What The Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) does right
Image Credit: Erin Achenbach (Clutch Points)
Last week I looked over my monthly budget. Ensured my needs were no more than 50 percent of my take home pay, 30 percent went to wants, and 20 percent towards savings. I made sure my credit card held no balance and decided I was financially stable enough to afford a subscription to ESPN+. This subscription cost me $11.65 a month and my only purpose for subscribing was to watch hockey games. I found out minutes before the Capitals Vs. Krakens game that I couldn’t watch the game because it was a “BLACKOUT” event. Due to my location and Disney's commitment for not competing with local broadcast networks, of being slightly near the local game I couldn't watch it. I paid $11.65 to be told I couldn't watch my local sports team. I can however, watch 30 seconds of two unskippable YouTube advertisements and watch a full length uninterrupted PWHL game.
The PWHL is a brand new sports league with a lot of hype around it. Already setting attendance records weekly, they’re broadcasting their games in a way the major four leagues would laugh at while they count their billions upon billions of dollars. PWHL games are live streamed on YouTube usually to around 9,000 - 13,000 viewers. The highest viewer count I’ve seen was around 15,000 at one point during a Minnesota Vs. Toronto game last week.
This is a smart move by the league as it opens games up to the general public, without any paywalls. To watch an NHL game you’d either have to pay for cable or subscribe to several streaming services to catch every game. As a hockey fan and a college student I don't have the budget to keep multiple services to watch these games but I do have YouTube which is where I and many others my age get entertainment. The PWHL is capitalizing off that putting the league in a position to gain viewers, ad revenue, and people talking about the league.
One specific thing that make the broadcast stand out is the comments being left on during the live streams. People are free to say whatever and whenever they want about what's happening in the game or talk about complete nonsense. In a way, this provides an experience like being at the game physically because you talk to someone else about it who isn't in your living room. On top of this, the official PWHL YouTube account comments and engages with the audience creating a personal connection to the fans. I’ve never seen a league do this. Though they’re new and don't have the financial backing like the four major leagues they’re finding innovative ways to bring women's hockey to the masses, and making it engaging.
The outcome of the live streams on YouTube is the retention of viewers which is key to growing an audience who become fans that may eventually purchase tickets or merchandise for their favorite team. Ticket sales mean money and the thing every sports league needs to grow is money. The PWHL is making the right choice in having their games live-streamed on YouTube. Aside from the good hockey being played, the unique approach to broadcasting the games in my opinion will be the thing that brings the league into the mainstream! I expect the viewer count to grow as the season goes on.