ESPN is teh suck.

They wont be showing the final just becaues the us is not playing in it, shows their interest in hockey. At least tsn shows all the games, be it a day after, but atleast they do. ESPN is bs. And if it werent for the lockout, NHL Centre Ice wouldve shown all the games from tsn's broadcast, like last year, but no. Im so pissed.

I dont understand why espn just cant show it, surely they dont get higher ratings from their espn25 features, it looks like thats what's regularily on when no hockey is played. If they have it already planned to show it for a u.s win why cant they just show the final anyway? Such a piss off.

So both TSN and ESPN are gay? Hmn, a match made in heaven, perhaps. Time for those two to elope.

I agree.

I thought the Super Bowl was gay? Now I'm really confused.

with all this discussion about sports stations and their sexuality I wonder if I have stepped into the Pollitical board...

speaking of which do you think TSN and ESPN are Gay by Choice? or where they founded that way?

Ok, lets get off the gay thing now. :)

Ok, lets get off the gay thing now. :)

ESPN Sucks? Sucks what? ;)

NIce friggin work ESPN. Truly Americas hockey channel.

They currently have classic boxing scheduled

this just shows how STUPID some American channels like ESPN are. I totally understand that to them its all about RATINGS and MONEY, it is a business no doubt. but I think a channel like ESPN needs to also think about its Future with the game of hockey. I mean, do they really think that viewers of ESPN will have much respect left for ESPN after this? Do they really think that when there is a hockey game on ESPN and the same game is also on MSG or CENTER ICE, that fans will go with ESPN? Hockey fans are a very LOYAL bunch...and when you dont show them loyalty, they wont show you loyalty. I personally feel ESPN is making a huge mistake for itself and its future...and the WJC sponsors should have made sure that this finals game is shown!

and by the way, anyone really thinking that BOXING CLASSICS will get more viewers than the WJC FINALS! i mean, do u people know how many Russians leave in the USA and watch hockey and this tourney??????? just those fans will be enough to win this ratings contest...so this is SILLY

Lets not forget ESPN and TSN are the same company. Or at least sister channels.

Dang. I know of American's desire to watch their own team, and only their own team, so I was actually rooting for them to beat the Russkies yesterday. Even if the yanks won, I expected espn to focus only on their own players, so they would cut to commercial every time one of our guys touched the puck.

Now, it's Canada vs Russia, Crosby vs. Ovechkin and I will not find the final on that xenophobic network. I suppose they will find time for poker instead.

Can't wait until I move back to Canada next month. A country that recognizes that the sport is bigger than a single nation and would have broadcast the game even if it were a Japan/Costa Rica final.

Dang.

ESPN needs to also think about its Future with the game of hockey.

and by the way, anyone really thinking that BOXING CLASSICS will get more viewers than the WJC FINALS!

Nobody watched NHL hockey, why the hell would they watch the WJC. Even women's bowling gets higher ratings than hockey so there is no reason for them to show it.

Lets not forget ESPN and TSN are the same company. Or at least sister channels.

Oh great...first its sodomy, now its incest.

But seriously, as much as I hate to say it, the WJC drew absolutely no attention in the U.S. except for the diehards like us. Not once did I see any highlights on Sportscenter or hear anything about it on sports talk radio. Just look at the ratings, they've been horrible. The average American would rather watch women's college bowling or highlights of the Special Olympics than watch a hockey game, let alone a hockey game with a bunch of kids they never heard of, let alone a hockey game that doesn't include the U.S.. I say just be grateful ESPN was nice enough to show even the U.S. games, especially in a climate where hockey is slowly losing the little popularity it had in the first place due to the lockout. And as for Russians being interested in the tournament, yes I'm sure many are, but they really wouldnt make that much of a difference considering how small a percentage of the overall population they are.

Nobody watched NHL hockey, why the hell would they watch the WJC. Even women's bowling gets higher ratings than hockey so there is no reason for them to show it.

Agreed on that point, but they were going to televise a US-Canada final, and the ratings for that were going to be just brutal.

The only Americans that would have watched that game are total diehard hockey fans. Those same fans however are also dying to watch a Canada-Russia final.

IMO the difference in ratings for a US-Canada final and a Canada-Russia final would have been miniscule.

Nobody watched NHL hockey, why the hell would they watch the WJC. Even women's bowling gets higher ratings than hockey so there is no reason for them to show it.
Exactly. That's what it boils down to. I'm grateful they showed any WJC games at all. I don't think they've done that before, have they?

If poker and women's bowling get higher ratings, I can't fault ESPN for not wanting to show those in lieu of hockey.

IMO the difference in ratings for a US-Canada final and a Canada-Russia final would have been miniscule.

Exactly. Virtually nobody watched the Flames/Bolts cup final, why the hell would they watch a canada/russia junior final?

well duh

its just something we as american hockey fans have to deal with

I cant wait to get the hell out of the us and go back to toronto, even if Ill be leaving sun for snow, thats not enough to keep me here.

So both TSN and ESPN are gay? Hmn, a match made in heaven, perhaps. Time for those two to elope.


Damn, I gotta cancel my date with ESPN tonite then....I knew it was just for the sex..

It's about more than ratings, which would likely be abyssmal. It's about production costs. Commentators, production staff, cameramen, travel, hotels, per diems, equipment, etc. all cost a lot of money. ESPN decided, for purely financial reasons I suspect, that the cost of putting on the game would outweigh what they could for ad time in the space.
They very likely will get less ad revenue from boxing reruns, but what are the production costs of someone at their headquarters playing a tape? A heck of a lot less than a live hockey broadcast, I'd imagine.

It's about more than ratings, which would likely be abyssmal. It's about production costs. Commentators, production staff, cameramen, travel, hotels, per diems, equipment, etc. all cost a lot of money. ESPN decided, for purely financial reasons I suspect, that the cost of putting on the game would outweigh what they could for ad time in the space.
They very likely will get less ad revenue from boxing reruns, but what are the production costs of someone at their headquarters playing a tape? A heck of a lot less than a live hockey broadcast, I'd imagine.

This makes good sense; however, don't they own TSN? They're at least affiliated. It couldn't take much for them to use their footage.

Agreed on that point, but they were going to televise a US-Canada final, and the ratings for that were going to be just brutal.

The only Americans that would have watched that game are total diehard hockey fans. Those same fans however are also dying to watch a Canada-Russia final.

IMO the difference in ratings for a US-Canada final and a Canada-Russia final would have been miniscule.
exactly. only the diehards would have watched the US/Canada game anyway. they might as well couldve thrown us a bone here.

TSN is owned by ESPN