Report: DirecTV To Drop Versus

August 25, 2009   ·   Brian Sanborn   ·   Jump to comments

If Gary Bettman thought it was difficult to market Versus and the NHL to millions of viewers in the United States, it might have gotten even harder.

According to a story in the Los Angeles Times, DirecTV is no longer carrying the Versus Network, which will cost the NHL to lose more then 18 million potential viewers for its NHL regular season and playoff games.

According to Robert Mercer, the Director of Public Relations for DirecTV, the issue appears to be on the Versus end of the spectrum:

“Versus’ overall ratings are poor and have not increased nearly enough to justify what we’re paying them, let alone the significant increase they’re asking for.”

How bad are the ratings?  According to the Nielsen Rating numbers, Versus ranks 61st among 74 English-advertising supported cable networks. So I imagine that puts Versus somewhere in between ESPN Ocho and National Geographic. Are you listening Bettman?

Probably not, as I am sure Gary will attempt to ‘dodge’ this issue and create his own spin on the story.

Or he is watching the Food Network, as episodes on how to make a pumpkin pie will garner more ratings then watching Ovechkin and Crosby.