“And then ‘We’d try to steal it in the last 10 minutes.’ That was not how this game was meant to be played. And I would go: ‘How do you do this? What’s your game plan?’ And universally, in those days, it was ‘Clutch and grab, hook and hold, we had to neutralize the skill differential,’ ” Bettman said. “I used to talk to, without mentioning any names, coaches of less well-endowed clubs. That began with rule-book changes to make the game more free-flowing when play resumed after the 2004-05 lockout. Now the league has millions of followers on both platforms, with a good portion of them in the attractive younger demographics.īut the biggest thing Bettman did was listen to his players and coaches on how to make the product on the ice better. The NHL developed fun, responsive Twitter and Facebook feeds and rebuilt its fan base one new follower at a time.
He chose Plan B, starting with a league website ahead of the other major sports in interactive sophistication. mainstream media or build a new distribution system to the fan base. When the lockout ended, Bettman had a choice: keep trying to cater to the U.S. national footprint, and Bettman was a frequent piñata for armchair columnists who didn’t know a wrist shot from a wrist watch. The league was ridiculed for its piddling U.S. Around the time of the last lockout, the value of NHL franchises was stagnant or worse. This isn’t just largesse by rote inflation. Keep in mind, the Quebec Nordiques were sold to Comsat Video Enterprises in 1995 for $75 million and renamed the Colorado Avalanche, and that purchase price was considered staggering at the time.
The New York Islanders recently were sold for more than $400 million. The value of NHL franchises has increased by factors of 10 or more, and that number almost certainly will continue to go up. and Rogers in Canada - will be more than $7 billion over the next decade. Now, the NHL’s combined revenue from its two television partners - NBC in the U.S. national television contract, which included a partnership with the OLN Network - a channel known mostly for shows about hunting and fishing. The view looks pretty nice.Ĭoming out of the lockout that wiped out the 2004-05 season, the NHL essentially was making pennies from its new U.S.
The fortunes of the NHL are much more in alignment with the adjectives of Bettman’s office than they were just a few years ago. Bettman’s posh office is spacious enough for a couch and adjoining chairs on which to relax. Central Park lies not far in the distance, and the marquee lights of famed Radio City Music Hall twinkle in the dusk of a late- fall day.
NEW YORK - The view from Gary Bettman’s 15th-floor office at NHL headquarters in midtown Manhattan is spectacular. Dater: Gary Bettman has the NHL popular again – The Denver Post Close Menu
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