reruns instead of something new they were craving.

I don’t have an agenda. To deny that the politics of the NBA and NHL caused thousands of fans to tune out is done by people having an agenda. I want to see this sport continue. There was a captive audience who loves sports that decided to walk away. If hockey continues to ignore those people it’s going to be impossible to bring them back. people were watching tv 24/7 and when hockey first came back, people were watching.

Please take a minute to Think about all of those factors. There was never a better time to have original programming. This was a huge opportunity to grow viewership but instead many die hard fans walked away

People watch less TV during the summer than the spring.

People watch less TV during the day than during prime time.

More sports and leagues were in direct competition with each other.

The NHL / NBA was also more in competition for ratings with news networks / programs due to the season being extended into election season. Plus the pandemic.

Some people probably just fell out of the “groove” when the season stopped, realized they didn’t miss it, and never got fully dialed back in. I wouldn’t be surprised if this was extra true in markets where the local team didn’t make the play-in or got knocked out very early, although I don’t have data that would confirm that.

Very few "marquee" teams made it deep. Arguably the only two with strong national followings (in the US anyway) that even made it to the second round would be the Bruins and Flyers, and both were out before the conference finals.

Basically I don’t think there’s any one particular reason that was primarily responsible for the huge drop in ratings. It’s a combination of a ton of little things IMO. We’ll see if / how things changes whenever the next season gets off the ground, but I’d expect at least some bounce-back.
- Sven22

Hey Sven, take a look at my last reply. People usually watch less IF they’re going out. They weren’t. TV was being ingested more than ever by a population locked indoors

Hey Sven, take a look at my last reply. People usually watch less IF they’re going out. They weren’t. TV was being ingested more than ever by a population locked indoors
- Jeremy Laura

I had read in a NY Times article about pandemic sports viewership that total TV viewership (not just sports) was actually down September 2020 vs. 2019. I'll have to take a closer look later and see if I can dig up more info on that.

I agree with you that fewer opportunities for socializing out of the home seems like it would translate to more people watching TV, but maybe that was only true during the early part of the lockdown? Or maybe "screen time" is up but everyone is streaming and playing video games instead of watching conventional TV? Or maybe it's just that our routines have been so upended that people are finding different ways to occupy their time (new hobbies, helping their kids with online learning, etc.)? Or maybe the article I read was just factually wrong? Not sure.

As for the politics, I'm sure that plays a role for some people. I don't know if it's a major factor when compared to everything else, although I'm certainly open to the possibility that I'm underestimating the effect. There were also huge ratings drops for sports leagues and events that mostly managed to avoid political controversy -- tennis, golf, horse racing, etc.

There's a lot we don't know, and won't know until things get more or less back to normal.

I had read in a NY Times article about pandemic sports viewership that total TV viewership (not just sports) was actually down September 2020 vs. 2019. I'll have to take a closer look later and see if I can dig up more info on that.

I agree with you that fewer opportunities for socializing out of the home seems like it would translate to more people watching TV, but maybe that was only true during the early part of the lockdown? Or maybe "screen time" is up but everyone is streaming and playing video games instead of watching conventional TV? Or maybe it's just that our routines have been so upended that people are finding different ways to occupy their time (new hobbies, helping their kids with online learning, etc.)? Or maybe the article I read was just factually wrong? Not sure.

As for the politics, I'm sure that plays a role for some people. I don't know if it's a major factor when compared to everything else, although I'm certainly open to the possibility that I'm underestimating the effect. There were also huge ratings drops for sports leagues and events that mostly managed to avoid political controversy -- tennis, golf, horse racing, etc.

There's a lot we don't know, and won't know until things get more or less back to normal.
- Sven22

The NBA released a statement when their ratings came out that they would no longer allow “on court” demonstrations. The fact that they tied that together was eye opening. The NFL had big ratings drops before the pandemic with the political stuff. When the heads of leagues will concede those points it is eye opening.

I think the fans are saying four words to the NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB.

YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW.

1. All lives matter. Tell people otherwise, you lose viewers.

2. Push your propaganda on people telling them they are "systemically racist" when they would never condone nor participate in any such act, you lose viewers.

3. You attack a profession of people, many of which have given their lives to save others, as bigots and racists, you lose more viewers.

3. You then top it off by kneeling for the presentation of the greatest symbol of freedom this world has ever seen and you lose any self respecting person who loves their country.

So I, as a person that will ALWAYS stand for my country's national anthem, and will NEVER take a knee while it plays, would like to thank our politically correct major league sports. I owe you a debt of gratitude for reminding me how nice it is to settle in to a comfy chair and read a book, spend time with my family and focus on the things that really matter in life.
- ninecarpileup

Well said... agreed.

The NBA released a statement when their ratings came out that they would no longer allow “on court” demonstrations. The fact that they tied that together was eye opening. The NFL had big ratings drops before the pandemic with the political stuff. When the heads of leagues will concede those points it is eye opening.
- Jeremy Laura

Fair point.

I guess the main thing I’m trying to evaluate in context is not the existence of the effect as much as its magnitude. I think clearly the protests pushed away more existing fans than they drew new ones, to say the least — at least in the short term. A lot of people are unhappy about it. Certainly some have stopped watching because of it. But how many fans did they lose, specifically, that wouldn’t have been lost anyway due to other contributing factors? Is it thousands? Tens of thousands? Hundreds of thousands? Millions? That’s harder to answer.

Comments from the heads of those leagues could be an indication that they see on-field/court/ice political expression as a major threat to their bottom line. It could also be that they are nervous about anything they think might cost them fans and viewership, and this is one area they at least have some control over (as opposed to things they have much less control over, like fewer people subscribing to cable, state and county health guidelines, more competition from non-sports entertainment options, etc.).

Fair point.

I guess the main thing I’m trying to evaluate in context is not the existence of the effect as much as its magnitude. I think clearly the protests pushed away more existing fans than they drew new ones, to say the least — at least in the short term. A lot of people are unhappy about it. Certainly some have stopped watching because of it. But how many fans did they lose, specifically, that wouldn’t have been lost anyway due to other contributing factors? Is it thousands? Tens of thousands? Hundreds of thousands? Millions? That’s harder to answer.

Comments from the heads of those leagues could be an indication that they see on-field/court/ice political expression as a major threat to their bottom line. It could also be that they are nervous about anything they think might cost them fans and viewership, and this is one area they at least have some control over (as opposed to things they have much less control over, like fewer people subscribing to cable, state and county health guidelines, more competition from non-sports entertainment options, etc.).
- Sven22

You’re like an analytics poet. Part Doc Emerick, part Robert Frost. I love your flow and your insight. I want, desperately, to get to a place of “solutions over speculations”. Kind of like the 10 commandments in the Old Testament. All these stats are simply a thermometer of the “health” of sports. Now, we need a solution. I’m working on a post of a couple way out of the box thoughts. I’ve started watching “depression era” black and white movies. So much of what they’re saying sounds like what we’re dealing with. Unexpected insight from Red Skelton and Humphrey Bogart

Thanks for your reporting on the state of the NHL and the problems they face in this uncertain time. Despite the country being polarized my politics and COVID regulations, we can agree that we love our sport and are actively concerned about how and when it can be played. I for one would support fan participation at maybe 20% of what the arena capacity is. Or better yet, play most of the games at outdoor venues, which even southern locations have already done.