UFC President deep fries Gary Bettman and the NHL for subpar marketing
Gary Bettman constantly says the NHL has never been in a better place and that they're constantly growing and blah blah blah. Yes, the NHL is growing, but it could be growing much faster if the "old boys club" of the NHL wasn't so stubborn and stuck in their old ways. For instance, the NHL wants to grow the game in Asia, but didn't let players go to the Olympics in Beijing. Not exactly a wise decision.
This week, UFC President Dana White, who has been working with The Nelk Boys, finding different ways to promote and grow the UFC and fight business, absolutely roasted Gary Bettman and the NHL for how they're failing miserably in marketing to younger generations.
"They're all old dumb people, they have no idea what's going on. They have no idea where this younger generation is and where you reach them. Total video views for the NHL in the middle of their conference finals. They did 25 million views. Powerslap did 90 million. All those people talking s*** out there, its all old dumb journalists."
White is not wrong at all. I know for myself, I didn't watch a full game past the second round and prominent player agent Allan Walsh essentially corroborated White's comments when he tweeted out that the broadcast ratings dropped 43% for this year's final compared to last year's final, making it the least viewed Cup Final since 2007. Bettman and the NHL spend too much time counting the dollars they're making instead of spending that money on marketing stars and finding new ways to connect with younger generations.
