NHL Network Has Something To Learn

Let me preface this with a nugget of joy and hope: I love that the NHL Network exists in any capacity. During the season, I love that I have the option to watch “NHL on the Fly”, Canadian feeds from Hockey Night in Canada and even AHL games. It’s pretty cut and dry to me: more hockey is better than less hockey.

With that in mind, it’s time to upgrade what we know as the NHL Network. If you need any proof of how severely the network is lacking in quality programming and production, all you need to do is move down the dial a couple of channels on DirecTV. Major League Baseball launched their MLB Network during baseball’s offseason this winter to the overwhelming joy of hot-stovers all over the country. Instead of waiting for ESPN to tell them who the Yankees and Red Sox were trying to sign, MLB Network gave a place for baseball fans to satisfy their 365 day per year craving. I remember NHL launching in the States, so I totally get it.

But there’s another reason why baseball fans have reason to be excited about the MLB Network: it’s really good. Take a look at the production value that obviously went into MLB’s nightly broadcast “Quick Pitch” and you can see that time, effort and money were all invested towards producing the highest quality product for its fans. Contrast that with the NHL Network and you’ll see that being first doesn’t necessarily equate to being better.

The obvious problem is that there’s a lack of programming on the NHL Network. I’m not just talking about during the offseason (which is borderline awful), but I’m talking about during the regular season and even the playoffs. I love the IDEA of NHL on the Fly. It’s a show that has extended highlights of each and every game, every night of the hockey year. The producers (more likely the video editors) do an excellent job of creating 5 minute highlight clips that encapsulate the game, all the big hits, shots, saves and goals for every game. If you were able to condense an NHL game down to 5 minutes, this is what it would look like.

Unfortunately, those 5 minute clips that the program revolves around are the only redeeming quality to the show that the network insists on replaying 73 times per night. The production quality looks like a group of high school students taking over their local public broadcast station. The studio looks like a cross between a broom closet and the set that Saturday Night Live uses for their “Weekend Update” segment. That’s not true—I don’t want to disrespect Loren Michaels like that. It’s like what the Anchorman’s set would have looked like if Rick Moranis took the “Honey I Shrunk the Kids” gun to it.

This is it... this is the entire damn set. And the show the same show 73 times per night. Do better NHL!

Here in lies the biggest problem the NHL Network has. There’s obviously a problem with funding that each and every fan notices the first time they tune-in. When you watch the show that they continually repeat on loop each night, it just looks cheap. It makes the NHL look like a B-rate league—like a 2nd tier league that should be mentioned with MMA and Major League Soccer instead of the NBA and MLB. Isn’t that the exaact image that they’re trying to avoid and break-free from?

Is the direct funding the NHL’s fault? Surprisingly, no; it’s not. When you look at the NHL Network and SEE the absolute cheapness that oozes from the screen into your living room, it’s NOT directly a cost-cutting measure by the NHL. No, the corporate entity that you might want to direct your irritation towards is Comcast. They made a deal with the NHL in 2007 that would allow them rights to broadcast the NHL Network over their cable systems. Instead of doing one productive thing, Comcast has chosen to just take the feeds from the Canadian version of the channel. Apparently it was such a flawless product, there was no need to do anything except replace the Canadian commercials with American commercials.

There’s a reason that we keep using terms like “direct funding” and “direct cost-cutting.” While the NHL isn’t the entity that is funding the NHL Network, they were the ones that negotiated the situation that enables Comcast to skimp and put out an inferior product. Would the NFL Network or MLB Network settle for Comcast spewing out a recycled product from another country? Of course not! So why is the NHL Network settling?

The biggest frustration is that there’s so much potential. At first, it was nice just to see a place that I could watch replayed games. NHL on the Fly was great because it was something that replaced the now defunct NHL 2Night with John Buccigross and Barry Melrose. I needed a source for my hockey craving and NHL Network delivered.

But after seeing what MLB has been able to do with their new network, I’m no longer satisfied with the second rate operation that the NHL Network has been running since its inception. Think about what they could do with a Network that is all their own! They could have real, on-air talent that can help create excitement for the game. They could have a studio that provides the co-hosts a forum to demonstrate some of the intricacies of the game. They could hire someone—anyone—that has a personality. Look at the on-air talent that the Network currently employs. They have the collective personality of a leaf (not the Maple Leafs, but an actual leaf).

Honestly, this doesn't even begin to do the MLB Network's studio justice...

The network could easily mix in personalities from all over the sport. I don’t care who it is—just show multiple people with personalities. Take people from the national media in Canada and take people from the national media in the States. Bring in TV analysts or color commentators after games (or even on their off days) for interviews and insight. Let us hear what local beat reporters have to say or even bloggers that have gained sizable readership and loyalty over the last few years. Just give us a lot of everything; give us a reason to watch. Right now, the network’s value is marginal at best. But that’s not because the idea sucks—it’s because the product sucks.

There’s so much potential—why can’t the NHL properly sell a game that is one of the most exciting sports in the world on television? NHL.com is already one of the best websites for any professional league in the world. They embraced the technology because of its international reach and it’s paid off in spades. Their ability and willingness to provide On-Demand highlights, as well as the ability to share/embed the highlights has been invaluable to fans and new media alike. The willingness to embrace YouTube shows that in areas they are light years ahead of Major League Baseball. MLB’s policy regarding online highlights is absolutely ridiculous—just like the NHL Network’s production value is a joke.

They could also use the network to continue selling the game online. The NHL’s website is one of the best things they have going online; but they need to continue to build on the website’s success. MLB.com has an app that (AT Bat 2009) streams live video of a game or two every single night. The same app gives game previews, up-to-the minute stats as well as post game write ups that are all powered by MLB.com. Why doesn’t the NHL have something like this? I’d buy it, I’d promote it—hell, I’d even contribute if they were desperate!

The bottom line is that the league (and apparently Comcast) needs to spend some time and money to make the product better. In this economy, the easy answer will be that they won’t want to spend any extra money because they’ll want some kind of cost certainty. Screw that. They’ll say that they want to know what the Return On Investment would be if they were to dump some added capital into the network that they’ve neglected. Screw that too.

Just look at the network that MLB was able to launch and tell me that isn’t the best type of advertizing in the world. Comcast has done their part by adding the NHL Network to their Deluxe Classic level. That means that 2/3rds of the households that have Comcast are going to now have the NHL Network (that’s an increase of about 55%). So what are these new viewers going to find when they tune in? Are they going to find a great new channel that gives them insight, teaches them about a new sport and entertains? Or are they going to find a yet another channel that they have to pass on their way to E! and TBS? The ball—or puck, as it were—is in the NHL’s court.

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