NHL on NBC sucks and same goes for Versus.?

I don't think you've seen many Pens games if you honestly think Sidney Crosby whines for 2 1/2 hours straight. Apparently what he does do is draw in viewers, so...

HEY ALEX, IT GETS RATINGS.

ADD: Diving? Yeah, yeah, after whining about whining, I could have figured that's where you were going next. Anyway. Even as a Pens fan, I would love to see NON-PENS games on NBC. I'm sorry, but NBC is in the business of getting the most ratings and games involving the Pens draw more ratings.

Check out LITY's answer to the Q Justin #91 asked/linked below me.

ADD2: Oh look, the Pens/Panthers game tonight is NOT on VS. The Flyers/Sabres game is.

ADD3: (Perhaps this one is the charm...) Crying about ratings? Why would I cry about my team drawing ratings? Again, your Crosby jokes have all been said before. Be original at least.

Anyway, it's not just the ratings you know. Whose jerseys sell the best? Sidney Crosby's. You don't have to like Crosby to have a brain enough to know that he's popular. If you're sick of how popular he is, join the club. Even I get tired of the attention he gets in Pittsburgh. For example, when he gets interviewed over other Pens players who might actually give an INTERESTING, NON-PC interview (Sid's pretty boring).

NBC & VS NEED RATINGS THOUGH. They can't appease just ALEX, you know, they're a business so they want to show the product which draws them the most ratings. (Eh, I prefer my Pens games on FSN Pittsburgh, by the way.)

Pay for Center Ice already so we don't have to see you whine here anymore. Jeez, you're like the Crosby of the hockey section...

I think versus has come a long way the broadcast is a lot better than it was a few years ago. NBC is great except for pierre mcguire. But I cant see how choosing Versus of ESPN would lead to more exposure for the league. 99% of people in America have no idea what channel versus is. I love hockey and I forget the channel number lol. I guess versus offered more money I dont really get it.

NBC has the worst coverage. Their play by play is reduced to 2 people talking about the players past instead of what is happening on the ice. VS is a little bit better in that regard and has actually improved from last year. I think VS does a quality job in between periods. I usually mute the game while the play is happening and listen to music while I watch the game. NHL network thinks the only teams are in Canada, unless the Canadian teams are playing an American one. I wouldn't have a problem with that if they were called something like the Canadian hockey network, but NHL network sounds like they should be covering all teams equally.

As much as it sucks to see the same teams constantly, the Pens are one of the best ratings markets for hockey. NBC doesn't have the same restrictions as Versus, which limits a team to a total of nine appearances, so you see more teams. Versus is still better than when ESPN started showing hockey to promote ESPN 2, and gets better ratings despite being in fewer households.

And would it be any different if it was on ESPN? They specialized in showing the same teams over and over again.

I hate to point this out, but NBC is in the business of...well, making money. Unlike CBC, they don't get federal government funding. They are a publicly-held company beholden to their shareholders.

NBC is going to show regular season games that will draw ratings. Ratings help NBC sell ad revenue, which is a huge chunk of their revenue stream, and is why they actually can make a small profit on hockey.

If you look at the big ratings draws right now, New Jersey isn't one of them. Detroit, Pittsburgh, NYR, Philadelphia, Buffalo, Washington, and currently Boston and Chicago are big ratings drivers.

As much self-righteous crap that the hordes of bandwagon Pittsburgh fans spew out about his 87-ness (trust me- I have no use for them or his 87-ness), the fact is that with Pittsburgh back in the mix, it makes sense. Crosby has the intellect and wit/wisdsom of desk furniture (sorry- that's insulting to desk furniture), but for a litany of reasons, there are those that seem to like him, and NBC seems to think they can push ads at these people.

I know it seems unfair that these decisions are purely ratings driven, but when these other teams can pull in ratings (Washington being a good example- four years ago you avoided them with a 40' pole, now it's all different). Chicago is another good example.

I'll allude to what an earlier answerer pointed out- would you prefer that there be no free-to-air hockey on US television? Because guess what- that's your next option. Fox has made its bed with NASCAR (and baseball come April), CBS is pretty golf-laden (plus US college basketball in March/early April); not really sure what other options are out there unless you have a lot of moving parts.

I'd rather get bad hockey coverage than no hockey at all. Even though the analysts stink for Versus and NBC, the commentators are usually alright (when Doc is doing the games). I don't have Center Ice or anything, so I'm happy if I ever get to see other teams play (other than the Devils, Rangers, or Islanders), especially in HD!

I agree with you that they should add variety, but clearly those games are popular, which is why they keep promoting them. Just be thankful you get to watch hockey. If you think it's boring, don't watch it.

You know I have to agree with you.

I've only watched a few games on NBC, usually I watch CBC, Sportsnet, or TSN depending upon if my team is aired.

On the odd chance it is on NBC, I don't like their style very much. It's like they try and over-do it a little bit... if that makes sense. I'm a firm believer that the game should sell itself, the media should not be selling the game. In my opinion, NBC just falls a little too much in the latter category. And you're right sometimes they are off factually and statisically in their analysis of the game. Every station is biased... CBC is biased towards Canadian teams, ABC towards American teams.... NBC towards old NE Teams (most of the time anyways).

VERSUS I don't mind too much. I think they're a touch better than NBC in their coverage, but they too just try to hype the game up a little more.

In my experiences watching American channels for hockey games, FSN does a pretty decent job, I don't mind them very much.

I still think Hockey Night in Canada on CBC is the best hockey coverage out there, but that kind of goes without saying. Even they have their bad days sometimes.

I dislike NBC broadcast over Versus much more. Every year NBC shows a Detroit game, usually against Columbus. The announcers spend 2 and half hours praising Detroit and bashing whoever they play. I wish they would have aired the last Detroit/ Columbus game, it would have shut them up.

Yeah, NBC sucks at picking good games to air. They will usually only show teams like Pittsburgh, New York (the Rangers of course because the Islanders suck), and Detroit. And that's about it. Maybe a Capitals game because of Ovie.

I want to fall asleep when my hockey team plays on Versus. The announcers are SOOOOOO BORING. I totally agree with the NBC thing you mentioned. They need to get other hockey teams on this channel and not the same teams almost every week. And yes the Penguins are great at olympic diving.