NHL marketing

There's been this constant discussion going on about why some NHL teams in the US aren't doing as well as other NHL teams, and whether or not they should be moved to other cities - Canadian or otherwise.

Part of the problem, I think, is how the game is marketed. Or, to be more specific about it, how the game is not being marketed.

I grew up around Seattle, and frequently went to sporting events there. Baseball is popular, so many people go watch the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball - and I was no exception. I would frequently sit next to people who had made the trip from Idaho, Oregon, British Columbia, Montana, and sometimes even Alaska, who had come to Seattle just to come watch the Mariners play.

My dad would turn on the radio in the car when games were on, and the Mariners' announcers would list of the states (or provinces) that they broadcast in. And, of course, they'd be broadcasting games in Alaska, British Columbia, Idaho, Montana, and Oregon. Games were also televised regionally as well. (To see a list of the Seattle Mariners' broadcast affiliates, go HERE.)

Now, let me tell you about the Vancouver Canucks. Vancouver and Seattle are only about 150 miles away from each other, with an international border in between. However, not a single Canucks' game has been broadcast either on the radio or on television locally in Seattle that I'm aware of. Not one. They have played the very occasional preseason game in the Seattle area, but those are very few and far between with very little marketing of any kind to announce them.

Much of the Seattle area does receive the CBC on cable, so Hockey Night in Canada is available to people. But HNIC plays on Saturday evenings when people are just getting back from watching college football games and getting ready to go out with friends. With no outside marketing of hockey in the area, people might stumble over it while flipping thru channels - if they're lucky. (I don't consider HNIC to be a Canucks broadcast, but a CBC broadcast.)

The Seattle metropolitan area contains over 3 million people - about a million people more than the Vancouver metropolitan area - most of whom have no idea that there's an NHL team a 2½-hour drive away. Sure, the Canucks have plenty of fans from British Columbia to fill their arena, although they are seriously missing out on more merchandise revenue. But if the NHL is serious about growing the popularity of the game in American markets, then they should take the example of MLB. Even teams like the New York Yankees do marketing.

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