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Bullwinkle58 -> RE: OT World Cup 2010 South Africa (7/2/2010 5:24:22 AM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: AcePylut
And this is EXACTLY why fighting should be in the game. So that you don't have planned assaults agianst your star-players by other players that aren't so good, because if the not so good players know that they'll get their arse pounded, they'll avoid making runs at YOUR players.
If this logic held, you'd have the same behavior in pro baseball, football, and basketball. Fights every night. But you don't. Why? Those owners want to make money. Watching brawls is boring to fans of the game.
The NHL was on the rise in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The NFL hadn't learned how to market the Super Bowl run-up yet, and baseball had over-expanded. The NHL had a network contract--a nationally televised game of the week. Same game, every household, in an era when homes got three channels. A theme song, pre-game show, the works. And they blew it. They lost the contract and the revenue because of brawling, and the NFL took the air time and ran with it.
A recent thumbnail sketch of the NHL:
"3) NHL Ticket Sales Slow - The average NHL team as of late 2008 was worth $219.5 million, up from $200 million in 2007. Operating incomes averaged $4.72 million in 2008, compared to $3.2 million in 2007. Revenue sharing in the NHL is active, with predominantly Canadian teams ponying up the lion’s share. Six teams (Vancouver Canucks, Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames, Toronto Maple Leafs, Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadians) contributed $41 million to lesser teams, most of which are in the southern U.S. This is a typical pattern in the NHL, and, not surprisingly, the Canadian NHL owners are frustrated with the system, and also with an increasing salary cap that forces teams to carry a minimum payroll of $40.7 million. The outlook for the 2009-2010 season is flat at best. Teams are looking for ways to cut their budgets, 50% of which come from ticket revenue, which is expected to slow."
http://www.plunkettresearch.com/AboutUs/News/tabid/413/Default.aspx
Contrast this to the no-brawling, disciplined, NFL:
"1) NFL: The Biggest Money in U.S. Sports – By far, the NFL commands the greatest revenue, plays in the largest and most expensive stadiums and amasses more viewers in the United States than any other sport. This is all the more remarkable in light of the fact that the NFL plays far fewer games per season than does MLB (Major League Baseball) or the NBA (National Basketball Association). NFL owners agreed to increase the salary cap from $116 million per franchise in 2008 to $128 million in 2009 and the minimum NFL team salary in 2009 was $107.7 million. Currently, the NFL is actively seeking new revenue through several ventures. One is NFL On Location, a unit which offers fans the chance to purchase travel packages to major games such as the Super Bowl and the Pro Bowl. Another potential revenue generator is the NFL’s attempt to drum up interest in foreign markets. In China, for example, the league began introducing flag football programs for children in five cities in 2003. In 2007, Chinese state TV channels began airing weekly NFL games. "
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