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December 16, 2004
Paul Brent
National Post
Male NHL fans, finding themselves without their pro hockey fix as the NHL labour dispute drags on, are tuning out sports or turning off the television entirely, a new study finds. A survey of 177 "regular NHL viewers" found the men, suddenly with time on their hands, are turning to the Internet (51%), spending more time with their families (32%) or just puttering around the house (25%).
NHL supporters are so far refusing to tune in to junior hockey or
second-tier professional leagues, according to the results of the online survey by the Media Company of Toronto.
Just 8% of respondents said they are watching other hockey programming, and 15% are tuning in to other sports, while a third are simply switching off their sets. The survey, conducted on Dec. 10, also found 37% of male NHL fans have flipped channels to non-sports programming. "What surprised me most was they weren't seeking other hockey -- it's NHL or nothing," said Doug Checkeris, president and chief executive of the Media Company. Those findings do not bode well for an NHL launched with lower-calibre replacement players and could explain the lacklustre ratings for the CBC's much-hyped Making the Cut reality show, he said.
The Media Company said its NHL fan panel, selected from of group of respondents it regularly polls on television viewing habits, ''is a qualitative survey tool and is not drawn or weighted to reflect the complete Canadian population.
"The idea of NHL-deprived men flocking to the Internet elicited snickers from media buyers -- the poll did not ask exactly what they are surfing - while the thought of hockey-free nights raised the prospect of "a mini baby boom," Mr. Checkeris said.
The NHL labour dispute, which increasingly appears will mean the cancelation of the entire season and playoffs, has put media buyers in a quandary -- where to put the hundreds of millions worth of ad dollars spent in past years on hockey? In Canada, professional hockey is one of the few programs guaranteed to reach the elusive adult male viewer."
There is just not that much male-oriented [programming] around," said Mr. Checkeris. "We're different from the U.S. where they have lots of different sports -- college football is big, NASCAR is big, NFL is huge, but here hockey is the big draw for male audiences.
"The findings were no surprise to Jim Boone, co-founder of the Ottawa-based National Hockey League Fans Association, which through its Web site counts 26,000 hockey fans as members, equally distributed in the U.S. and Canada. Mr. Boone said his group is "hearing the same things."
"[Fans] are really angry. The impact of this whole thing is not going to be felt for a year or two afterwards, but I would guarantee that there has been a significant negative impact on the game."
The Media Company poll found that NHL viewers' interest in watching the league's product is declining, with 59% stating they will have a "low interest" in NHL hockey whenever it returns, similar to results gathered during the last work stoppage a decade ago. Media buyers are skeptical about claims that currently angry NHL fans will not return to the game. "The last
strike they came pouring back," said Mr. Checkeris.
The most surprising result of the survey may have been the fans' continued support of NHL owners in their dispute with the players. A total of 59% of NHL fans sided with the owners even after the NHL Players Association presented an offer of a voluntary 24% salary rollback to break the labour impasse.
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