The National Hockey League has long been lacking the appeal of a game that has all the ingredients that people love about sports. Fast, Physical and filled with grit that even the NFL can not match. Not one shift goes by that someone isn’t smashed into the boards or cross checked in front of the goalie. Rivalries are evident in every division and hostilities grow the better the teams perform. Generational stars normally live up to their billing and it is as much a young man’s game as it is the grizzled old veteran gasping for that final shot at holding up Lord Stanley’s Cup. It’s been said by many sports fans that the NHL playoffs is the best post season in major sports.
With all that said, how does the fan base of the league not grow to astronomical heights?
What would it take for people to finally notice that hockey is the fastest and most exciting sport out there. It’s not the NFL. Too many issues with injury and criminal activity. Baseball, boring. The NBA is in a free fall, seriously, bump a player and he is flopping. Who wants to watch that?
The dark cloud hanging over the fastest sport on ice is marketing. Some of the current strategies include: digital advertising on the boards, the spamming on all social media platforms, working to get Gen Z fans to buy in collaborating with TV by highlighting Gen Z stars in a commercial entitled “The Next Golden Era is Now” and other outlets to bring the game into your living room and of course a number of grass roots initiatives that surely will excite the masses.
Now that ESPN/ABC (both Disney owned companies) are televising the games viewership is up 44% and TNT has grown 17%. Connecting with local audiences and building a brand with exciting live experiences is a driving factor but the appeal based on price is driving the average consumer out of the arenas and hockey on TV for the casual fan. Hockey has one huge drawback, it is still viewed in the United States as a Canadian sport. It is associated for many with the doldrums of winter.
Now is the time to capitalize on those sports fans who have given up on the high priced salaries of baseball and the defenseless game of the NBA. Shoot for the stars and reach out to
Those on the bubble get them to become as dedicated to the NHL as they are their alma mater or their favorite NFL team. Align yourself with those marketing teams and find out how through collaboration you will hop over those other sports and battle for a much larger share of the audience and the pie that we all know as money.
