This article below doesn't exactly agree.
Who Watches Hockey?
Research says the NHL has “somewhere around 50 million fans,” commissioner Gary Bettman said at a recent news conference before the league’s finals. “What it tells you is people who follow this game [and] are passionate about the game don’t watch it on TV in the United States as much as we’d all like.”
That’s for sure. The last three games of the Stanley Cup finals, nominally the most important of the hockey season, were broadcast nationally on NBC before an average daily audience of 1.8 million households, a record low for the finals. Game 3 attracted just 1.2 million households, or 1.1% of all homes with televisions.
When I asked NHL spokesman Frank Brown why the finals weren’t watched by all 50 million of the fans, he replied by email, “There is only one time a year when 50 million fans tune in to ANYTHING” — referring to the Super Bowl. “The fans who tuned in to the Stanley Cup Final saw great hockey — as did the millions of fans who accessed it by various other digital means rather than the conventional one on which you seem focused.”
Perhaps the other 48 million fans were listening to the radio or watching highlights online through the league’s YouTube channel. But another possible explanation is that the NHL’s fan count is a bit optimistic.
Mr. Brown cited a 2006 study from Scarborough Research’s sports-marketing division that found 49.2 million Americans had some interest in the NHL. Scarborough randomly dialed American phone numbers to recruit more than 200,000 people to fill out and mail in a survey. As part of a broad survey on consumer habits, respondents were directed to “check how interested you are in these sports.” The NHL was one of them. Responses were then extrapolated to adults nationwide.
Scarborough found just 8.3 million American adults were “very” interested in the NHL. Another 13.5 million were “somewhat” interested. To approach 50 million requires counting the other 27.5 million who said they are “a little bit” interested. Apparently a little bit of interest doesn’t translate into switching on the television to watch free broadcasts of the season’s most important games. (By the NHL’s definition, Scarborough numbers show the NBA has 86 million fans, Major League Baseball has 114 million and the NFL has 135 million — including 55 million who are “very” interested in the pro-football league.)
Who Watches Hockey?
Research says the NHL has “somewhere around 50 million fans,” commissioner Gary Bettman said at a recent news conference before the league’s finals. “What it tells you is people who follow this game [and] are passionate about the game don’t watch it on TV in the United States as much as we’d all like.”
That’s for sure. The last three games of the Stanley Cup finals, nominally the most important of the hockey season, were broadcast nationally on NBC before an average daily audience of 1.8 million households, a record low for the finals. Game 3 attracted just 1.2 million households, or 1.1% of all homes with televisions.
When I asked NHL spokesman Frank Brown why the finals weren’t watched by all 50 million of the fans, he replied by email, “There is only one time a year when 50 million fans tune in to ANYTHING” — referring to the Super Bowl. “The fans who tuned in to the Stanley Cup Final saw great hockey — as did the millions of fans who accessed it by various other digital means rather than the conventional one on which you seem focused.”
Perhaps the other 48 million fans were listening to the radio or watching highlights online through the league’s YouTube channel. But another possible explanation is that the NHL’s fan count is a bit optimistic.
Mr. Brown cited a 2006 study from Scarborough Research’s sports-marketing division that found 49.2 million Americans had some interest in the NHL. Scarborough randomly dialed American phone numbers to recruit more than 200,000 people to fill out and mail in a survey. As part of a broad survey on consumer habits, respondents were directed to “check how interested you are in these sports.” The NHL was one of them. Responses were then extrapolated to adults nationwide.
Scarborough found just 8.3 million American adults were “very” interested in the NHL. Another 13.5 million were “somewhat” interested. To approach 50 million requires counting the other 27.5 million who said they are “a little bit” interested. Apparently a little bit of interest doesn’t translate into switching on the television to watch free broadcasts of the season’s most important games. (By the NHL’s definition, Scarborough numbers show the NBA has 86 million fans, Major League Baseball has 114 million and the NFL has 135 million — including 55 million who are “very” interested in the pro-football league.)
