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Here is the NHLs yearly revenue chart. We know that the mark of 2.9 was shutdown related. We’re still operating a cap based on the 5 billion so you can see why there hasn’t been a huge jump. Waiting for this year’s results. But, only once since 09/10 do you see 5 billion.
I wanted to address the issue of broadcast TV as fans/readers think that I’m too concerned with the issue of hockey presentation. The above article talks about a new consortium of traditional stations (in several countries) as they try to come up with a plan to get viewers back. As it stands, according to the numbers they provided, only about 20% of U.S. households use broadcast TV.
I’ve talked about “bandwidth” for a while but I realized there are some who may not know how you get it. Traditional TV is “line of sight” broadcasting. That’s why you have huge towers to try and reach as many people as you can. Cable is direct to user. The broadcast comes via coax into the home. Satellite is coordinate based. In the old days (80s) you would find out what was playing and redirect the dish.
For those “line of sight” and over the air frequencies, there is a limited amount of space. Local TV has a cutoff so multiple stations across the US can lease the same frequency. Cellular data is almost coast to coast. The battle is on at the FCC as people spend more time on cellular data each year. Every new stretch of bandwidth erases an option for public TV as it can go coast to coast. One sale of bandwidth to AT&T could knock out dozens of stations nation wide. The age of non broadcast is now entering into the 60s. The younger generation spends more time watching youtube and gaming. I hope this brings some clarity, and why you’re seeing stations close down.
The Wall Street Journal just let the cat out of the bag 4 days early. It’s expected that ESPN is going to announce a full transition to streaming as cable and satellite subs are going down quickly (cable down 40%). Internet based programming just continues to grow.
Bally’s just asked for a 120 day extension in hopes of raising money. In all, the company has dropped around 19 of its 41 markets.
DirecTV then chimed in that there’s no guarantee they will continue to broadcast Bally. That would mean that ESPN would be pulled and turned to streaming and Bally would be unavailable for DirecTV customers.
Wednesday’s call is expected to show losses across every platform at Disney/ABC. Cruise lines down 325 million, another near billion dollar loss in streaming, and ESPN now makes about 1 billion less per quarter with all the cancellations. This is why I’m concerned. ESPN was supposed to be a “golden goose” in NHL broadcasting. Instead last year saw a drop of around 100k down to 700k. Someone said it’s more about tickets, but even Bettman announced that tickets plus concessions and parking made up 50% of HRR. With spending going down, we can expect a hit on concessions and souvenirs.
This is not fun. Watching businesses shut down that can’t be resurrected because the entire platform is being sold off. We’re seeing on air talent fired or asked to take pay cuts and found out how much debt some clubs are carrying. For Ottawa, it was half a billion. They had to disclose that in order to sell.
The players and owners need to sit down and figure this out. I expect more ads on jerseys, but rates are going down. I love this sport and want it to thrive. As of now, the 5 billion dollar mark has only been hit once.
Detroit Red Wings Blogger • 
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