Worrying update for Gary Bettman and the NHL: Caitlin Clark and the WNBA have embarrassed hockey

A very worrying report has just been released showing the NHL has had fewer viewers than several sports, but most concerningly less than the WNBA.

Broadcaster Drew Lerner recently pointed out a disturbing trend in the NHL: its remarkably low viewership to start the season. The NHL is one of North America's big four professional sports leagues, though it trailed both Major League Baseball and shockingly, the WNBA, in its opening games' ratings. This raises questions about the league's competence in attracting and sustaining viewership.

The numbers tell the story. The NHL's three-game season opener averaged just 559,000 viewers, a stunning 39% drop compared to last year's opening night. The steepness of that decline is even more ominous against the backdrop of other sports increasing their viewership over the same period of this year, a time usually dominated by playoff baseball.

More conspicuous, however, is the fact that the NHL fell behind not just baseball but also the WNBA. Although the latter has shown steady growth in viewership, the very idea that the NHL, a league long embedded in the "big four", falls behind the WNBA points to something bigger in the shift within sports. This is more than a bad start to the year, perhaps signaling a deeper problem within the league's fanbase and its modern sports environment.

A big part of the problem could be that the NHL fails to fit into today's viewing habits. As Lerner suggests, the league's core audience is older, and many of its viewers are just not tech-savvy. It gets confusing with the number of options available to watch NHL games, from subscription services and streaming platforms to even illegal streaming. This fragmentation of viewing options has made it increasingly tough for fans, particularly older ones, to tune in habitually. The result? Many are simply choosing not to watch and Gary Bettman is now suffering.

If the NHL is serious about reversing this trend, one glaring issue it must deal with is regional blackouts. It's irrationally, frustratingly archaic to black out local games because of broadcasting restrictions with the ability to stream almost anything from anywhere these days. Without these restrictions, it would go a long way in making the games easily accessible to fans and could probably result in greater viewership and interest in the game. In the absence of such pragmatic changes, the NHL is at an even greater risk of losing its younger audience and also those fans who have watched the league over the years.

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