NHL dream: Big market team vs. Bigger market team

Jon Last speaks to SLRG research citing the momentum building for the NHL and how the marquis match-up between the New York Rangers and Los Angeles Kings, can potentially spur increased ad revenue and fan interest for the league.

By Jacob Pramut

Larry David gawked in disbelief from a few rows behind the playing surface. Will Ferrell donned an ill-fitting jersey and Jon Hamm stood transfixed, eyes wide behind a cup of beer.

Celebrities enjoyed a June championship series in Los Angeles’ Staples Center on Wednesday night, but Kobe Bryant and the Lakers, for once, didn’t play. Instead, L.A.’s stars took in the second-most watched hockey game ever, as the Los Angeles Kings pulled out a win for a 1-0 lead over the New York Rangers in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Mike Richards #10 of the Los Angeles Kings celebrates the game-winning goal by Justin Williams as the Kings defeated the Rangers 3-2 in Game One of the 2014 NHL Stanley Cup Final at the Staples Center on June 4, 2014 in Los Angeles, California.

The Kings and their star-studded fan base prepare to meet the Rangers and their equally famous fans in Game 2 on Saturday night. In a rare championship matchup of teams from the United States’ two largest media markets, the NHL looks to cash in on a unique combination of exposure and interest.

“You’ve got the perfect recipe right now with two big markets that increase your reach,” said Jon Last, president of Sports and Leisure Research.

New York and Los Angeles teams (including those from the cities’ greater metropolitan areas) have competed head-to-head for a championship only 10 times in the four major American sports before this year. So far, the cities have played to a 5-5 tie.

New York vs. Los Angeles major sports championships

YearSportResultSeries MVP
1963BaseballDodgers over Yankees (4-0)Sandy Koufax
1970BasketballKnicks over Lakers (4-3)Willis Reed
1972BasketballLakers over Knicks (4-1)Wilt Chamberlain
1973BasketballKnicks over Lakers (4-1)Willis Reed
1977BaseballYankees over Dodgers (4-2)Reggie Jackson
1978BaseballYankees over Dodgers (4-2)Bucky Dent
1981BaseballDodgers over Yankees (4-2)Ron Cey
*2002BasketballLakers over Nets (4-0)Shaquille O’Neal
*2003HockeyDevils over Ducks (4-3)Jean-Sebastien Giguere
*2012HockeyKings over Devils (4-2)Jonathan Quick
2014HockeyTBDTBD
Source: Sports Reference

(*denotes that a team in the cities’ greater metropolitan areas competed)

The market size and reach of the teams have allowed the NHL to cultivate the sport’s already growing popularity, Last said. According to Sports and Leisure’s annual study of sports fans, the NHL for the first time this year drew even with the NBA in fans who follow the sport “closely.”

Twenty-nine percent said they followed hockey closely. While it doesn’t measure up to the 88 percent for the NFL, it shows an expanding sport, he said.

“You do not want to give Jeff Bezos a seven-year head start.”
Both the Kings and Rangers have established a top 10 NHL fan base nationally. The Rangers sit in the top five, said Guy Port, vice president of sales at Repucom, citing the company’s national fan-tracking report.
NHL's Bettman: Huge demand to 'get in'
NHL’s Bettman: Huge demand to ‘get in’  

While success plays a role in the teams’ popularity — Los Angeles won the Stanley Cup in 2012 — the massive markets in which they play help.

Television ratings for Game 1 only fell short of the Chicago Blackhawks’ triple overtime win in last year’s finals, Last said. If the uptick in viewership continues, it could lead to piles of cash in ad sales.

“Obviously, if you get a high rating, you can increase your ad revenue,” Last said.