[link_box id=”22277″ site_id=”17″ layout=”link-box-third” alignment=”alignright”]NBC and NBCSN are the official home of the NHL on television. That’s a fact the network seemingly likes to ignore as it routinely fails to promote and market the game as appropriately as they should. The most recent example comes from NBCSN’s Christmas / Holiday message which completely ignored the sport of hockey.
You’ll notice they had no trouble squeezing in six other sports.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from everyone here at @NBCSports! pic.twitter.com/dGbRtpQASa
— NBC Sports Bet (@NBCSportsBet) December 25, 2016
Not a single hockey player was featured in their holiday graphic. Surprisingly, not even the two teams that the network idolizes whenever they’re playing made an appearance (Blackhawks and Penguins).
The graphic wouldn’t be such a big issue if NBC and NBCSN did a better job of promoting the league and the sport as a whole. Their game coverage isn’t horrible (but please do something about Pierre McGuire), but it’s the overall packaging and how the network handles the sport that is the grave issue.
Why isn’t there a regular, high-quality hockey show on NBCSN? Why isn’t there any kind of studio show or regular source of hockey coverage when there isn’t a game? If hockey fans are supposed to actually believe that hockey lives on NBC/NBCSN, the network needs to actually prove it and live up to their claims.
NHL Network has missed a ton of opportunities to become a mainstay for hockey fans, leaving the door open for NBCSN to step in and become a valuable resource/source of entertainment.
