Put On Ice: Ferraro Upset With NBC Airing Golf Over NHL Playoffs
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NBC Will Air The Players Championship
This Weekend Instead Of NHL Playoffs |
TSN NHL analyst Ray Ferraro appeared on syndicated radio show "The Jim Rome Show" yesterday and discussed the league's television deals in the U.S. With NBC airing the PGA Tour The Players Championship this weekend instead of the NHL Playoffs, including Penguins-Capitals Game Five on Saturday, Ferraro said, “From a league standpoint, it’s a joke. ... To have the game’s greatest, most marketable stars playing head to head in a series that everybody is talking about that follows the game -- heck, ESPN led their sports coverage with (Alex) Ovechkin and (Sidney) Crosby. That’s not even an ESPN property. And we can’t get the game on NBC, which … is our national carrier?” Ferraro added, “It’s clear which tail is wagging the dog here. NBC is making the decisions, and the league just has to go about it because they’re not in a real strong position.” When asked if that position will ever change, Ferraro said, “I don’t see how it does.” Ferraro: “This is a pretty clear signal on the chart where NBC views hockey in comparison to some of their other sports. … From a league standpoint, you better not be shy about talking to some other people, see if you can grow the game somewhere else.” Syndicated radio host Jim Rome later in the show said, “I understand why NBC is doing what they’re doing. There’s a lot more (fans) that want to see Paul Goydos and Tiger Woods. Otherwise, they would give you hockey.”
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Ovechkin's Personality Part Of
Reason Pens-Caps Is A Draw |
FOLLOW THE LEADER: Ferraro said most NHL players "want the game back on ESPN." Ferraro said that has "nothing to do with the coverage. When the games are on, NBC does a terrific job.” However, he added if ESPN "wants back in ... I think you have to put games back on that network. There’s no reach like ESPN.” Rome said, “The fans know where to find it, then they can find the games. What good is the product if nobody can see it?” Ferraro said of Versus, "I can’t find it in my hotel room. I can’t find it half the time when I’m down here in the States. … If (the NHL) is going to stay on Versus, they have to go to hotels and offer it as a stand-alone buy. If you want to buy Versus for the day, you can buy it for $3.95. They do it with other channels. Why can’t our league market more aggressively?” Rome acknowledged he is an ESPN employee and said, “The league should be happy (they’ve) got Versus, which is backing them up and has an interest in the product. But to your point, if you don’t get it, if you can’t find it, it doesn’t matter how good it is.” Rome later said, “If I’m the NHL, I put my games on ESPN for free. You can’t pay for that advertising, you can’t pay for that promotion. ESPN is everywhere. … If they gave you a nickel, consider yourself happy. Nothing against Versus, it’s just not as prevalent, it’s not as prominent, you can’t find it" ("The Jim Rome Show," 5/6).
ALL EYES ON ME: SI's Michael Farber writes Penguins-Capitals is "exactly what the NHL has been waiting for since 2005, when Crosby and Ovechkin entered the league together with a degree of anticipation approximating Larry Bird and Magic Johnson's arrival in the NBA in 1979." Factoring in Crosby and Ovechkin's "personality clash to the first playoff meeting between the league's last two MVPs makes the story line even spicier." Penguins-Capitals is the "most heralded playoff series" since the Rangers-Canucks Stanley Cup Final in '94, and Crosby and Ovechkin have "been dutifully elevated above their teams' names on the figurative marquee" (SI, 5/11 issue).
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