The Stanley Cup Finals in SD, What is the NHL Thinking?
Hockey has never been a television friendly sport, and its dismal TV ratings prove the NHL has a long way to go. Most fans will agree that seeing a NHL game live doesn’t even come close to watching a game on TV. However, the increasing amount of HDTVs in people’s homes could increase the NHL’s TV viewership. In fact, high def technology is going to benefit hockey more than any other sport.
Hockey is just to fast a sport for standard def video. For example, I was watching a game on standard def recently where a player took a slap shot and hit the post. Even, when the network replayed the shot in slow motion, I still could not see the puck hit the post. Any casual fan would get frustrated with the quality and change the channel.
Slap shots can reach over 100 mph. A 1080p HD feed will double the frame rate and increase the resolution of the puck four times if interlacing is taken into account. Also, the shape of a rink is perfect for a widescreen TV. The pictures below are a good example of how much clearer and sharper HD video is over SD video.
Watching a hockey game in SD is almost unbearable after watching a game in HD. The Stanley Cup finals are on VS, which are carrying a HD feed on VSGLF HD. The problem is barely anyone gets VSGLF HD, so everyone is stuck watching the game in SD. The NHL should be smart enough to realize the importance of showing the Stanley Cup finals in HD on an easily assessable channel. Until then, the NHL’s TV ratings will continue to suffer.
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HD vs. SD Examples: Winter Olympics
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HTN Posts (RSS)
The first Stanley Cup finals game got a 0.72 cable rating on Versus and was watched in 523,000 households in the United States. That’s pretty pathetic considering all the youtube videos out there that have over 500,000 views.
Playoff games in Canada are usually in high def on CBC but I would argue that the playmaking is far more enjoyable to watch than seeing the puck hit the goalie. You can usually tell when they score by the players’ reaction, the goal siren or the crowd.
I agree. My favorite part of the game is seeing the plays develop. The “can’t see the puck” comment I always get is from the first time fan, and I could tell how much it turns them off of the game.