Gary Bettman makes worrying declaration about the future of NHL broadcasts
Photo credit: Sporting News
Overall, Gary Bettman and the NHL are in an interesting situation as streaming continues to take over the hockey world.
Ratings are down on cable and that should not be a surprise to anyone. At the end of the day, people are not using cable as much as they once did. Instead, they are using platforms like Prime and Netflix. In fact, the NHL now works with Amazon Prime Video on Monday Night Hockey which debuted last night with a match between the Montreal Canadiens and the Pittsburgh Penguins. The final score was 6-3 for the Penguins.
While in Montreal for this special game, Commissioner Bettman spoke out about the changes the league needs to make going forward. As he noted, because of the changes in people's TV consumption, the next NHL TV deal could completely leave cable out of the equation.
"The world is moving away from cable TV. The cord-cutting, cord-nevers continues, and the reach of cable and satellite (linear) is not where it was. The world - putting us aside - is moving towards other forms of distribution, and we're very mindful of that. And keep in mind that Prime is distributed in Canada more broadly than anything else."
It will be interesting to see where the NHL ends up going from here, moving forward. At the end of the day, the league is going to have to adapt pretty heavily. Only time will tell whether or not they can get their fans on board as the massive shift continues to take shape.
Do you believe that the NHL can survive this era of streaming and cord-cutting? Let us know in the poll down below and stay tuned to Hockey Unplugged for the latest news and updates from around the hockey world. We will continue to keep you informed on all of your favorite players and teams.
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