Quote:
Originally Posted by Berklon
The problem with most US NHL markets is that once a team stinks, the fans bail quickly.
It doesn't matter if the team recently won a cup or had a long stretch of winning, once they're bad - it doesn't take long at all for fans to abandon them. It's not just the non-traditional markets either.
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It's called competition, which is exactly why Canadian teams are a much safer bet.
The NHL has a monopoly on Canadian sports, and they do everything to prove why A) They don't have to please us B) Why it is so much easier to make money off Canadian teams.
The entire strategy of the last 30 years has been based around getting that big us tv contract. This meant playing the league off the big 3 for 30 years. Now the league is falling behind on almost every front.
Sounds like this season is about to be called off.
So we're gonna have close to 2 years without a full season.
Even when they did play the TV ratings stunk.
Add to that the next US TV deal is around the corner, they're gonna have no bargaining power.
The NHLPA and Owners are at eachothers throats now that they've just lost a massive chunk of money. Which raises the potential for future lockouts or alternatively, owners that are loosing money.
Seattle has become the biggest loser in sports history. Every dollar of that $650 million has been absurd in covering the expenses of the last year. Now the league is getting nothing in return for that money, and Seattle has bought into a league that has lost half its value.
They bought into the brand based on the leagues structured, future tv contracts, stability of the owners, revenue sharing etc.
Now everything that this bubble has been built around is crumbling.
2 years without southern hockey means there gonna be bleeding fans in places like Tampa, not to mention all the snowbirds who've given up on Florida because of covid.
Meanwhile the Big 3 seemed to have pulled ahead and have pushed the NHL out of the picture.
Everything about the big sports boom of the last 20 years has been based on bubbles.
Now we have major uncertainty in all directions.
The league is built on corporate box sales, and billionaires operating at huge loss with the speculative value of big tv contracts and higher valuations for franchises.
It's a circular bubble and it looks like it is popping from every angle.
And here's the kicker if we had this conversation a year ago, there'd be a 100 percent agreement that something like this would smash that bubble.
When the scenario we thought couldn't happen occurs people are trying to move the goal posts.