NHL Launches Spots To Encourage Wider Playoff Viewership

View NHL's "One Play" Spot

The NHL Friday will break up to eight 30-second spots on NHL.com with the theme, "The Cup changes everything,'' according to Barry Janoff of BRANDWEEK. The spots will debut Sunday during NBC's coverage of Rangers-Penguins. The TV ads will air during the playoffs on Versus and FSN. Support includes print in SI and USA Today, radio and in NHL arenas. Eight NHL players each get a spot, including Senators C Daniel Alfredsson, Canucks G Robert Luongo, Devils G Martin Brodeur, Sharks C Joe Thornton and Ducks C Ryan Getzlaf. NHL Senior Exec VP/Business & Media John Collins: "We have 53 million fans, but there is a disconnect in the playoffs." Collins noted that 80% of NHL fan viewership is "driven by whether their team is in the playoffs, and 50% of the league's 'most avid' fans won't watch the Stanley Cup finals if their favorite team is not playing." Collins: "It's no longer about broadcasts and ratings. We're putting a lot of investment in NHL.com, YouTube and our digital strategy. We're giving our marketing partners value they haven't had before to activate to fans whether or not their team is in the playoffs" (BRANDWEEK, 3/24 issue).

MORE ADS: In N.Y., Larry Brooks wrote the NHL's 30-second "One Play" promo featuring Hockey HOFers Bobby Orr, Wayne Gretzky, Gordie Howe and Ken Dryden, alongside 10 current NHLers, is a "brilliant piece of work." Brooks: "Now the league should build upon that by creating 30 unique spots for the 30 NHL teams that would weave the past and the present into historic franchise rushes up the ice (N.Y. POST, 3/24).