Chicago Blackhawks to Join 1960s
>> Sunday
Now that the Big Man is out of commission, the Blackhawks will hold a news conference on Monday to announce that the rest of the Hawks' home games this season will be on TV.
Comcast Sportsnet in Chicago has picked up the Hawks home games, bringing an end to perhaps the most stupifyingly insane marketing scheme in the history of sports. From the advent of television untill TOMORROW, the Chicago Blackhawks made it a policy to not show home games on television, believing that games on TV deterred people from buying tickets to the game.
However, during that same time frame, and due to chronic mismanagement, the Hawks went from Chicago institution to near-irrelevancy. Attendance dropped, interest wained, and the Blackhawks earned the dubious distinction of being outdrawn at the gate by Major League Soccer and minor league hockey in Chicago.
So the Hawks have discovered the magic of television. Just wait 20 years for when they'll discover 8-tracks.
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5 comments:
God I love that song. I remember when they played that on The Score before every radio broadcast, and it always got me fired up. I just hope this new foray into modernity doesn't mean the end of that song.
On the topic, however, here's what always baffled me about the no-TV thing: Hasn't it been the case in every sport, for a very long time now, that TV revenue amounts to way more than gate sales? Or is that not always true?
This is awesome...I've watched a couple Hawk games this year and they are fun to watch. They are really young andhave a lot of potential. While they sometimes make you want to punch a hole in the wall (Iain?) they are like the Bulls from 3 years ago.
Ah, great video....brings me back to the days of no helmets and no teeth...
Actually, it will be a handful of additional games to be on TV this year in addition to the one a week from tonight against Wings. I do think this will springboard to a full home TV schedule next year. This comes at a perfect time, as like Pat I've watched a lot of the games this year and tried to listen to the home tilts, and the Hawks are really fun to watch.
Vinnie,
Everyone understood the concept of TV=fans wanting to come to your stadium back in the 1940s. But don't forget the Wirtzes built their fortune on booze. Dollar Bill wanted folks in those seats not only for the gate receipts, but also because the Stadium/Center sold his liquor.
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