Canada’s national broadcaster, CBC, announced that they have won the rights to air the 2018 and 2020 Olympic Games on Tuesday. CBC also announced that they will be partnering with both Rogers Media and Bell Media to bring the games to Canadian television.
Hockey fans will be paying close attention to the news surrounding the 2018 Olympic Games in PyeongChang, South Korea, as the NHL has not made a decision on whether or not it will allow its players to participate.
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The NHL first allowed its players to participate in the Winter Games in 1998, when the Olympics were held in Nagano, Japan.
The inclusion of NHL players in the Winter Games has helped grow the game worldwide, as well as boost television ratings to record numbers in both Canada and the United States.
Over 15 million (with an average audience of 8.5 million) Canadians tuned in for the Gold Medal showdown between Canada and Sweden in Sochi this past February, which fell below the average audience of 16.5 million who watched Canada top the United States in the 2010 Gold Medal game in Vancouver.
Whether time zone difference played a role in the relative drop off, that’s a lot of people watching hockey regardless.
The 2010 Gold Medal game was also the most watched hockey game south of the border in 30 years, where an average of 27.6 million Americans watched the men’s final. The 1980 final between USA and Finland pulled in 32.8 million viewers thanks to a boost from the “The Miracle On Ice” victory over the vaunted U.S.S.R.
South Korea, and Asia in general present an untapped market for the NHL and the game of hockey. Participation in the 2018 Games could open the door to rapid growth on the continent.
So why the trepidation from the NHL?
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Well, the long rumoured return of the World Cup of Hockey could certainly impact the NHL’s decision.
The World Cup could be played in 2016, which would give the NHL an international tournament to call their own. That, coupled with South Korea’s status as a non-player on the global hockey stage are issues the league must consider.
“Our experience with the Olympics has been a mixed bag—it’s not our tournament, we’re not in control of it, it’s at a time of the year that doesn’t work in our regular-season schedule,” said NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly in advance of the 2014 Games.
Having control over its own tournament, which would include massive revenues to reap, would be a difficult option to walk away from for the NHL. There’s also the issue of long-distance travel and breaking up the NHL season. The World Cup and/or Canada Cup has traditionally taken place in summer months.
Is it a question of prosperity and convenience versus playing a role in growing the game? Absolutely.
Japan sat ninth in the world in terms of per capita hockey participation among men, according to data from 2014.
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has become a relative hotbed of growth in women’s hockey, with the highest per capita participation rate in the world (32.7%).
There’s clearly an appetite for hockey in Asia, but we will continue to wait and see if NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and co. are willing to lend its talent to help further growth of the game on the global stage.
