National Hockey League

Gary Bettman, Commissioner

National Hockey League

1185 Avenue of the Americas

New York, NY 10036

5/18/16

Mr. Bettman,

Good afternoon.  I am writing in regard to the NHL Playoffs that are taking place currently.  In general, I feel that NHL hockey is action-packed and exciting.  However, it is with regret that I write this letter.

As a resident of Pittsburgh, I have attempted to catch the last few Penguins games to support my local team here in the playoffs.  I was dismayed to see, time after time, the games starting at 8pm EST.  I am an ordinary person who works 8am to 5pm, and I couldn’t imagine staying up until the end of one of these games regardless of the importance.  I would imagine many others feel the same.

The playoffs are a great chance to rope in new and casual fans, to get them more involved.  Why blow this opportunity by playing the games so late at night when decent folks are sleeping?  I understand that this may be an attempt to pull in west coast viewers, but these are not west coast teams playing, and you are losing east coast viewers in the process.

What’s worse, while the rights have been given to NBC, many of the games are played on a hidden pay channel called NBCS.  What gives?  Why switch to a national network for the playoffs when your games are still only available on a premium cable package?  I cut the cord years ago, and I know many others who have done the same.  This is another blown opportunity, as folks like me would otherwise gladly tune in and drop loads of money on NHL gear and products advertised by your sponsors.

To surmise, please make the games earlier and move them to the regular NBC channel.

Sincerely,