Could NHL on ESPN help..

[Babe_Ruth]

Do you believe if ESPN started covering the NHL again it would help the popularity of the sport in the United States?

NHL ratings and advertising are "showing signs of growth," and the "uptick in hockey comes at a crucial time for the current rights holders," according to John Consoli of MEDIAWEEK. The NHL is "expected to start negotiations on its new television rights contract" later this year, and with its deals with NBC and Versus set to expire after the '10-11 season, ESPN Exec VP/Content John Skipper indicated that "he'd like hockey to return to ESPN and ABC."

Versus May Face Competition For NHL From ESPN As Bidding Opens

 

[Major]

Hockey will never be as popular in the states as baseball, football, or basketball, but I do think ESPN would help it grow, possibly back to the level it was in the early-mid 1990's. ESPN is good at marketing its sports. All the extra exposure on SportsCenter would help a lot. And their game telecasts are way better than Versus or NBC.