07-08 Versus Coverage

[JGraz15 53]

Versus will cover 57 games next year. That sounds pretty low. How many did they cover last year?

http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app?articleid=33597...mp;service=page

[Allsmokenopancake 0]

They covered 54 last year, plus the allstar game

[Rustpot 1]

Bigger question is what will NBC cover with their horrible commentating.

And how many games will I miss that aren't covered locally or by Vs/NBC? Last season it was the Wings against an Eastern team (one of the 5 they played) and I was pissed.

[JGraz15 53]

I think this was WAY to hard to find on their site:

http://www.versus.com/nw/article/view/4054...icleWrapper.tpl

[Bleeding Blue Note 0]

I see the Blues get "classic" match-ups on Versus against both the Wings and Hawks.

[Spreedizzle 1]

Does anyone know if DirecTV will offer Versus in HD?? If so....when??

[sabre09923 0]

Not surprised Rangers/Flyers/Penguins get a ton of games covered...

[Mikael1052 0]

They dumped Clement? He wasn't great but he was the one consistent face dating all the way back to when ESPN2 came on.

[Chadd 916]

They dumped Clement? He wasn't great but he was the one consistent face dating all the way back to when ESPN2 came on.

He's fine as an analyst or doing color commentary, terrible as the studio host though.

[LilCharlie 0]

I don't really care all that much for the coverage VS and NBC gives us these days. That's not to say that they never showed a game I enjoyed watching but it seems they they give the same six or seven teams all the coverage and unless your team happens to be one of them, or you live in the area and can watch local coverage, you're S.O.L..

Does anyone here know exactly what the contracts between the NHL and the various networks actually are? The reason I ask is because I was wondering if the CBC has exclusive rights to games where two teams from Canada are playing each other. I would love to see more games like Oilers/Flames or Habs/Leafs. Except for playoff games, I don't remember the last time I saw this happen. I think it might have been back when ESPN and ESPN2 had the coverage. I would also love to see more games between two teams from the original six.

Of course this is just my opinion but it seems that Mr. Bettman turned his back on the fans who were loyal to the game before he started making all these changes trying to expand the league and market it in places it never existed before. I wish he would have done a better job marketing the league he had rather than the one he and the owners wanted. No offense to those who like some of the newer teams like Atlanta or Nashville, but to me these are examples of where things have gone wrong and this is why the NHL has been relegated to the coverage we get today on VS instead of ESPN. Look at Nashville. They had one of the best records last season, and I'm not sure, but I think they had the best home record and yet they couldn't sell out their home games. I don't think they even met the average of 14,000 which means the owner can move the team in another season or two if the low attendance continues. Meanwhile cities like Winnipeg and Quebec which had incredibly loyal fans, even when they had poor records, lose their team. What has happened to our NHL?

Like I said, this is just my opinion on why we get the coverage we get today but does anyone else out there feel this way or is it just me?

[Chadd 916]

I don't really care all that much for the coverage VS and NBC gives us these days. That's not to say that they never showed a game I enjoyed watching but it seems they they give the same six or seven teams all the coverage and unless your team happens to be one of them, or you live in the area and can watch local coverage, you're S.O.L..

Does anyone here know exactly what the contracts between the NHL and the various networks actually are? The reason I ask is because I was wondering if the CBC has exclusive rights to games where two teams from Canada are playing each other. I would love to see more games like Oilers/Flames or Habs/Leafs. Except for playoff games, I don't remember the last time I saw this happen. I think it might have been back when ESPN and ESPN2 had the coverage. I would also love to see more games between two teams from the original six.

Of course this is just my opinion but it seems that Mr. Bettman turned his back on the fans who were loyal to the game before he started making all these changes trying to expand the league and market it in places it never existed before. I wish he would have done a better job marketing the league he had rather than the one he and the owners wanted. No offense to those who like some of the newer teams like Atlanta or Nashville, but to me these are examples of where things have gone wrong and this is why the NHL has been relegated to the coverage we get today on VS instead of ESPN. Look at Nashville. They had one of the best records last season, and I'm not sure, but I think they had the best home record and yet they couldn't sell out their home games. I don't think they even met the average of 14,000 which means the owner can move the team in another season or two if the low attendance continues. Meanwhile cities like Winnipeg and Quebec which had incredibly loyal fans, even when they had poor records, lose their team. What has happened to our NHL?

Like I said, this is just my opinion on why we get the coverage we get today but does anyone else out there feel this way or is it just me?

Two Canadian teams aren't going to draw big ratings in the US. MOST American fans are just fans of their team and don't watch if their team isn't playing.

Nashville was growing well then got hit by the lockout, it was going to take a couple years to rebound from that. Any young market is going to have growing pains through massive upheaval. Now they have another setback with the Balsillie thing and it's going to set them back a little more.