NHL commissioner reportedly costs the league 35M potential viewers

PUBLICATION

Mike Armenti
August 29, 2023 (11:27)

SHARE THIS STORY

Gary Bettman has never been the most popular guy in the room. Half of his schtick as NHL Commissioner is getting boo'ed at every live event. Still, the job as made him filthy rich, and so he embraces it. Bettman has been commissioner over 30 years, and in that time, he's helped grow the league as a business, but has not done a great job in helping to grow the audience.

In recent years, because of him, the growth of the game and trying to attract new fans have virtually stopped. In fact, people seem more frustrated than ever in the on-ice product - many times because of the horribly inconsistent officiating.

According to famed player agent Allan Walsh, Gary Bettman has cost the NHL 35 million potential viewers since signing a TV deal with ESPN. The NHL and ESPN are going into their 3rd year of a 7-year deal. Here's what Walsh had to say on the matter.

"The NHL is going into its 3rd year of its 7 year media rights deal with ESPN. Since that time, ESPN's subscriber base has fallen from 80 million to 45 million. Disney (parent company of ESPN) is now actively searching for a 'strategic partner' for the network."

This is further proof that Bettman is bad for the overall growth of the sport. He's been allowed to retain his post because he happens to make the owners a lot more money, thanks in large to the hard salary cap that he has implemented, but at this point, the question has to be asked; when did the on-ice product and the audience stop mattering?