ESPN can throw its weight around
IF NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is watching ESPN's SportsCenter right now, he's probably gritting his teeth. Maybe he's cursing under his breath. Or punching the wall.
Regardless of what he may be doing to vent his anger, he's probably not happy. And the source of his rage may have a lot to do with those clips of indoor football stealing valuable seconds from those few-and-far-between hockey highlights.
Bettman has seen how ESPN can giveth and taketh away.
The cable network, located in Bristol, Conn., has become sports' biggest superpower. Bigger than the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Lakers or Dallas Cowboys. Bigger than any of the leagues it has brokered deals with to televise their games. Bigger than perhaps ABC — a television giant in its own right that carries the ESPN logo on any athletic event it broadcasts.
ESPN is so influential it can sway the masses to stop paying attention to one sport and focus on another.
Remember when the last time the NHL was relevant?
Try May 27, 2005.
That was the day before ESPN declined the option to televise games for the upcoming hockey season and ended its agreement with the struggling league. The end of the NHL's relationship with the network came on the heels of a labor dispute between the players and owners that led to the cancellation of the previous season.
The NHL has since stuck a deal with Versus, which was formerly known as the Outdoor Life Network, to bring its product into homes across the nation. But it hasn't been the same for the NHL. While ESPN continues as a juggernaut, the NHL has been marginalized. It's hard to even classify hockey as one of the four major sports anymore.
Meanwhile, ESPN has tried to bolster the popularity of the Arena Football League, which it has owned a minority stake in since last December. Suddenly, clips of games that would never have never appeared on the network's most prominent program — SportsCenter — are being shown.
So are lengthy packages on the AFL's most prominent stars. It won't be surprising that in the coming years if the AFL gains a stronger foothold in the cluttered sports landscape.
In fact, with ESPN behind it, it would be more shocking if it didn't.
Gary Bettman knows this all too well. And he can't do anything about it.
Photo Source: www.cbc.ca
Regardless of what he may be doing to vent his anger, he's probably not happy. And the source of his rage may have a lot to do with those clips of indoor football stealing valuable seconds from those few-and-far-between hockey highlights.
Bettman has seen how ESPN can giveth and taketh away.
The cable network, located in Bristol, Conn., has become sports' biggest superpower. Bigger than the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Lakers or Dallas Cowboys. Bigger than any of the leagues it has brokered deals with to televise their games. Bigger than perhaps ABC — a television giant in its own right that carries the ESPN logo on any athletic event it broadcasts.
ESPN is so influential it can sway the masses to stop paying attention to one sport and focus on another.
Remember when the last time the NHL was relevant?
Try May 27, 2005.
That was the day before ESPN declined the option to televise games for the upcoming hockey season and ended its agreement with the struggling league. The end of the NHL's relationship with the network came on the heels of a labor dispute between the players and owners that led to the cancellation of the previous season.
The NHL has since stuck a deal with Versus, which was formerly known as the Outdoor Life Network, to bring its product into homes across the nation. But it hasn't been the same for the NHL. While ESPN continues as a juggernaut, the NHL has been marginalized. It's hard to even classify hockey as one of the four major sports anymore.
Meanwhile, ESPN has tried to bolster the popularity of the Arena Football League, which it has owned a minority stake in since last December. Suddenly, clips of games that would never have never appeared on the network's most prominent program — SportsCenter — are being shown.
So are lengthy packages on the AFL's most prominent stars. It won't be surprising that in the coming years if the AFL gains a stronger foothold in the cluttered sports landscape.
In fact, with ESPN behind it, it would be more shocking if it didn't.
Gary Bettman knows this all too well. And he can't do anything about it.
Photo Source: www.cbc.ca
posted by Rainer Sabin @ 12:29 AM
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