Avalanche, NHL Thoughts From The Mountains

Why are NHL TV ratings down, and a list of media gifts I've gotten over the years

Greetings from Estes Park, where I came for a couple-day getaway. It’s a favored spot of mine - about an hour’s drive from Thornton. I can see the Stanley Hotel (The “Shining” hotel) from my window.

But I brought my laptop and thought I’d pass some time writing a bit here, with some random Avalanche/NHL thoughts:

• The NHL goes on the official All-Star break starting tomorrow. The Avs have been in the midst of their “bye week” and won’t play again until Feb. 7 in Pittsburgh.

• I’m just not an all-star game guy. And that goes for every sport. I like the 3-on-3 format more than the old convention-style game, but I still just couldn’t care less about the game.

I was very surprised to see these numbers today:

Mark J. Burns @markjburns88

NHL U.S. TV national viewership is down 22% this season, per findings from @AustinKarp. NHL regular games to date have averaged 373,000 viewers on ESPN/TNT, 2nd season of the league's 7-year pact with Disney & Turner. NHL averaged 478,000 viewers at this point last season.

• I am a bit baffled, because I would have thought the numbers would go up in the second year of the big ESPN/TNT deal. Is it the game’s fault? Is it the networks’ fault, for not promoting themselves more? What’s going on?

• But it’s probably not a big deal. The NHL has always struggled with ratings in the first half of a season. When the games get bigger in the regular season, then the playoffs, the numbers should go up. Some markets that have a lot of blackouts (like Denver, like Boston, like New York) because of fights between the regional sports networks and the cable overlords, don’t get their full numbers counted toward any national ratings.