Gary Bettman just hinted at horrible news for NHL viewership and games on cable TV look to go extinct

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Sam Walker
October 15, 2024 (6:46 PM)

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NHL appears to be moving away from cable television soon, reports suggest

The NHL has made watching games much harder throughout the past couple of years, with canceling partnerships with streaming companies to even making fans pay for a package- to end up not working due to 'blackouts', but what's next?

With Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney Plus, CraveTV, Fubo and several others, cable has nearly gone extinct in recent years and it appears that the NHL may be doing the same, following comments from NHL commissioner Gary Bettman prior to the Montreal Canadiens vs Pittsburgh Penguins game, which will be streamed on Amazon Prime.

Bettman continued stating multiple times that theNHL's viewership was much higher on Prime than traditional cable , quotes from Bladeofsteel.

And this Tuesday, October 15, it was revealed that the WNBA is raking in much higher numbers than the NHL- viewership is at an all-time low.

The world is moving away from cable TV. The cord-cutting, cord-nevers continues, and the reach of cable and satellite (linear) is not where it was. The world - putting us aside - is moving towards other forms of distribution, and we're very mindful of that. And keep in mind that Prime is distributed in Canada more broadly than anything else."

Bettman was asked if he'd risk using cable TV viewers and he repeatedly stated that the world is moving away from cable on other streaming platforms.

For Blackhawks fans, this is typical news for their struggling viewership this season due to fans needing antennas, due to the cancelation of NBC Sports Chicago.

Thousands are slowly dropping by the day in viewership, and the NHL wonders why!