Flooding the Zone
SO, CANADA, just how much do you love hockey? Rogers is about to test your affection. As the new owners of hockey broadcasting rights in Canada begin unleashing wall-to-wall coverage, get ready for more games, more highlights and more commentary on your TVs, tablets, smartphones, radios and in your magazines. If you absolutely can’t miss that mid-season tilt between Winnipeg and Nashville (ninth place is up for grabs!), you’ll find it somewhere.
It’s all a bit overwhelming, especially for those of us who grew up when one televised game a week seemed enough. This brave new era has many asking: how much is too much?
Several years ago, the American networks made a similar bet on the National Football League broadcasting more prime-time games, endless highlight shows, new specialty channels and high-end behind-the-scenes documentaries. Too much of a good thing, I thought; overexposure will ultimately hurt the sport.
Well, I was wrong. The NFL has only grown in popularity. The primetime games are by far TV’s highest rated shows. Fan interest seems insatiable, bolstered by ubiquitous fantasy leagues and a growing foothold in the female market. “We couldn’t live without the NFL,” gushed Leslie Moonves, president and CEO of CBS, when his network won rights to broadcast football.
Even with a walking public relations disaster like commissioner Roger Goodell running the show – he mismanaged the lawsuit by ex-players who’d suffered brain damage, bungled the so-called Bountygate affair (where New Orleans Saints’ coaches paid players a bonus if they injured opposition stars) and, most memorably, caused a nationwide scandal with his lenient penalty in the Ray Rice domestic assault case – nothing can stand in the way of its success.
After the Rice debacle, social media broke out into hysterics, claiming the NFL had brought shame on itself and society in general. This hue and cry didn’t even put the smallest dent in the ratings, showing that either Twitter is completely misrepresentative of public opinion or that most tweeters decided they weren’t actually angry enough to miss a football game.
Ironically, the Thursday night game that aired at the apex of the NFL social media hate-fest – featuring Rice’s own team, the Baltimore Ravens – was a ratings bonanza, drawing four times the viewers as the second-place show that evening. Football is no longer solely about the final score; it’s now political social commentary, soap opera and reality TV all rolled into one three-hour package. And it’s a massive hit.
Unfortunately, beyond the endless debate over concussions and fighting, the NHL lacks headline-grabbing controversies that push ratings. So, to boost viewership, Rogers is going to have to manufacture its own excitement. Here are a few suggestions – free of charge – that might work.
Offer an interactive app that enables Toronto fans to boo Dion Phaneuf over their smartphones and have it piped into the Air Canada Centre. Add your voice to the disdainful chorus the Leaf captain hears nightly.
Create an online fantasy league that allows betting on unique propositions, such as how many times opposition players will refer to Calgary Flames’ coach Bob Hartley as “bush league.”
Embrace P.K. Subban’s sartorial style by allowing the fashionable Montreal Canadiens’ defenceman to wear his jaunty fedora on the ice in place of his helmet.
At the 30th anniversary celebrations of their first Stanley Cup win, encourage the Edmonton Oilers to put Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Paul Coffey et al. back into the regu-
“After the Rice debacle, social media broke out into hysterics”
lar lineup. Maybe the Oilers will finally make the playoffs again.
Recast Vancouver’s mild-mannered Sedin twins as modern-day Hanson Brothers, urging them to grow their hair, don nerdy glasses and channel the stick-swinging maniacs from the movie Slap Shot.
And if all this fails, launch a 24-hour Don Cherry Channel. All Grapes, all the time! Where do I sign up?