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Originally Posted by SentToStud
I believe the VS ratings are up pretty good this year and exceed what ESPN was getting in its final year. I think NBC's coverage this year is the first time hockey has been on network TV in 10+ years.
Hockey will never be the TV sport basketball is, at least in the U.S. In fact, compared to the live experience, hockey is by far the sport that translates most poorly to television. The live gate for the NHL is right there with that of the NBA.
I've heard it said that in every U.S. city there are 20,000 NHL fans and they all have season tickets. Maybe that's true.
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VS is not a widely distributed channel. Fox, I believe has had hockey coverage the last few years. Remember the glowing puck? Hockeys 2 biggest problems with attracting new viewers are 1. It is a bad betting sport and 2. most of the players are foreign. Add to that the fact that most of the south is uninterested and view it as a northern sport and there is virtually no mainstream exposure.
I dont believe that the live gate is anywhere near the NBA's.