Lack of NHL stars could cost broadcasters

In skipping the 2018 Winter Olympics, the NHL gets an early start on setting next year’s schedule without having to build in a two-week break while its biggest stars play in Pyeongchang.

But in avoiding that headache, the NHL may have created another set of hassles for Olympic broadcasters like CBC.

With NHL stars on the ice, men’s hockey draws the largest TV audience of any Winter Olympic event. Removing it from the lineup could shrink ratings and ad revenue, and alter the equation that made acquiring broadcast rights profitable.

Lead Canadian broadcaster CBC says ad sales for Winter Olympic programming haven’t yet begun, but is confident the NHL’s absence won’t stop the network from cashing in on its Olympic rights deal.

“We anticipated both scenarios,” says CBC spokesperson Chuck Thompson. “That’s just prudent planning.”

When NHL players face off in the Olympics, TV audiences follow — especially when Canada and the US play for medals.

The 2010 final, which ended when Sidney Crosby’s overtime goal secured gold for Canada, averaged 27.6 million viewers on NBC.

According to the NHL, it was mostwatched hockey game in the U.S. since 1980, when an underdog U.S. team upset the Soviet Union on the way to a surprise Olympic title.

In Canada, an average of 8.6 million viewers watched the 2014 men’s final, while the 2010 title game attracted an average audience of 16 million.

Those numbers surpass audiences for other Olympic events, and help broadcasters justify the cost of acquiring media rights.

Three years ago NBC paid the International Olympic Committee $7.65 billion for the right to broadcast and stream the games through 2032.

In October 2014 CBC led a joint bid with Rogers and Bell to acquire rights to the 2018 and 2020 games.

The companies didn’t reveal how much they had paid, nor how they split the cost. But network executives stressed that the deal made financial sense.

But removing NHL players from those broadcasts jeopardizes the spikes in viewership that help boost advertising revenue.

Thompson says the CBC isn’t worried about not having NHL players, pointing out that sports like figure skating and alpine skiing routinely draw huge TV audiences.

The network is also optimistic that Canadians would still tune in for non-NHL hockey at the Olympics.

“We’re confident Canadians will rally behind whoever represents Canada in Pyeongchang,” Thompson says.

“Canadians love the Olympics, and in particular Canadians love the Winter Olympics.”