If the technology was good, players didn’t merge into the digital world, they stopped putting moving ads, and they found a better way of display so my eyes didn’t hurt after 5 minutes of play, then I’d be on board with them (pun intended). But, we are not there yet and so board ads need removed. Some games, I get headaches within the first little bit of play and I just turn the game off.
I don’t mind the digital ads, MSG has been putting digital ads on the glass for years now. The worst part is the blackouts. I can’t watch my local team because I don’t subscribe to Bally Sport and it’s not included in my Hulu Live package. I can’t watch any other game on ESPN+ though
@@stephenbrady916 , having to pay more for espn plus and other extras that’s not on your tv provider is the main reason, people can’t afford to pay for extras when economies are bad, and people don’t want to pay for it to begin with
Neil, I’ve told you this before, you NEVER need to explain yourself on lack of videos or why you’re not watching hockey. You’ve said it you’re self, you’re a person first and then you’re a hockey RUclipsr. You owe us nothing, I look at it like this, if you post a video it’s a gift.
The greedy tv execs are more to blame tbh. Blackouts, Digital board ads, interviewers, Tv personalities, The schedule is a mix of responsibility, Leah hextall, sports betting ads, more buzz about talks of trades and poor marketing of stars are all caused by decisions from broadcast groups/media. 8 1/2 of the problems discussed are caused by awful and mostly dated media strategies around the sport. Bettman isn't great (or even good) but the issues are hardly all the league's fault.
Maybe they shouldn’t blackout certain areas and shouldn’t make you spend 100$ on an assload of different streaming apps Also more people are pirating then ever before probably
I definitely can relate to the blackouts. I live in western New York and it’s frustrating when I can’t watch Sabres games even though I’m a Bruins fan. If I pay for a streaming service I should be able to watch any game I want regardless of my location. Now for some reason I can’t even watch Pittsburgh games even though I’m not in Pennsylvania plus Pittsburgh is 4+ hours from where I am. It’s also frustrating when I can’t watch ESPN, TNT, or NHL network games on my phone. That has really ticked me off this past year. If you’re blacking games out on a bunch of platforms and adding more teams to the mix, guess what your views will be down. Plus on NHL center ice I can’t watch certain teams networks even if I select the channel for it. As a Bruins fan if I want to watch my Bruins play against the Kings, no matter which channel I choose even with the team logo it will be the Kings network. Normally I don’t mind since Jack Edwards drives me nuts with his ego and blatant bias but it’s still frustrating. What really irritates the crap out of me is they’re doing the same thing to Seattle. I love listening to John Forslund. I’ll watch Seattle games mostly because I love his voice and play calls. But I haven’t been able to watch Seattle’s network on NHL center ice and it’s frustrating to say the least. The sports betting ads are annoying as hell. I probably see those 5-10 times per game. It doesn’t interest me and it’s obnoxious. As for Leah Hextall, when I first heard her call a game I couldn’t turn it off fast enough. Even if my Bruins are playing our arch rival Montreal and she’s calling it, I flat out refuse to watch. She doesn’t have a voice for hockey but that’s just me. The tv board ads are also annoying to me. Most of the time I feel they’re distracting and irrelevant. Just show the actual ones in the arena. The NHL needs to start listening to their fans not just for TV viewership but also merchandise. For example it pisses me off that they don’t allow teams to use Reverse Retro jerseys for multiple seasons. If the teams want to use them in future seasons as an alternate or maybe even a Primary they should be able to do so. Look how fast those jerseys sell out. That would be a huge money maker for the NHL. Plus tons of NHL fans myself included want to see certain jerseys come back and others used for different purposes. That concludes my rant.
The NHL teams that I put on my favorites on ESPN+ are NOW being blacked out for NO REASON!! and IT IS SO FRUSTRATING!! My 3 teams are 1. Seattle 2. Winnipeg and 3 Carolina!!
I'm just sick and tired of all the ads. Ridiculous fake ads that constantly change on the boards, ice, and glass. Disgusting ads on helmets and jerseys. Cut in ads during stoppages during the game. All the games are saturated with them now. And are such a distraction and eyesore. Which diminishes the viewing experience. So if the league doesn't want me to watch, I will find another way to consume the product. Or won't consume it at all. I mostly just listen to games on my phone now. At least I don't have to look at all the heinous ads.
I’ve watched almost no hockey this year for a few reasons: - The ads. Jerseys ads, digital boards, and being bombarded by sports betting are a huge turn off. - The analysis shows and broadcasts offer nothing new. Same boring intermissions and fake drama. - the NHL’s unwillingness to admit mistakes. Gary said “Viewers don’t mind the digital boards”. BS.
Hey Neal, I just want to say I agree with the blackouts, digital ads boards and Leah Hextall. First of all the ads are getting really annoying and I don't think the NHL should have that much ads just like the European leagues. I get they lost money during the pandemic but come on. Second, The blackout are understandable. I also have that same issue with some games in my area and it is the worst. The thing is with illegally watching the games is frustrating because of pop up ads and junk like that is going to happen unless you have an ad/tracker blocker. Lastly, Leah Hextall. Gary Thorne and Mike Emrick made watching hockey fun. Their personality was so great that they had fun calling plays and everytime a team scores, they would go crazy. Thats how fun they were back in the golden age of hockey. Sorry if this is long but I just wanted to give my opinion on what is happening with the NHL viewership.
hey neil, i’ve been a goalie my whole life and what got me into that was the gear and the style so i’ve always had an appreciation for jersey concepts and designs. i’ve been watching your videos for the last little bit and as a fellow habs fan who lives near toronto, i can’t watch our habs tank for bedard either. honestly, we don’t mind how much you watch the games since you still provide additional content for those of us who still can’t get enough of it. just want to let you know that we appreciate you as a fan base and want you to be as happy as possible with what you’ve got going on!
Terrible streaming services available, digital ads that are distracting, the Pride push this season are seriously annoying. The only reason people watch is because it's hockey, the NHL is doing NOTHING for the sport but dragging it down
My reasons are: 1) blackouts especially with ESPN+ and HULU both I do not have 2) Sport betting Ads 3) NHL has for years have been promoting a soft brand of hockey. I will always prefer the North American style of play. It's just more exciting. 4) Too many promotional nights. Gay Pride Night, Native Night, Military Night, 1st Responder Night etc. The only promotional games the NHL should have (in my opinion) are Kids Days, Hockey Day and the cancer one.
Sports more getting involved with cultural/political issues is part of it. So are the stupid moving ads. People are not watching as much tv post-pandemic, and espn is doing such an awful job, they’re making us yearn for the nbc days, which we all thought were terrible. So, it’s because they’re kicking their fan base in teeth.
To add to the digital ads, in the last month or so I started seeing ads displayed ON THE GLASS of the boards. Not sure if that’s a new thing or if others have noticed it before, I’ve been watching mostly flames hockey
The price of everything has become outrageous. Tickets to see games, cable packages to view games, parking and transportation to see live games… the most important factor is your time is very valuable. Who has 4 hours to waste watching mediocre / mundane hockey full of advertisements?
The digital ads are absolutely ridiculous, especially when they glitch out. The jersey ads I find fine, I mean I can’t see them unless they obviously have a zoom in shot. But betting I agree too, I bet every once in awhile, but it is tiring to see. Especially out of all the options out there now, it’s pretty ridiculous
Neil, don’t throw in the towel. I’ve been watching Post2Post since 2017 and you’re one of the RUclipsrs who I’ve enjoyed watching grow their channel and felt a part of that journey. I’m surprised you didn’t include ads on jerseys and helmets. It’s just another example of the NHL’s greed. This year, I bought an Adidas ‘authentic’ Reverse Retro Maple Leafs jersey, and as much as I loved the design was really disappointed about how cheaply made it was. Pressed numbers, nothing like the players wear, and for a decent amount of money too. My NBA and MLB authentic jerseys are just like the on-court/on-field versions.
regarding poor marketing of stars, idk what it’s like for other cities but here in San Jose I’ve seen more ads for the Barracuda than the Sharks….which says a lot about the state of the team right now
A lot of the blackouts, from what I gather, is a regional vs. national broadcast bit. NESN in Boston apparently wields more power than they should. The streaming services are disjointed and nothing what like NHL Centre Ice used to be. And here in Canada, four of the seven markets have TSN showing some or all regional games, which immediately means blackout if you're not in that market, or perhaps if you are on occasion. So the NHL'S really gotta overhaul the broadcasting agreements across the board.
I live in Australia. Many games are blacked out, despite the fact that clearly I can't get to the game to watch it live. Last week there were three Leaf games blacked out in a row. Pathetic. How can the NHL reach a global audience, and grow the GAME, if it refuses to let the international community see the game? Name one good reason why any viewing outside of N America should have blackouts in effect.
I’m from Seattle but living in LA and using ESPN+ and the blackouts are absurd…I can catch 50% or a little more of Kraken games, but when I want to see The Kings…I have to literally GO SEE THE KINGS. Also: I’m with Neal on the Salary cap stance.
About 18 months ago, I left a 10 year job for a new place of employment, and it turned out to be a REALLY bad decision. I have been mentally struggling with just hating that so much it puts me in a shitty mood 5 days a week. Couple that with turning 40...and being a Leafs fan...there is only so much frustration a man can take. When I can actually see Leafs games on ESPN+, I put them on a second tv in my living room while playing XBOX because I am at a point in my life where I want to willingly eliminate as much optional frustration as possible. And I am not watching the Sabres or Yotes as much as before because of the shared times slots and blackout bullcrap overall. Wow, sorry for the tangent. 😬
I don't thing the viewership is really down, I do think way more people are sailing the high seas because of the blackouts and how complicated it can be to watch a game.
I think hockey fans are just pushing back, and it's about damn time. One has to admit, the NHL is probably on of the most hostile, greedy, opaque and irresponsible league towards both its players and its fanbase. Jersey ads, flat cap, overpriced merch, overpriced tickets, teams purposely tanking, inconsistent and unpredictable officiating, digital board ads, blatant lies by Bettman and his crew, disgracious owners and GMs endangering their players with impunity (looking at you, Vancouver, Buffalo and espeeeeeecially Chicago), turning a deaf ear to fan desires (ASG, Olympics and playoff format), a lack of ethics and accountability in general - this league is increasingly frustrating. I'll admit - I'm pretty left wing, and I like seeing special jerseys and events to promote hockey for everyone. However, it IS petty and hypocritical to see all this "Hockey is for everyone" stuff coming from one of the most gatekeeping, closed-minded leagues in sports. The same league who gave a slap on the wrist to the Blackhawks for committing and covering up litteral crimes while the league was pocketing money from their dynasty. The same league whose prospects frequently find themselves in sex scandals and sexual misconduct cases. The same league who shelters racist and homophobic players. The nail in the coffin for me was watching the World Juniors this year and realizing "Wow, this is much more fun than the NHL". The NHL doesn't have me involved as it used to. Like the rest of it all, it became a cash grab, a shallow, soulless corporate shell of a sport who's only carried by John Forslund, The Hockey Guy and Alex Ovechkin. Other than that, hockey still rocks. See you all at the neighbourhood rink, where real hockey still exists.
@@philcarlson5313 I'm a Hawks fan too, I think what happened should absolutely still be talked about. As long as players and management who were there are still there, I'll be critical of them.
I personally think ESPN completely sucks as a sports network overall. Not only do I like watching hockey I also like watching MLB and the UFC. ESPN is the exact same with those sports crappy broadcasting. I even hate the fact of how many times ABC even broadcasts UFC and NHL events there should be there way more on there than there currently is.
Ok I’m actually mad about the sports betting ads. It’s annoying because as a viewer that’s never going to bet because I think it’s useless and a waste of time. It’s goofy and just not something I enjoy seeing
Blackouts and broadcasters are my biggest reasons. Im a Sharks fan and we're spoiled with Randy Hahn, Drew Remenda and Bret Hedican as Broadcaster that I can't stand Leah Hextall and the rest of the ESPN crew. I don't watch the Sharks if they're on ESPN and she's the broadcaster. TNT is better, but still not that great. Also the NHL needs to make it easier to watch other teams that are in different markets. If you pay for ESPN plus you should be able to watch every game no matter where you live.
Gotta agree with you on this. I find myself watching less because of the following: 1. Personal life and watching games aren’t as important as it used to be. 2. Blackouts are probably the most annoying thing keeping me from watching. I live in Hartford County, CT. How am I considered in-market for both Ranger AND Bruins games? And Ranger games I can stream, but the quality of MSGGo is horrendous! 3. Better TV personalities is a big one. I understand some greats retiring, sure. But on a National level, especially ESPN, they’re not that great. TNT and their group are phenomenal, I enjoy the entire broadcast. But that leads me into my next point… 4. Schedule/no rivalries. Rangers & Islanders played their 4 games against each other already. Same with Calgary & Edmonton’s 3. Why?! And then, when you get National games in the States, instead of getting a Boston/Toronto game, you get Carolina/Buffalo. Rivalry games are the best to promote for the NHL, they’re the most intense (especially when both are expected to be good). Also, weekend games all seem to be at 7 or later this year. I used to listen/watch via streaming while working during the day and they’re usually great games. 5. Playoff format. Games are starting to lose meaning when things are locked up. Toronto/Boston/Tampa, for instance. I’m less inclined to watch a Toronto game now, for instance, because their match-up/seeding is set. And lastly… 6. The most controversial topic of the lot: lack of fighting. I understand the risk of players’ health when it comes down to it. But I love it when players all scrum together, maybe a fight breaks out. But is it me, or does it seem that there’s less of that this year. Less blood boiling between teams? Guess that bleeds into the lack of rivalries that we’re seeing on a night-to-night basis. Maybe I expect better from a major league. Maybe also a major league underestimates what they’re capable of too, because there is tons of potential for the NHL and they’re stuck with Bettmann, someone who’s stuck in the ‘90s.
I don’t like that the camera pan over to somewhere else when there is a scrum in front of the net. I hate how busy the screen gets. Example being on tnt, on the power play, they like to put how long each player has been out on the ice for across the entire top of the screen. And how there is a clock in between the circles during pp.
Yup, all the annoying and unnecessary graphics are overkill. The power play timer is already in the score box in the corner of the screen. And I don't care how long someone has been on the ice.
This is an excellent point. Watch some black and white hockey from '60s or earlier. Without even having a running clock on the screen, it's so much easier to escape into a little world of nothing but the game for a little while. It's nice.
In LA and SoCal it’s really only the hockey fans who know the stars here. Like you’ll find some Kings and Ducks stuff around the area, but there’s not that much marketing for either team.
I grew up watching hockey and stopped for several years . This year my 10 yr old son and I have gotten back into watching hockey together, we to the canes games and would watch a ton of hockey if they showed it. We’re not going to buy espn+, or another streaming service. If they just aired the games on broadcast channels we would. More than half the games aren’t shown.
Whenever I invite my friends over to watch a hockey game, they enjoy it. And they always want to know: _How can I watch more of this?_ Then, it immediately descends into a half-hour long explanation into regional blackouts, apps they need to download, and subscriptions they need to sign up for. For a league that's constantly trying to grow, they sure do ask a lot out of potentially new fans.
To touch on the Rivalry point, I can see his point and agree. I live in Alberta and the Flames and Oilers haven’t played each other since December and they won’t play each other…… how? How do you let that happen if you are making an NHL schedule? They should be playing each other 10 times a year… especially after last years playoff series.
I would not say 10 times because then you will not be able to watch other teams plus it would not good for the rest of hockey. 4 games that should be good number , but spread it some in the first half and the rest at the end.
@@andrewsick9003 we’ve had a big number of East coast teams roll though, Philly twice in February…. We don’t need that. Give those games to Flames vs Oilers. It would be something the NHL isn’t known to do, for the fans.
@@justinwillms17 I disagree. they did it before where we play one team from that Conference. Some fan want to see the easter team like Sidny Crosby and Ovi. Plus after the 2021 season fan say there where happy to see other teams than Oiler. You are the minority on this.
I don't watch hockey anymore since the Nordiques move to Colorado. I just check the scores and the playoffs a bit. I watch the excellent TheHockeyGuy RUclips channel ! The man is passionate about hockey and I like that more than the game ! Why you don't watch hockey anymore ?
I can tell you part of the problem in Canada, our stupid Sportsnet broadcast teams are so woke and annoying to watch! It so annoying to watch intermissions and pre game. But I don’t want to spend $200+ just to watch the American broadcasts. Do better Sportsnet. My other issue is the stupid board adds.
The all-star game/skills competition was depressing, the NHL is no longer fun to watch. I hope they can turn it around soon, thanks for posting this video because I think we are all in this situation
@tsi92awd We can gladly accept those people in the game without having to bow down and worship them, or without the alphabet mob trying cancel anyone who doesn't agree with their life choices.
@@tsi92awd what does homosexual sex have to do with hockey? It’s just cultish political worship. It would be the same if all players had to wear hijabs to celebrate allah.
who are you referring to as homophobic ppl in the NHL? If you are talking about the Russian player for refusing to wear the pride uniform/apparel, if so why? And having that listed at 5 over the scheduled is a joke.
I agree with the rivalries… games just lack a sense of absolute “hatred”… perhaps because fighting and crazy hitting has been limited (which sure is good at a health perspective)… but theirs also no loyalty it seems… players who would bleed for their teams no matter where they sit in the standings. Now players wanna play in their hometowns or make the biggest cheque
@@AL-31 I used to because those videos are from an old channel and im not gonna forget my cringe past but that being said im not sure how that makes me not knowledgeable about certain things.
I would like to see the playoff format change as well but Gary is Gary and they will change the playoff format to include 10 teams from each conference for a Wild Card Round to spice things up in his way.
I only watched the season opener of the Habs, and that's it. The digital ad boards were so annoying and distracting. The NHL blackouts aren't obviously a problem in Finland, but if the 🇫🇮🇸🇪🇳🇴🇩🇰 Nordic broadcaster Viaplay uses a North American live coverage that is siding with the opposing team, I won’t be watching the game either. For some reasons, I'm also boycotting my other favourite sport, 🏁🏎️ F1, and ⚽ soccer to some extent as well. So yeah, it's going great...
Exactly. All the other reasons mentioned were still in effect last year before ratings plummeted. All the ridiculous ads are making the games unwatchable. I primarily just listen on my phone now. At least I don't get a headache listening to the games.
Many Americans who view hockey occasionally cannot follow the flow of play. They are accustomed to the slowness of baseball or the stoppages of football.
No they cant understand why you can punch someone in the face for being a good player. In 1967 hockey and NBA basketball have the same ratings. Now NBA is 4 times the ratings. US women hate thier kids watching hockey hilites. It always the fighting
I only watched two games fully this year; and that was when I went to Ottawa last month and watched them in person. The two main reasons I'm watching less: blackouts/difficulty finding games; and the distracting board advertisements (unsurprisingly the first two issues Neil listed). Another reason I'm watching a lot less these past few years is because I moved in 2019. It's a lot easier to watch games in the Pacific Time Zone than the Atlantic. I'm old now and it's hard enough watching games that start at 8:00pm; and damn near impossible to watch games that start at 11pm.
$150 for 1 Team - All 82 games. $200 for Every Team, Every Game in the Regular Season. + $50 if your team makes the playoffs and you want to watch all their specific playoff games including the Stanley Cup Final. or + $75 if you want to watch all the playoff games including the Stanley Cup Final. I would happily pay $200-275 a season to never deal with a blackout or the inconsistency of accessibility ever again.
Also + $50 for a Player/Referee Mic Feed. I would GLADLY play 50 bucks a season to hear what the players and refs say while on the ice through the whole game.
They should just show every game for every team. Without having to jump through hoops or pay through the nose. This is how it used to be. Why would they change that?
not sure why. Other than the digital ads being put on the boards and the ads on the jerseys (which is very annoying). Then again it's hard to compete with the NBA and NFL. Hockey has always taken a back seat to those two sports, which are inferior imo.
A lot of these excuses mentioned have been a part of the league for years. It's not like most of those suggestions suddenly started happening last year. Local blackouts have always been in place. Reporters have rarely ever asked insightful questions. Broadcasters have been fairly conservative forever. The scheduling has always been inconsistent. Leah Hextall calls maybe one game a week? What about all the dozens of games every week she's not working? This crappy playoff format has been in place since 2014. Did you not watch all the other years until just now? Rivalries haven't been what they used to be for a long time. The rivalries were diminished long before last year. Almost every year there are few storylines. Marketing of stars has been like this for seemingly forever. It just didn't happen last year. There aren't very many trades, so talking about rumors that don't take place gets old quick. Officiating has always been inconsistent. This is nothing new. The biggest change I can think of within the last year is all the annoying and ridiculous ads that diminish the viewing experience. As well as the new apps used to watch games. And all the political stuff that has nothing to do with hockey. Most of the excuses people are giving have been a part of the game for ages. And makes me wonder if that's really why they aren't watching.
Glad you’re happy Neil, love the channel. You bring up some good points here, the NHL does not market their stars at all here in the states and the big networks need more entertaining analysts and better coverage. And nothing is worse than hearing hextall call hockey games 🙄
I’m from Toronto so it makes sense why most Canadiens games are blacked out (I’m a Habs fan). However it doesn’t make sense why it’s blacked out for locals as well. Also, I’ve had this problem for years, not just this season. So I’m used to it.
Pretty ridiculous to call Provorov homophobic. He deserves a lot of respect for staying true to his faith and doing it in a civil manner. There’s no reason to be doing pride events at hockey games anyway. Everyone was/is already welcome to watch hockey if they please.
You promote pride to make gays feel more comfortable being apart of the game. And how a lot of fans are these days STILL with being against gays, it’s probably good that they still promote it
Shouldn't be doing military pride nights, cancer awareness bull and while they're at it get rid of cheerleaders and ice girls. I want some escapism, not all that feces.
When I was a kid in the 90's in southwestern Ontario, basically my self and every other boy my age were total hockey maniacs. We collected cards, played NHL, played street hockey and all that jazz. I dont have kids, but many of these same people who played hockey when they were young have not signed up their children to play due to the prohibitive costs, wonky schedules, toxic culture. Also, social media presence being an important marketing tool these days, these guys have zero personality and are not fun to follow on Instagram or whatever. They're just waiting to retire to develop real estate and be on the board of their local chamber of commerce.
For me, it is the following... No more cable TV, can't afford it. Can't afford going to an actual game anymore. Overworked, tired, and have trouble staying up to watch anything. Blackouts are out of hand NHL Center Ice was way to pricey Nobody I knew was able to get that NHL Network. It is just too many hoops to jump through to watch an NHL game, not worth the hassle.
As a brit it's near impossible to watch the games over here. The only things I can watch are days old games or highlights on the sportsnet/nhl RUclips channels.
People are absolutely done with the woke BS. NHL has done a decent job of keeping that garbage out of the league until the last couple of seasons. Any other reason is just an excuse.
The thing about #9 and #10 together is that they seem to be forcing rivalries with the current playoff format. The problems are: 1. Rivalries are not nearly as fun when you force them. 2. Rivalries can form between ANY two teams, regardless of division. 3. If both sides of a rivalry are doing well, wouldn't it mean a lot more if they met in a later round?
I haven't been watch my Avs as much this year because of how injury riddled their roster has been this year. That said, I am a Canadian so I have to get creative with how I watch their games anyway so it's not like I'm included in the 22%. Blackout are by far the most annoying thing on this list but there is merit to a lot of them. One thing I have noticed deals with TV personalities. All it takes is one viewing of most team's local broadcast and some of the US national broadcasts to make this Canadian realize how lucky he is to live in Leafs Land because, while they do like to lean on the Leafs, they do a very good job of staying objective. In my opinion, the one thing on this list that makes the least sense is the salary cap. I feel like anybody who hates the salary cap isn't actually a fan of hockey, they're a fan of watching their team win. The main issue with the salary cap is that it is lower than what it probably should be thanks to COVID.
I'm with Bell and I used to have a package that included tsn and so on. The package itself came with other channels and was costing 40, 50 buicks a month. That was too much, I had to cut some bills so I cancelled it. Had I been able to get just the hockey channels for a few bucks I would be watching many more hockey games than I do. They weren't available without the whole package.
A lot of it has too do with culture. Like here in USA, it’s not as widespread. I can see a lot of folks who turn on a game and just don’t understand it, and flip the channel. But basketball and American football it’s ingrained in them, they know the teams how the game is played. I think it has a lot too do with the u.s
My biggest issue is time the puck drops. It begins to late. On average local 7pm puck drops are 2 hours too late. Starting at 5-530 I believe would increase availability for more people.
Living in Alberta makes TSN pointless to watch. There might be a night when TSN's 2, 3, 4, AND 5 could be blacked out AT THE SAME TIME. What bugs me more is when TSN 1 shows That's Hockey which is totally pointless. Same can be said with their TradeCentre and Free Agent Frenzy. I wish the Flames could get out of their third rate coverage with Sportsnet contract and move to TSN 1. I also don't watch any edition of SportsCentre because they won't SHUT UP about hockey!!
I live in NJ and purchase NHL Center Ice to watch the Sportsnet coverage of the Vancouver Canucks. But, all too often I am stuck with the opponents broadcast video and commentary!
Blackouts do suck! Fortunately for me Fubo has a deal with Root sports so I am able to watch my Kraken while down in Dallas for college. But unfortunately there is no way for me to watch the Stars without getting Bally sports
I’m in New Zealand and I don’t understand the blackout thing and why you’d have it. Why does it blackout the team that you are in the territory for? Is it to force you to watch it on a specific network?
Agreed, as an Aussie I don’t get it either. Don’t see that stuff happening in the rugby even though you gotta be pay sometimes to watch thru services like Sky or Stan Sport
I'm a hockey watcher, but not an NHL watcher. I gravitate more towards IIHF tournaments. And even though it's not on as often as NHL hockey, it's far easier for me to follow. 1. Only one service to subscribe to - TSN. 2. If TSN is carrying a game, they will air it with no blackouts 3. No digital board ads and very few (if any) betting ads
1) I couldn't agree more. So true regarding the blackouts. Every year I watch less and less overall. I don't watch other sports but I'm guessing they don't have blackout issues. 2) They're quite distracting. 3) As far as LA goes, it's like they're trying to teach the game to 5-year olds. My guess is their long-term goal is hoping this will bring them more season seat sells in years to come. 4) For sure. 5) Not sure that's keeping many away - maybe. 6) That's a tough one. 7) Early in the season, not sure if it was her or not (I think it was) but she was absolutely painful to listen to. Then again Alex Faust, the Kings play by play guy, is just as bad and makes a ton of mistakes which drive me crazy. 8) I don't bet. I pretty much mute all commercials. In fact stupid commercials that I get sick of seeing over and over and over... I refuse to support in any which way. 9) Agreed. 10) Rivalries are there but there mostly blacked out for me. 11) N/A I could care less. 12) SOOOOOO true! Way too much fake news out there, and every beat writer tries to be the first to break something so they're throwing out a lot of BS. 13) Outside of said star's home market... probably. Or is it they just keep pumping up the same few "stars" and need to expand their lists a bit? 14) ??? 15) Officiating isn't helped by a lot of stupid unnecessary newer rules that only slow the game down. But of course in general it's the same old same old... CONSISTENCY. They need to be consistent game to game and regular season to playoffs. 16) The salary cap issues the last few years are only making the overall product a lot more boring!!! Keep a cap, just bring it up a little year after year. 17) Betman is a horrible commissioner. The End.
Homophobia??? Really the Gay crowd had such a huge inpact on the NHL in the states... I dout that. Number 1 is that Americans prefer Football, Basketball and Baseball over hockey always has been that way... Crap list I like your videos Neil and am a fellow Islander..... You should watch more hockey and bring the ratings up..
Here is what I think is making viewership is down. 1) Blackouts- In Canada the blackout are bad deepens on who your cheering for and where do you live. If you live in the region where your team plays and are on like Flames are on Sporstnet West so if yo live in Alberta and Saskatchewan then you can what Flames and Oilers. Pacific Canucks and in Ontario Toronto Maple Leafs. TSN with Jet, Canadiens and Senators. if you are not in those regions then there blackouts. I don't know about US markets but they could be different. 2) Betting Ads - they are bad and they are turning me off, but I will still watch. I hate when they are making it easier for those to gamble and lose lots of money. Also destroy lively hood. 3) Officiating- The officiating is bad not just this year but years before and ant getting better. They need to be more constancy and transparent with fans. 4) Rivalries- There are lots of great rivalries like Flames/Oilers , Lighting/Panthers and there are lots more, There is also the the original six rivalries and then there are lots more. But I thinks some of them they need to relaunch. Most of this could do with the playoffs. 5) Playoffs Format- With that said that where we can talk about playoff format. Now we can go back to 1-8 or Division playoff the one in the 80's and early 90's. I like both, but I am not a fan of wild cared. I can see why they are doing it for the Rivalries. So would 1-8 be good for that or back to the Division format. I am going to talked about ESPN and TNT as I watch sometimes in the season. That when Sportsnet put on there channels.
Honestly this is why I’m fine with my home city of Halifax not having an nhl team because a lot of these things don’t happen with the Halifax mooseheads league (QMJHL)
I live in Colorado. The Avs came off of the Cup win, and there was some broad stuff around town, along with DU winning the natty. However, the broncos sucked and they got way more National and wide spread attention. That’s partly to die with jockey being smaller, but marketing for hockey in general is atrocious in the USA
The number 1 reason for me was the NHL pushing woke politics on its players and fans. What does hockey have to do with celebrating homosexual sex, or even sex in general? Keep the cultish politics out
Lack of promoting games of the week, at least in the US. I am a Blues fan and they barely promote the blues and get excited about hockey like they do baseball. Hockey I think has fallen behind major league soccer as far as viewership, so which makes it number five how much further down can the NHL go before trying something new in original?
great video as always Neil, glad to hear you are doing well - and tanking seasons like this are always the best time for a mental health break! that said - who else thinks a big part of that ratings drop is because so many big market teams are tanking for bedard? the habs, blackhawks, sharks/ducks are all blatantly doing it, and the flyers were trying to but failing at tanking because they're the flyers (same for the canucks)...wouldn't it be interesting to see the ratings for those markets, and what happens to them when arizona winds up with bedard?
I know there's PLENTY of people who are forced to watch pirated streams, myself included. I'm not a huge fan of the digital board ads, but they don't bother me enough to really affect my willingness to watch it
The reason why I don't enjoy hockey on TV is because the camera decisions are brutal. On a lot of feeds they're constantly switching cameras during play and also zoom in too much. It makes it harder to follow the game, especially for me and other people who have a health condition. I also find they don't show the arenas enough, it takes away from the atmosphere and half of the feeds just go to commercial break during the anthems so there's no pregame excitement. I find overall the broadcasts are flat and could be a lot better.
I had the exact same problem with blackouts … so I decided to buy an android box. Yearly fee of a hundred bucks but you get all the blacked out channels and even more
For me…it’s the freakin blackouts…I’m just a hockey fan who wants to watch hockey, but…espn has other plans. Sometimes I can watch a game that is taking place in Ottawa, but I can’t watch a game that is taking place in Vegas (I live in Utah). It’s ridiculous. ESPN’s motto on their website is “Serving sports fans anytime, anywhere”…honestly espn is a joke
who would of thought, that the digital ads are the worst and most distracting ads this season over all the outrage of the jersey ads.
Oh I hate them ads.
If the technology was good, players didn’t merge into the digital world, they stopped putting moving ads, and they found a better way of display so my eyes didn’t hurt after 5 minutes of play, then I’d be on board with them (pun intended). But, we are not there yet and so board ads need removed. Some games, I get headaches within the first little bit of play and I just turn the game off.
It’s not a bad idea but the way they execute while not taking accountability for it being dogshit is how much it ruins it
They are very distracting
I don’t mind the digital ads, MSG has been putting digital ads on the glass for years now. The worst part is the blackouts. I can’t watch my local team because I don’t subscribe to Bally Sport and it’s not included in my Hulu Live package. I can’t watch any other game on ESPN+ though
I think it’s #1 as to why viewership is down , people shouldn’t have to pay extra amount of money to watch a game
Remember when everyone thought nbc was terrible? It took effort for espn to do worse, but man were they successful!
@@stephenbrady916 , having to pay more for espn plus and other extras that’s not on your tv provider is the main reason, people can’t afford to pay for extras when economies are bad, and people don’t want to pay for it to begin with
I've never missed a game but I stream online (for FREE).
Neil, I’ve told you this before, you NEVER need to explain yourself on lack of videos or why you’re not watching hockey. You’ve said it you’re self, you’re a person first and then you’re a hockey RUclipsr. You owe us nothing, I look at it like this, if you post a video it’s a gift.
As far I know the 5 main reasons are:
1. Gary Bettman
2. Gary Bettman
3. Gary Bettman
4. Gary Bettman
And 5. ….
Also Gary Bettman
No 5 Garry’s lost it completely.
The greedy tv execs are more to blame tbh. Blackouts, Digital board ads, interviewers, Tv personalities, The schedule is a mix of responsibility, Leah hextall, sports betting ads, more buzz about talks of trades and poor marketing of stars are all caused by decisions from broadcast groups/media. 8 1/2 of the problems discussed are caused by awful and mostly dated media strategies around the sport. Bettman isn't great (or even good) but the issues are hardly all the league's fault.
That early life wikipedia section says it all
former NBA executive. his goal has been from day 1 has been keep the NHL under the NBA.
Exactly ! Exactly ! Exactly !
Maybe they shouldn’t blackout certain areas and shouldn’t make you spend 100$ on an assload of different streaming apps
Also more people are pirating then ever before probably
I Agree I think that’s the big reason having to buy additional apps and such to watch the game
The damned St. Louis Blues blackout the games in Kansas City 250 miles away on the other side of the state.
I know I haven’t watched any games for more than 5 or 10 minutes this season because I find the new digital board ads too distracting.
Same
I definitely can relate to the blackouts. I live in western New York and it’s frustrating when I can’t watch Sabres games even though I’m a Bruins fan. If I pay for a streaming service I should be able to watch any game I want regardless of my location. Now for some reason I can’t even watch Pittsburgh games even though I’m not in Pennsylvania plus Pittsburgh is 4+ hours from where I am. It’s also frustrating when I can’t watch ESPN, TNT, or NHL network games on my phone. That has really ticked me off this past year. If you’re blacking games out on a bunch of platforms and adding more teams to the mix, guess what your views will be down.
Plus on NHL center ice I can’t watch certain teams networks even if I select the channel for it. As a Bruins fan if I want to watch my Bruins play against the Kings, no matter which channel I choose even with the team logo it will be the Kings network. Normally I don’t mind since Jack Edwards drives me nuts with his ego and blatant bias but it’s still frustrating. What really irritates the crap out of me is they’re doing the same thing to Seattle. I love listening to John Forslund. I’ll watch Seattle games mostly because I love his voice and play calls. But I haven’t been able to watch Seattle’s network on NHL center ice and it’s frustrating to say the least.
The sports betting ads are annoying as hell. I probably see those 5-10 times per game. It doesn’t interest me and it’s obnoxious.
As for Leah Hextall, when I first heard her call a game I couldn’t turn it off fast enough. Even if my Bruins are playing our arch rival Montreal and she’s calling it, I flat out refuse to watch. She doesn’t have a voice for hockey but that’s just me.
The tv board ads are also annoying to me. Most of the time I feel they’re distracting and irrelevant. Just show the actual ones in the arena.
The NHL needs to start listening to their fans not just for TV viewership but also merchandise. For example it pisses me off that they don’t allow teams to use Reverse Retro jerseys for multiple seasons. If the teams want to use them in future seasons as an alternate or maybe even a Primary they should be able to do so. Look how fast those jerseys sell out. That would be a huge money maker for the NHL. Plus tons of NHL fans myself included want to see certain jerseys come back and others used for different purposes.
That concludes my rant.
The NHL teams that I put on my favorites on ESPN+ are NOW being blacked out for NO REASON!! and IT IS SO FRUSTRATING!! My 3 teams are 1. Seattle 2. Winnipeg and 3 Carolina!!
if you live in the Carolinas the Canes are blacked out because of Bally Sports.
@@blutomindpretzel1735 I live in Virginia the canes are NOT supposed to be blacked out ONLY the Capitals
@@zachanderson560 Do you get Bally Sports Carolina’s on your local TV?
@@MisterMike95 no
I watch all my nhl games on ESPN+
I'm just sick and tired of all the ads. Ridiculous fake ads that constantly change on the boards, ice, and glass. Disgusting ads on helmets and jerseys. Cut in ads during stoppages during the game. All the games are saturated with them now. And are such a distraction and eyesore. Which diminishes the viewing experience. So if the league doesn't want me to watch, I will find another way to consume the product. Or won't consume it at all. I mostly just listen to games on my phone now. At least I don't have to look at all the heinous ads.
I’ve watched almost no hockey this year for a few reasons:
- The ads. Jerseys ads, digital boards, and being bombarded by sports betting are a huge turn off.
- The analysis shows and broadcasts offer nothing new. Same boring intermissions and fake drama.
- the NHL’s unwillingness to admit mistakes. Gary said “Viewers don’t mind the digital boards”. BS.
Hey Neal, I just want to say I agree with the blackouts, digital ads boards and Leah Hextall. First of all the ads are getting really annoying and I don't think the NHL should have that much ads just like the European leagues. I get they lost money during the pandemic but come on. Second, The blackout are understandable. I also have that same issue with some games in my area and it is the worst. The thing is with illegally watching the games is frustrating because of pop up ads and junk like that is going to happen unless you have an ad/tracker blocker. Lastly, Leah Hextall. Gary Thorne and Mike Emrick made watching hockey fun. Their personality was so great that they had fun calling plays and everytime a team scores, they would go crazy. Thats how fun they were back in the golden age of hockey. Sorry if this is long but I just wanted to give my opinion on what is happening with the NHL viewership.
The majority of games are being played on ESPN+ or other streaming services most people don’t want to pay extra for.
hey neil. im glad to hear your happy doing your own thing. genuinely makes me happy knowing your happy
Easy solution to grow the game and viewership. Have a cheap single team subscription. You get access to all games for one selected team, no blackouts.
This is hockey not WWE, wtf storylines are they looking for?
They blackout the game, and then complain that nobody's watching.
hey neil, i’ve been a goalie my whole life and what got me into that was the gear and the style so i’ve always had an appreciation for jersey concepts and designs. i’ve been watching your videos for the last little bit and as a fellow habs fan who lives near toronto, i can’t watch our habs tank for bedard either. honestly, we don’t mind how much you watch the games since you still provide additional content for those of us who still can’t get enough of it. just want to let you know that we appreciate you as a fan base and want you to be as happy as possible with what you’ve got going on!
Terrible streaming services available, digital ads that are distracting, the Pride push this season are seriously annoying. The only reason people watch is because it's hockey, the NHL is doing NOTHING for the sport but dragging it down
My reasons are: 1) blackouts especially with ESPN+ and HULU both I do not have
2) Sport betting Ads
3) NHL has for years have been promoting a soft brand of hockey. I will always prefer the North American style of play. It's just more exciting.
4) Too many promotional nights. Gay Pride Night, Native Night, Military Night, 1st Responder Night etc. The only promotional games the NHL should have (in my opinion) are Kids Days, Hockey Day and the cancer one.
Sports more getting involved with cultural/political issues is part of it. So are the stupid moving ads. People are not watching as much tv post-pandemic, and espn is doing such an awful job, they’re making us yearn for the nbc days, which we all thought were terrible. So, it’s because they’re kicking their fan base in teeth.
To add to the digital ads, in the last month or so I started seeing ads displayed ON THE GLASS of the boards. Not sure if that’s a new thing or if others have noticed it before, I’ve been watching mostly flames hockey
There have been fake ads on the glass for a long time. At least here anyway.
@@fantasticvoyage262 Guess I only caught on to that once they brought in digital boards
@@erikdmckenzie I suppose it's possible the Flames TV network didn't use them. But I've noticed them years ago.
The price of everything has become outrageous. Tickets to see games, cable packages to view games, parking and transportation to see live games… the most important factor is your time is very valuable. Who has 4 hours to waste watching mediocre / mundane hockey full of advertisements?
The digital ads are absolutely ridiculous, especially when they glitch out. The jersey ads I find fine, I mean I can’t see them unless they obviously have a zoom in shot. But betting I agree too, I bet every once in awhile, but it is tiring to see. Especially out of all the options out there now, it’s pretty ridiculous
Not wearing a pride jersey is homophobic now?
Always was
Always has been
🔫 👩🚀
Neil, don’t throw in the towel. I’ve been watching Post2Post since 2017 and you’re one of the RUclipsrs who I’ve enjoyed watching grow their channel and felt a part of that journey.
I’m surprised you didn’t include ads on jerseys and helmets. It’s just another example of the NHL’s greed. This year, I bought an Adidas ‘authentic’ Reverse Retro Maple Leafs jersey, and as much as I loved the design was really disappointed about how cheaply made it was. Pressed numbers, nothing like the players wear, and for a decent amount of money too. My NBA and MLB authentic jerseys are just like the on-court/on-field versions.
Where did you get it from?
regarding poor marketing of stars, idk what it’s like for other cities but here in San Jose I’ve seen more ads for the Barracuda than the Sharks….which says a lot about the state of the team right now
But hasn't marketing been that way for a long time?
Horrendous announcers on national TV. PK Subban, Leah Hextall, Nabil Karim MAKE ME turn off the tv they are so bad
A lot of the blackouts, from what I gather, is a regional vs. national broadcast bit. NESN in Boston apparently wields more power than they should. The streaming services are disjointed and nothing what like NHL Centre Ice used to be. And here in Canada, four of the seven markets have TSN showing some or all regional games, which immediately means blackout if you're not in that market, or perhaps if you are on occasion. So the NHL'S really gotta overhaul the broadcasting agreements across the board.
This is it
I live in Australia. Many games are blacked out, despite the fact that clearly I can't get to the game to watch it live. Last week there were three Leaf games blacked out in a row. Pathetic. How can the NHL reach a global audience, and grow the GAME, if it refuses to let the international community see the game? Name one good reason why any viewing outside of N America should have blackouts in effect.
Never complain if a Leaf game is blacked out. They are just saving your mental health
I’m from Seattle but living in LA and using ESPN+ and the blackouts are absurd…I can catch 50% or a little more of Kraken games, but when I want to see The Kings…I have to literally GO SEE THE KINGS.
Also: I’m with Neal on the Salary cap stance.
About 18 months ago, I left a 10 year job for a new place of employment, and it turned out to be a REALLY bad decision. I have been mentally struggling with just hating that so much it puts me in a shitty mood 5 days a week. Couple that with turning 40...and being a Leafs fan...there is only so much frustration a man can take. When I can actually see Leafs games on ESPN+, I put them on a second tv in my living room while playing XBOX because I am at a point in my life where I want to willingly eliminate as much optional frustration as possible. And I am not watching the Sabres or Yotes as much as before because of the shared times slots and blackout bullcrap overall. Wow, sorry for the tangent. 😬
Turning off hockey is a good way to limit frustration
I don't thing the viewership is really down, I do think way more people are sailing the high seas because of the blackouts and how complicated it can be to watch a game.
I think hockey fans are just pushing back, and it's about damn time. One has to admit, the NHL is probably on of the most hostile, greedy, opaque and irresponsible league towards both its players and its fanbase. Jersey ads, flat cap, overpriced merch, overpriced tickets, teams purposely tanking, inconsistent and unpredictable officiating, digital board ads, blatant lies by Bettman and his crew, disgracious owners and GMs endangering their players with impunity (looking at you, Vancouver, Buffalo and espeeeeeecially Chicago), turning a deaf ear to fan desires (ASG, Olympics and playoff format), a lack of ethics and accountability in general - this league is increasingly frustrating.
I'll admit - I'm pretty left wing, and I like seeing special jerseys and events to promote hockey for everyone. However, it IS petty and hypocritical to see all this "Hockey is for everyone" stuff coming from one of the most gatekeeping, closed-minded leagues in sports. The same league who gave a slap on the wrist to the Blackhawks for committing and covering up litteral crimes while the league was pocketing money from their dynasty. The same league whose prospects frequently find themselves in sex scandals and sexual misconduct cases. The same league who shelters racist and homophobic players. The nail in the coffin for me was watching the World Juniors this year and realizing "Wow, this is much more fun than the NHL". The NHL doesn't have me involved as it used to. Like the rest of it all, it became a cash grab, a shallow, soulless corporate shell of a sport who's only carried by John Forslund, The Hockey Guy and Alex Ovechkin.
Other than that, hockey still rocks. See you all at the neighbourhood rink, where real hockey still exists.
Lay off my hawks already it’s old and perps are gine
@@philcarlson5313 I'm a Hawks fan too, I think what happened should absolutely still be talked about. As long as players and management who were there are still there, I'll be critical of them.
100% agree
Damn, you basically nailed the reasons why I pay only a passing interest in NHL hockey anymore 👍
Greed.
I personally think ESPN completely sucks as a sports network overall. Not only do I like watching hockey I also like watching MLB and the UFC. ESPN is the exact same with those sports crappy broadcasting. I even hate the fact of how many times ABC even broadcasts UFC and NHL events there should be there way more on there than there currently is.
Ok I’m actually mad about the sports betting ads. It’s annoying because as a viewer that’s never going to bet because I think it’s useless and a waste of time. It’s goofy and just not something I enjoy seeing
Blackouts and broadcasters are my biggest reasons. Im a Sharks fan and we're spoiled with Randy Hahn, Drew Remenda and Bret Hedican as Broadcaster that I can't stand Leah Hextall and the rest of the ESPN crew. I don't watch the Sharks if they're on ESPN and she's the broadcaster. TNT is better, but still not that great. Also the NHL needs to make it easier to watch other teams that are in different markets. If you pay for ESPN plus you should be able to watch every game no matter where you live.
Gotta agree with you on this. I find myself watching less because of the following:
1. Personal life and watching games aren’t as important as it used to be.
2. Blackouts are probably the most annoying thing keeping me from watching. I live in Hartford County, CT. How am I considered in-market for both Ranger AND Bruins games? And Ranger games I can stream, but the quality of MSGGo is horrendous!
3. Better TV personalities is a big one. I understand some greats retiring, sure. But on a National level, especially ESPN, they’re not that great. TNT and their group are phenomenal, I enjoy the entire broadcast. But that leads me into my next point…
4. Schedule/no rivalries. Rangers & Islanders played their 4 games against each other already. Same with Calgary & Edmonton’s 3. Why?! And then, when you get National games in the States, instead of getting a Boston/Toronto game, you get Carolina/Buffalo. Rivalry games are the best to promote for the NHL, they’re the most intense (especially when both are expected to be good). Also, weekend games all seem to be at 7 or later this year. I used to listen/watch via streaming while working during the day and they’re usually great games.
5. Playoff format. Games are starting to lose meaning when things are locked up. Toronto/Boston/Tampa, for instance. I’m less inclined to watch a Toronto game now, for instance, because their match-up/seeding is set. And lastly…
6. The most controversial topic of the lot: lack of fighting. I understand the risk of players’ health when it comes down to it. But I love it when players all scrum together, maybe a fight breaks out. But is it me, or does it seem that there’s less of that this year. Less blood boiling between teams? Guess that bleeds into the lack of rivalries that we’re seeing on a night-to-night basis.
Maybe I expect better from a major league. Maybe also a major league underestimates what they’re capable of too, because there is tons of potential for the NHL and they’re stuck with Bettmann, someone who’s stuck in the ‘90s.
No one cares about the sport but Canada lol
Those SICKENING digital boards
I don’t like that the camera pan over to somewhere else when there is a scrum in front of the net.
I hate how busy the screen gets. Example being on tnt, on the power play, they like to put how long each player has been out on the ice for across the entire top of the screen. And how there is a clock in between the circles during pp.
Yup, all the annoying and unnecessary graphics are overkill. The power play timer is already in the score box in the corner of the screen. And I don't care how long someone has been on the ice.
This is an excellent point. Watch some black and white hockey from '60s or earlier. Without even having a running clock on the screen, it's so much easier to escape into a little world of nothing but the game for a little while. It's nice.
In LA and SoCal it’s really only the hockey fans who know the stars here. Like you’ll find some Kings and Ducks stuff around the area, but there’s not that much marketing for either team.
I grew up watching hockey and stopped for several years . This year my 10 yr old son and I have gotten back into watching hockey together, we to the canes games and would watch a ton of hockey if they showed it. We’re not going to buy espn+, or another streaming service. If they just aired the games on broadcast channels we would. More than half the games aren’t shown.
Whenever I invite my friends over to watch a hockey game, they enjoy it. And they always want to know: _How can I watch more of this?_ Then, it immediately descends into a half-hour long explanation into regional blackouts, apps they need to download, and subscriptions they need to sign up for. For a league that's constantly trying to grow, they sure do ask a lot out of potentially new fans.
To touch on the Rivalry point, I can see his point and agree.
I live in Alberta and the Flames and Oilers haven’t played each other since December and they won’t play each other…… how? How do you let that happen if you are making an NHL schedule?
They should be playing each other 10 times a year… especially after last years playoff series.
Yes dumb move by the NHL.
Rangers & Islanders are done after 4 games too. Who’s making these schedules?!
I would not say 10 times because then you will not be able to watch other teams plus it would not good for the rest of hockey. 4 games that should be good number , but spread it some in the first half and the rest at the end.
@@andrewsick9003 we’ve had a big number of East coast teams roll though, Philly twice in February…. We don’t need that. Give those games to Flames vs Oilers. It would be something the NHL isn’t known to do, for the fans.
@@justinwillms17 I disagree. they did it before where we play one team from that Conference. Some fan want to see the easter team like Sidny Crosby and Ovi. Plus after the 2021 season fan say there where happy to see other teams than Oiler. You are the minority on this.
I live in Colorado. The blackouts suck and make it hard for avs fans to watch games, me and my dad had to do a vpn to watch our home team :/
I don't watch hockey anymore since the Nordiques move to Colorado. I just check the scores and the playoffs a bit. I watch the excellent TheHockeyGuy RUclips channel ! The man is passionate about hockey and I like that more than the game ! Why you don't watch hockey anymore ?
I can tell you part of the problem in Canada, our stupid Sportsnet broadcast teams are so woke and annoying to watch! It so annoying to watch intermissions and pre game. But I don’t want to spend $200+ just to watch the American broadcasts. Do better Sportsnet. My other issue is the stupid board adds.
Only Don cherry loving racists use woke as a complaint. Thank for revealing yourself
The all-star game/skills competition was depressing, the NHL is no longer fun to watch. I hope they can turn it around soon, thanks for posting this video because I think we are all in this situation
IT"S THE ADS ON THE BOARDS!!! Worst decision the NHL ever made. It's awful.
Just because of player refuses to wear a rainbow warm up jersey doesn’t mean they’re homophobic.
What does it mean then? That he doesnt like multi color stripes?
@tsi92awd We can gladly accept those people in the game without having to bow down and worship them, or without the alphabet mob trying cancel anyone who doesn't agree with their life choices.
@@tsi92awd what does homosexual sex have to do with hockey? It’s just cultish political worship. It would be the same if all players had to wear hijabs to celebrate allah.
Yeah, but his religion supports the invasion of 🇺🇦 because they believe that Ukraine is pro-LGBTQ+.
@@TheManny717 that is the most uneducated or miseducated response I have ever heard
who are you referring to as homophobic ppl in the NHL? If you are talking about the Russian player for refusing to wear the pride uniform/apparel, if so why? And having that listed at 5 over the scheduled is a joke.
I agree with the rivalries… games just lack a sense of absolute “hatred”… perhaps because fighting and crazy hitting has been limited (which sure is good at a health perspective)… but theirs also no loyalty it seems… players who would bleed for their teams no matter where they sit in the standings. Now players wanna play in their hometowns or make the biggest cheque
1. Wokeness
2. Blackouts
3. Gary Bettman
wokeness hahahaha.....no and especially at number 1
@@mr.ilikespam6081 why is your flag that of a corrupt country who just had members resign over fraud?
@@mr.ilikespam6081 Get woke go broke started for a reason. GJ exposing yourself as a limp wristed radical though.
@@mr.ilikespam6081 BRUH YOURE LITERALLY A BRONNY AHAHAHA. Guys Ukraine flag here loves my little pony. That says all you need to know
@@AL-31 I used to because those videos are from an old channel and im not gonna forget my cringe past but that being said im not sure how that makes me not knowledgeable about certain things.
I enjoy watching retro/throwback games from the 1970's, 80's and the late 90's here...
I would like to see the playoff format change as well but Gary is Gary and they will change the playoff format to include 10 teams from each conference for a Wild Card Round to spice things up in his way.
Sportsnet or Sportsbet?
I only watched the season opener of the Habs, and that's it. The digital ad boards were so annoying and distracting. The NHL blackouts aren't obviously a problem in Finland, but if the 🇫🇮🇸🇪🇳🇴🇩🇰 Nordic broadcaster Viaplay uses a North American live coverage that is siding with the opposing team, I won’t be watching the game either. For some reasons, I'm also boycotting my other favourite sport, 🏁🏎️ F1, and ⚽ soccer to some extent as well. So yeah, it's going great...
The digital ads have ruined the tv product. You missed the #1 reason for down viewership.
Exactly. All the other reasons mentioned were still in effect last year before ratings plummeted. All the ridiculous ads are making the games unwatchable. I primarily just listen on my phone now. At least I don't get a headache listening to the games.
@@fantasticvoyage262 Watching the world juniors without all the ads was a joy compared to nhl broadcasts.
Many Americans who view hockey occasionally cannot follow the flow of play. They are accustomed to the slowness of baseball or the stoppages of football.
So why is the nba more popular?
No they cant understand why you can punch someone in the face for being a good player. In 1967 hockey and NBA basketball have the same ratings. Now NBA is 4 times the ratings. US women hate thier kids watching hockey hilites. It always the fighting
I only watched two games fully this year; and that was when I went to Ottawa last month and watched them in person. The two main reasons I'm watching less: blackouts/difficulty finding games; and the distracting board advertisements (unsurprisingly the first two issues Neil listed).
Another reason I'm watching a lot less these past few years is because I moved in 2019. It's a lot easier to watch games in the Pacific Time Zone than the Atlantic. I'm old now and it's hard enough watching games that start at 8:00pm; and damn near impossible to watch games that start at 11pm.
And that's exactly why I loved living in Pacific Time Zone. And despise either of the time zones out east.
$150 for 1 Team - All 82 games.
$200 for Every Team, Every Game in the Regular Season.
+ $50 if your team makes the playoffs and you want to watch all their specific playoff games including the Stanley Cup Final.
or + $75 if you want to watch all the playoff games including the Stanley Cup Final.
I would happily pay $200-275 a season to never deal with a blackout or the inconsistency of accessibility ever again.
Also + $50 for a Player/Referee Mic Feed. I would GLADLY play 50 bucks a season to hear what the players and refs say while on the ice through the whole game.
They should just show every game for every team. Without having to jump through hoops or pay through the nose. This is how it used to be. Why would they change that?
not sure why. Other than the digital ads being put on the boards and the ads on the jerseys (which is very annoying). Then again it's hard to compete with the NBA and NFL. Hockey has always taken a back seat to those two sports, which are inferior imo.
What’s so poor is that my cable company dropped MSG network the SECOND the Devils play well. I’m furious about it
A lot of these excuses mentioned have been a part of the league for years. It's not like most of those suggestions suddenly started happening last year. Local blackouts have always been in place. Reporters have rarely ever asked insightful questions. Broadcasters have been fairly conservative forever. The scheduling has always been inconsistent. Leah Hextall calls maybe one game a week? What about all the dozens of games every week she's not working? This crappy playoff format has been in place since 2014. Did you not watch all the other years until just now? Rivalries haven't been what they used to be for a long time. The rivalries were diminished long before last year. Almost every year there are few storylines. Marketing of stars has been like this for seemingly forever. It just didn't happen last year. There aren't very many trades, so talking about rumors that don't take place gets old quick. Officiating has always been inconsistent. This is nothing new.
The biggest change I can think of within the last year is all the annoying and ridiculous ads that diminish the viewing experience. As well as the new apps used to watch games. And all the political stuff that has nothing to do with hockey. Most of the excuses people are giving have been a part of the game for ages. And makes me wonder if that's really why they aren't watching.
Glad you’re happy Neil, love the channel. You bring up some good points here, the NHL does not market their stars at all here in the states and the big networks need more entertaining analysts and better coverage. And nothing is worse than hearing hextall call hockey games 🙄
I’m from Toronto so it makes sense why most Canadiens games are blacked out (I’m a Habs fan). However it doesn’t make sense why it’s blacked out for locals as well.
Also, I’ve had this problem for years, not just this season. So I’m used to it.
Pretty ridiculous to call Provorov homophobic. He deserves a lot of respect for staying true to his faith and doing it in a civil manner. There’s no reason to be doing pride events at hockey games anyway. Everyone was/is already welcome to watch hockey if they please.
Right. It's not like there were ever signs put up outside the arena barring anyone from buying a ticket.
You promote pride to make gays feel more comfortable being apart of the game.
And how a lot of fans are these days STILL with being against gays, it’s probably good that they still promote it
Shouldn't be doing military pride nights, cancer awareness bull and while they're at it get rid of cheerleaders and ice girls. I want some escapism, not all that feces.
When I was a kid in the 90's in southwestern Ontario, basically my self and every other boy my age were total hockey maniacs. We collected cards, played NHL, played street hockey and all that jazz.
I dont have kids, but many of these same people who played hockey when they were young have not signed up their children to play due to the prohibitive costs, wonky schedules, toxic culture.
Also, social media presence being an important marketing tool these days, these guys have zero personality and are not fun to follow on Instagram or whatever.
They're just waiting to retire to develop real estate and be on the board of their local chamber of commerce.
For me, it is the following...
No more cable TV, can't afford it.
Can't afford going to an actual game anymore.
Overworked, tired, and have trouble staying up to watch anything.
Blackouts are out of hand
NHL Center Ice was way to pricey
Nobody I knew was able to get that NHL Network.
It is just too many hoops to jump through to watch an NHL game, not worth the hassle.
The most annoying thing about watching the nhl is that the referees can’t decide on what’s a penalty and what’s not a penalty it feels like 🤦♂️
As a brit it's near impossible to watch the games over here. The only things I can watch are days old games or highlights on the sportsnet/nhl RUclips channels.
People are absolutely done with the woke BS. NHL has done a decent job of keeping that garbage out of the league until the last couple of seasons.
Any other reason is just an excuse.
It’s became soft on the ice, the diving (flopping) and not being able to hit anybody without being penalized
The thing about #9 and #10 together is that they seem to be forcing rivalries with the current playoff format.
The problems are:
1. Rivalries are not nearly as fun when you force them.
2. Rivalries can form between ANY two teams, regardless of division.
3. If both sides of a rivalry are doing well, wouldn't it mean a lot more if they met in a later round?
I haven't been watch my Avs as much this year because of how injury riddled their roster has been this year. That said, I am a Canadian so I have to get creative with how I watch their games anyway so it's not like I'm included in the 22%.
Blackout are by far the most annoying thing on this list but there is merit to a lot of them. One thing I have noticed deals with TV personalities. All it takes is one viewing of most team's local broadcast and some of the US national broadcasts to make this Canadian realize how lucky he is to live in Leafs Land because, while they do like to lean on the Leafs, they do a very good job of staying objective. In my opinion, the one thing on this list that makes the least sense is the salary cap. I feel like anybody who hates the salary cap isn't actually a fan of hockey, they're a fan of watching their team win. The main issue with the salary cap is that it is lower than what it probably should be thanks to COVID.
i cant watch the habs even tho they have a french broadcast but they sill restrict the english one
I'm with Bell and I used to have a package that included tsn and so on.
The package itself came with other channels and was costing 40, 50 buicks a month.
That was too much, I had to cut some bills so I cancelled it.
Had I been able to get just the hockey channels for a few bucks I would be watching many more hockey games than I do.
They weren't available without the whole package.
A lot of it has too do with culture. Like here in USA, it’s not as widespread. I can see a lot of folks who turn on a game and just don’t understand it, and flip the channel. But basketball and American football it’s ingrained in them, they know the teams how the game is played. I think it has a lot too do with the u.s
My biggest issue is time the puck drops. It begins to late. On average local 7pm puck drops are 2 hours too late. Starting at 5-530 I believe would increase availability for more people.
Living in Alberta makes TSN pointless to watch. There might be a night when TSN's 2, 3, 4, AND 5 could be blacked out AT THE SAME TIME. What bugs me more is when TSN 1 shows That's Hockey which is totally pointless. Same can be said with their TradeCentre and Free Agent Frenzy. I wish the Flames could get out of their third rate coverage with Sportsnet contract and move to TSN 1. I also don't watch any edition of SportsCentre because they won't SHUT UP about hockey!!
I live in NJ and purchase NHL Center Ice to watch the Sportsnet coverage of the Vancouver Canucks. But, all too often I am stuck with the opponents broadcast video and commentary!
Blackouts do suck! Fortunately for me Fubo has a deal with Root sports so I am able to watch my Kraken while down in Dallas for college. But unfortunately there is no way for me to watch the Stars without getting Bally sports
I’m in New Zealand and I don’t understand the blackout thing and why you’d have it. Why does it blackout the team that you are in the territory for? Is it to force you to watch it on a specific network?
Agreed, as an Aussie I don’t get it either. Don’t see that stuff happening in the rugby even though you gotta be pay sometimes to watch thru services like Sky or Stan Sport
Yes. The league wants you to watch it on your local network.
It's very simple so people actually go to games & dont just watch them at home.
Back in the days, Montreal played against Toronto 42 times a season. That was intense rivalry. Today, who would watch Florida against Vegas???
I'm a hockey watcher, but not an NHL watcher. I gravitate more towards IIHF tournaments.
And even though it's not on as often as NHL hockey, it's far easier for me to follow.
1. Only one service to subscribe to - TSN.
2. If TSN is carrying a game, they will air it with no blackouts
3. No digital board ads and very few (if any) betting ads
1) I couldn't agree more. So true regarding the blackouts. Every year I watch less and less overall. I don't watch other sports but I'm guessing they don't have blackout issues.
2) They're quite distracting.
3) As far as LA goes, it's like they're trying to teach the game to 5-year olds. My guess is their long-term goal is hoping this will bring them more season seat sells in years to come.
4) For sure.
5) Not sure that's keeping many away - maybe.
6) That's a tough one.
7) Early in the season, not sure if it was her or not (I think it was) but she was absolutely painful to listen to. Then again Alex Faust, the Kings play by play guy, is just as bad and makes a ton of mistakes which drive me crazy.
8) I don't bet. I pretty much mute all commercials. In fact stupid commercials that I get sick of seeing over and over and over... I refuse to support in any which way.
9) Agreed.
10) Rivalries are there but there mostly blacked out for me.
11) N/A I could care less.
12) SOOOOOO true! Way too much fake news out there, and every beat writer tries to be the first to break something so they're throwing out a lot of BS.
13) Outside of said star's home market... probably. Or is it they just keep pumping up the same few "stars" and need to expand their lists a bit?
14) ???
15) Officiating isn't helped by a lot of stupid unnecessary newer rules that only slow the game down. But of course in general it's the same old same old... CONSISTENCY. They need to be consistent game to game and regular season to playoffs.
16) The salary cap issues the last few years are only making the overall product a lot more boring!!! Keep a cap, just bring it up a little year after year.
17) Betman is a horrible commissioner. The End.
Easy. Fighting is really down. Now you can't have fights like crazy but look at the crowd when a fight is happening. None is sitting in there seat
But fighting has been down for the last dozen years. That isn't something that suddenly happened since last year.
I agree with that 100%
Homophobia??? Really the Gay crowd had such a huge inpact on the NHL in the states... I dout that. Number 1 is that Americans prefer Football, Basketball and Baseball over hockey always has been that way... Crap list I like your videos Neil and am a fellow Islander..... You should watch more hockey and bring the ratings up..
Here is what I think is making viewership is down.
1) Blackouts- In Canada the blackout are bad deepens on who your cheering for and where do you live. If you live in the region where your team plays and are on like Flames are on Sporstnet West so if yo live in Alberta and Saskatchewan then you can what Flames and Oilers. Pacific Canucks and in Ontario Toronto Maple Leafs. TSN with Jet, Canadiens and Senators. if you are not in those regions then there blackouts. I don't know about US markets but they could be different.
2) Betting Ads - they are bad and they are turning me off, but I will still watch. I hate when they are making it easier for those to gamble and lose lots of money. Also destroy lively hood.
3) Officiating- The officiating is bad not just this year but years before and ant getting better. They need to be more constancy and transparent with fans.
4) Rivalries- There are lots of great rivalries like Flames/Oilers , Lighting/Panthers and there are lots more, There is also the the original six rivalries and then there are lots more. But I thinks some of them they need to relaunch. Most of this could do with the playoffs.
5) Playoffs Format- With that said that where we can talk about playoff format. Now we can go back to 1-8 or Division playoff the one in the 80's and early 90's. I like both, but I am not a fan of wild cared. I can see why they are doing it for the Rivalries. So would 1-8 be good for that or back to the Division format.
I am going to talked about ESPN and TNT as I watch sometimes in the season. That when Sportsnet put on there channels.
Honestly this is why I’m fine with my home city of Halifax not having an nhl team because a lot of these things don’t happen with the Halifax mooseheads league (QMJHL)
I live in Colorado. The Avs came off of the Cup win, and there was some broad stuff around town, along with DU winning the natty. However, the broncos sucked and they got way more National and wide spread attention. That’s partly to die with jockey being smaller, but marketing for hockey in general is atrocious in the USA
The number 1 reason for me was the NHL pushing woke politics on its players and fans. What does hockey have to do with celebrating homosexual sex, or even sex in general? Keep the cultish politics out
Lack of promoting games of the week, at least in the US. I am a Blues fan and they barely promote the blues and get excited about hockey like they do baseball. Hockey I think has fallen behind major league soccer as far as viewership, so which makes it number five how much further down can the NHL go before trying something new in original?
use illegal streaming sites boys
Lol
Like which ones? No matter what i try, i cant stream any games.
@@mikepurdue7472 roystream, 720pstream, sportsurge, rojadirecta, etc etc
great video as always Neil, glad to hear you are doing well - and tanking seasons like this are always the best time for a mental health break!
that said - who else thinks a big part of that ratings drop is because so many big market teams are tanking for bedard? the habs, blackhawks, sharks/ducks are all blatantly doing it, and the flyers were trying to but failing at tanking because they're the flyers (same for the canucks)...wouldn't it be interesting to see the ratings for those markets, and what happens to them when arizona winds up with bedard?
I know there's PLENTY of people who are forced to watch pirated streams, myself included. I'm not a huge fan of the digital board ads, but they don't bother me enough to really affect my willingness to watch it
The reason why I don't enjoy hockey on TV is because the camera decisions are brutal. On a lot of feeds they're constantly switching cameras during play and also zoom in too much. It makes it harder to follow the game, especially for me and other people who have a health condition. I also find they don't show the arenas enough, it takes away from the atmosphere and half of the feeds just go to commercial break during the anthems so there's no pregame excitement. I find overall the broadcasts are flat and could be a lot better.
Believing in one's faith and holding strong to it does not make you :homophobic.
I had the exact same problem with blackouts … so I decided to buy an android box. Yearly fee of a hundred bucks but you get all the blacked out channels and even more
Only 1 team is blacked out in my area (Washington, despite Carolina being closer), but I’m gonna blame blackouts before even watching the video.
Digital ads on the boards and nightly blackout are the reason. Buy espn+ but almost all games are blacked out.
For me…it’s the freakin blackouts…I’m just a hockey fan who wants to watch hockey, but…espn has other plans. Sometimes I can watch a game that is taking place in Ottawa, but I can’t watch a game that is taking place in Vegas (I live in Utah). It’s ridiculous. ESPN’s motto on their website is “Serving sports fans anytime, anywhere”…honestly espn is a joke