Gary Bettman in panic mode as NHL viewership dips well below the WNBA

However, it seems as though NHL viewership hit a snag on opening night this year. The league only had an average of 559,000 viewers during the three games on opening night. This is down 39 percent from the previous year. These are truly awful numbers and one has to scratch their head over how this could happen.

The WNBA semi-finals completely outpaced the NHL, which is a surprising development. The WNBA is on an upward trajectory while the league is seemingly going downward.

According to Awful Announcing, there are a few factors that could actually be influencing this. Firstly, the abundance of illegal streaming sites has completely changed the game for television. Now, fans are tuning into these streams which do not count towards the ratings totals. Even if viewership has increased, the league's broadcast partners wouldn't notice it.

Moreover, much has been said about how partners like Bally Sports have taken over and have made it impossible for fans in certain markets to watch games. These blackouts are completely anti-consumer yet the NHL insists on doing them.

Moving forward, the NHL will have to work harder to market its superstars. Moreover, perhaps the league will have to do away with all of those pesky blackouts.

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