NBC pulled the plug on coverage of the overtime period between the Ottawa Senators-Buffalo Sabres on Saturday, denying viewers in most of the United States the conclusion the Eastern Conference final's Game 5.
NBC dropped the overtime period, which decided the series and sent the Senators to the Stanley Cup final, because it didn't want the hockey telecast running into its scheduled 90-minute coverage of the Preakness Stakes starting at 5 p.m. EDT.
An utter embarrassment, more so for NBC than the league. The only reason yesterday's game was broadcast in the afternoon was for American television interests, and when those interests are as obviously subsidiary to all others on the network, it really makes you question just why the game had been pushed into the afternoon (or morning, for those in the Pacific time zone) at all. The league gets almost no money out of this and a lot of bad press. It's time for Gary Bettman to give up on the American networks.
Meanwhile, the CBC which has been able to carry a Canadian team through the playoffs isn't doing too well either. It is reported that there numbers are really poor because all the Leaf fans are not watching. For reasons I don't fully comprehend, Leaf fans can't stomach watching Ottawa win a cup.
12 years ago
