I'm not sure the kind of promotion that Crosby does in Pittsburgh really has much impact on hockey's popularity on a national level, though (except maybe influencing lots of Pittsburgh kids to play hockey, and some of them eventually reach the NHL), even though in Pittsburgh itself it obviously contributes massively to the market there. Crosby putting sticks in Pittsburgh kids' hands doesn't make people elsewhere more interested in watching hockey.
I'd guess that where Crosby playing in the US makes a difference is in the cultivation of geographical rivalries. It's clear that the broadcast schedule is determined not just by marketable teams, but marketable match ups, and those match ups are a draw specifically because Crosby being good and the Penguins being good have created new rivalries and made existing ones a bigger spectacle. Even if the Oilers and Flames both become great teams, that match up isn't going to get the US ratings of Pens-Caps.
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Re: Hockey Media - nationally televised NHL games next year (in the US)
From: (Anonymous)I'm not sure the kind of promotion that Crosby does in Pittsburgh really has much impact on hockey's popularity on a national level, though (except maybe influencing lots of Pittsburgh kids to play hockey, and some of them eventually reach the NHL), even though in Pittsburgh itself it obviously contributes massively to the market there. Crosby putting sticks in Pittsburgh kids' hands doesn't make people elsewhere more interested in watching hockey.
I'd guess that where Crosby playing in the US makes a difference is in the cultivation of geographical rivalries. It's clear that the broadcast schedule is determined not just by marketable teams, but marketable match ups, and those match ups are a draw specifically because Crosby being good and the Penguins being good have created new rivalries and made existing ones a bigger spectacle. Even if the Oilers and Flames both become great teams, that match up isn't going to get the US ratings of Pens-Caps.