FanIQ News: If the NHL is on a decline, why are merchandise sales on the upswing?

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If the NHL is on a decline, why are merchandise sales on the upswing?

Jess | 7/10/079

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Online merchandise sales on Shop.NHL.com have increased for the 10th straight season; this year's jump being the biggest ever at a 47% increase over last year.

Television ratings are down - but what does that say about the sport itself, really? Sure, the NHL doesn't have the fan base of other sports here on the Q, and to those of us who spend a lot of time here, it might seem that there is little to no love for the league. Obviously though, some things can be deceiving. This tidbit of information is certainly encouraging for NHL fans here that see a lot of negativity surrounding the support a favorite sport.

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#1 \| 511 days ago Bmeister (+)	+2 No real surprise here. NHL fans have been the most passionate of any league I've seen in my 20 years of following hockey. If the mainstream only gives us scraps, then feast on them we will! Go Blues.
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#2 \| 511 days ago Jon (+)	+1 How many teams went through uniform re-designs this year? Sales will increase dramatically for any team that does this, since there will be a fair amount of people who rush out to buy new stuff.
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#3 \| 511 days ago CriticalFanatic (+)	+1 For starters, I wouldn't actually agree with you that hockey is on the decline. It's just at it's lowest point, and probably even on it's way back up despite the low TV rating. I think Jon hit on the main cause of jersey sales. Once ESPN picks up Hockey again, the league will be fine. And resume being in the conversation of major sports but still way behind the big three.
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#4 \| 511 days ago Phillygenius82 (+)	CriticalFanatic wrote: For starters, I wouldn't actually agree with you that hockey is on the decline. It's just at it's lowest point, and probably even on it's way back up despite the low TV rating. I think Jon hit on the main cause of jersey sales. Once ESPN picks up Hockey again, the league will be fine. And resume being in the conversation of major sports but still way behind the big three. +1 Well that can't be why the sales sre up the new designs for each team haven't been released yet aside from last years all star game most fans will only have a vague idea of what they'll look like. I just received an email from the Flyers saying I could pre-order it it won't actually be unveiled until 16 September.
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#5 \| 511 days ago Jess (+)	CriticalFanatic wrote: For starters, I wouldn't actually agree with you that hockey is on the decline. It's just at it's lowest point, and probably even on it's way back up despite the low TV rating. I think Jon hit on the main cause of jersey sales. Once ESPN picks up Hockey again, the league will be fine. And resume being in the conversation of major sports but still way behind the big three. I wouldn't necessarily say that hockey is on the decline either, that just seems to be an argument I have seen around here - I've heard a lot about how the TV ratings are so horrible, hockey's a dying sport (or at least the NHL as a league), etc. It feels good for someone who KNOWS there are more fans out there than a minute little smattering to see that there's actual proof in some numbers *somewhere.* I agree to a point about the newly designed jerseys - a huge jump in sales this year could definitely be attributed to the new designs with Buffalo and the Ducks. However, considering that merchandise sales have increased every year for ten seasons shows that the new logos aren't the only thing contributing to the increase.
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#6 \| 510 days ago Kegger (+)	+1 I'm actually gonna come out and say this. Forget ESPN. Hockey went all downhill when majority of the "local" cable channels stopped carrying the local teams. HTS for the Caps, Prism for the Flyers...just to name a pair. With the national coverage now, it just got to the point where only a few games are shown per week, where it used to be you could catch your team every game they played. My point coming down to this: You can watch baseball every night on 20 different channels. Even your local team. It comes down to exposure. And frankly, I think hockey is a more exciting sport to watch. But the problem is, 80% of those that don't follow hockey think it's boxing on ice, which it isn't...anymore. Anyway, I think exposure is the main issue on why people say it's declining.
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#7 \| 502 days ago Icehawk27 (+)	Kegger wrote: I'm actually gonna come out and say this. Forget ESPN. Hockey went all downhill when majority of the "local" cable channels stopped carrying the local teams. HTS for the Caps, Prism for the Flyers...just to name a pair. With the national coverage now, it just got to the point where only a few games are shown per week, where it used to be you could catch your team every game they played. My point coming down to this: You can watch baseball every night on 20 different channels. Even your local team. It comes down to exposure. And frankly, I think hockey is a more exciting sport to watch. But the problem is, 80% of those that don't follow hockey think it's boxing on ice, which it isn't...anymore. Anyway, I think exposure is the main issue on why people say it's declining. I agree that one of the problems is exposure, but hockey is a canadian sport, not american. If you go to the heart of Canada to a local bar you will probably see a hockey game on every television. Wheras here in the U.S. you would be lucky to catch a local team playing on the tube.
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#8 \| 488 days ago Jezmund (+)	+2 You think that jump is huge, wait till next season's numbers... With the new uni designs and a HUGE increase in the price of both authentic ($300ish) and replica ($140ish) jersies. I can't really explain why this year's numbers went up beyond the fact that Buffalo fans are insane for the Sabres (they had 5 of the top 10 jersies in terms of sales I believe.) and the Ducks who were making their big run to the Stanley Cup. Hockey fans are nothing if not loyal, and with the new designs and fabrics it is very likely that fans will buy with gusto.
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#9 \| 454 days ago CORRY20 (+)	NHL has very few merchandise last year.The Leafs didn't even have a catalog last year like they always do.Limited T-shirt designs and NHL merchandise is hard to get.
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