by Zach Bigalke

Created on: March 12, 2008

The NHL can tweak with its rules and its mode of play all it wants. It offers a little more flash and substance, but until they truly capitalize on the camera angles available to truly get the casual fan INTO the action (as is done with the multiple views and video-game-style angles in the NFL), it won't be worth anything...

As games get lost on Versus or dropped in favor of Preakness Stakes pre-race coverage, the NHL fades further into obscurity. The main fix the NHL needs is to get itself greater television exposure - even if it comes with reduced TV-rights revenue.

After all, the salary cap was meant to bring fiscal responsibility to the clubs in an effort to showcase small-market/large-market parity. Yet, if fewer fans tune in, all the tweaks in the world will be made in vain. The NHL does not need to mess with the content on the ice; when casual fans tune in and gain understanding, it quickly becomes apparent that this fast and action-packed sport is custom-made for the modern mindset. Messing with the game only reduces comparisons to a rich history. That which MUST be fixed to make the NHL better as a league is to increase its exposure via a new higher-exposure TV deal...

If we keep altering the play on the ice, pretty soon we will have a sport with NO HISTORICAL COMPARISON... the NHL has already taken steps to open up the offenses, to increase goals, and to get back fans following the lockout. People joke about FOX's glowing puck, but all these tweaks to the gameplay are getting dangerously close to mere gimmickry.

Speaking of FOX, despite that horrid puck they still managed to draw in twice as many viewers as NBC. ESPN drew consistent .49 shares versus Versus' .20. There is still a market out there for hockey; but the game, as produced by NBC (they of the horse-race pre-race) and Versus (of Lance Armstrong fame), is not being telecast dynamically enough to draw back the casual fan - if they can even FIND hockey on their remotes!

This comes down to the need for a "higher-exposure" TV deal. This is not about boosting TV revenues; this is about growing an audience base for more than just three years down the road. Fans are still coming to the arenas; in fact, the NHL set a league-wide attendance record in 2006 & continues to push and/or break their monthly records. The NHL needs to get more eyes on the games; they are already exciting!

The fact remains that, while fans more than ever come to the arenas to witness the action, the NHL will remain stagnant unless it can improve its current television situation. There is a finite amount of space to see games live. Any slew of rules changes can and would create either more or less offense and scoring. But the game of hockey has been exciting throughout its long and illustrious history. As a SPORTS LEAGUE, first and foremost, the NHL is far behind the big three in the U.S. Only by getting more fan buzz about its action will the NHL grow; a higher-exposure TV contract would accomplish that goal...

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