Random Media Notes

After both games four and five I made sure to tune into ESPN.

Sportscenter was already in-progress after game four and after the game recap the first story was shown. The same thing happened with coverage of game five. The Cup wasn’t part of the teaser but was actually the first story shown. It was a lengthy segment (especially for hockey) that gave a complete recap of the game.

ESPN.com had the games as the cover story on the front page after the completion of each. Upon a visit just a little while ago I was greeted with a prestitial (a full-page ad before you get to enter the site) for the NBA Finals. After that, a big photo of Scott Niedermayer lifting the Cup with the title of Duck Season

Where the Cup is being covered on US websites:

* Lead story on Fox Sports, Sportsline, USA TOday, NY Times and Sports Illustrated
* “Latest News” area on front page of cnn.com, main photo on Fox News, in “In the news” on MSNBC

Other notes:

* anaheimducks.com has been down since at least the end of game five. Update 1am: The Ducks site seems to be up and running again.

* I’m doing a round-up of links over at hockeyfights.com.

* NBC brings more energy than CBC - William Houston of The Globe and Mail prefers NBC’s coverage over CBC’s. Jeff Marek and Bill Watters on Leafs Lunch were voicing similar opinions. “Stale” seems to be the most common criticism of CBC. Houston also mentions the low ratings by NBC (something mentioned many places), but rightfully points out that a year off and small market Final match-ups don’t help boost ratings.

Non-media:

* Isles can make good use of extra cap space | Fans, this buyout is gift to you | Islanders buy out Yashin’s contract for $17.63M
* Bruckheimer eyes NHL team in Vegas

Posted by David M Singer on Jun 07, 2007 at 03:31 AM
Media • NHL

Comments

I think what David is talking about here is "secondary" teams. The Kings have been a stable franchise on the west coast now for 30 some years, while the ducks have only been in the league for a third as long. Same goes for the Islanders too. The rangers have been around for ever and the Islanders not even half as long. Hence since the second team does not have as much history and "culture" as the teams originally in that market, they take on the role of the small market team. Also, Anaheim is an independent city from Los Angeles. People in Los Angeles(most anyway) are going to be loyal to the Kings.
Posted by kingdog819 on 2007-06-08 20:30:29 Anaheim may not be a small market in the literal sense, but they are in the same way that the Islanders and Devils are both "small market", despite being in the largest. Can they shed the label? Sure, but none have. Outside of Toronto, and maybe Montreal, the rest of the Canadian cities fall into that category as well. Let's face it, the league needs one of the big east powerhouses in the Finals for some interest. A big west counterpart would help, but they need that Eastern team in there - the Rangers, Flyers or Bruins would be huge for ratings (in comparison to what we're seeing now).
Posted by David M Singer on 2007-06-08 11:26:15 1) Two 'small market' teams? When did the Los Angeles metroplex become a small market? More like a small revenue generating market. 2) Who's fault is that? The man at the helm the past 15+ years, Gary Bettman. He wanted to make the NHL into a national sport from a regional one. Well 15 years later and it has gone from a regional sport to an obscure sport! Nice job Gary when a team from the nation's second largest city is considered a small market!
Posted by fauxrumors on 2007-06-08 10:49:48

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