The NHL on Television: Small Victories

It's that time of year when television networks fret over their Stanley Cup Playoff audiences.

The CBC is reportedly bummed because Toronto didn't make the playoffs. Canadians watch the Maple Leafs more than any other team (apparently preferring slow, mediocre hockey over the style played elsewhere). The prospect of, say, a Buffalo-Anaheim final is equally troubling at NBC. "It doesn't help when the bigger cities are out," the NHL's vice-president of broadcasting told the Toronto Globe and Mail (subscription required).

Cue the violins. Whether a stirring Rangers-Maple Leafs final would have delivered the NHL to that distant Shangri-La - a television breakthrough in America - is debatable. But hockey fans have nothing to gain from such a breakthrough. When sports leagues get bigger and richer, the only winners are the owners, players and broadcasters. For the rest of us it means higher ticket prices, more expansion, more labor trouble and more leverage for teams seeking taxpayer-funded arenas. Hockey fans are better off if the NHL remains a modest operation.

But there is plenty of evidence that hockey can thrive locally, and small victories on that front have been reported this spring.

Raleigh loves its Hurricanes, according to the News & Observer:

"When they first arrived, it was easy to envision a scenario in which the franchise would suffocate under an avalanche of basketballs. Instead, the Canes have flourished. They've made friends and fans while winning hearts. And if they win the Cup, it'll be just as important and just as cherished by the locals as an NCAA banner."

The Sharks are a hit in San Jose, reports the San Jose Mercury News:

For a network (OLN) that's unavailable on many subscriptions and a game that ran up against Barry Bonds' home run chase, Game 3 (of the Sharks-Oilers) did OK in the ratings. It drew a 2.7 in the Bay Area, compared with a 3.5 for Giants-Cubs.

Also in California, a columnist at the Orange County Register even suggests that folks are more excited about hockey than basketball:

"...quite possibly, more people are concerned right now about the inactivity of (Anaheim Mighty Duck) Corey Perry than the activity of (L.A. Clipper) Corey Maggette."

In a sports broadcasting era when only the NFL is a guaranteed ratings hit, that's as much as the NHL can expect, and probably as much as it needs.