The NHL's unexpected crown jewel of a TV property, the Winter Classic, is essentially a Dan Craig co-production. He now has his own highly publicized 60' truck that accompanies him to these baseball and football venues that is his toolbox for turning foreign surfaces into NHL sanctioned playing ice. He's featured on Olympic features from Vancouver and gets network airtime every January 1. A regular rock star of frozen water, with an ego to match.
And now it's crunch time. Craig is facing the challenge of his career from mother nature, with huge stakes riding on his ability to deliver a suitable playing surface for this year's Winter Classic.
Conditions: Awful. Warm moist air being squeezed by an arctic cold front resulting in at least an inch of rain in Pittsburgh. Humidity is his number one enemy in an indoor rink, and he is being drowned in it right now in Pittsburgh. He has postponed all those media requests, his brow is furled in concentration and stress as he walks the icy pools in Heinz field with his son and other members of his inner circle. The game has been already been postponed once, the League doesn't dare tell NBC that it must table their national telecast a second time. The NHL's New York office is a league full of power-loving suits. They've given their Cowboy plenty of props, a million dollar truck, and all the media he's ever dreamed of. It's now time for him to deliver a playable venue, no excuses.
Stakes: The NHL's TV contract is up, and thanks primarily to the amazing success, totally unpredicted success, of the Winter Classic, ESPN and NBC/Versus will be in a bidding war for the NHL rights. Based on typical ratings for NHL, ESPN usually abhors the idea of airing NHL Games. But every January 1st, the Winter Classic is the talk of Madison Avenue and 6th Avenue, believe it or not folks, hockey is sexy. Almost unimaginable. But true. Gary Bettman can add to his legacy as a commissioner: not only is he a Union busting negotiator, but he could be the guy to get TV cash from a major network for the first time since Fox went screaming out of the room back in the 1990's. Currently NBC has a barter deal with the NHL where they share revenues but without rights fees. Now it has come down to this, a rain soaked Heinz Field and a re-scheduled 8 pm puck drop. If this game gets shut down, players leaving the ice for fear of injuries, the game being postponed indefinitely, sponsors and network executives will leave in disgust, the league's crown jewel shattered. IF this game proceeds successfully, now in Prime Time, the ratings will be higher than ever with the most eyeballs ever focused on a regular season game.
It all comes down to a rain-soaked cowboy, and his success against his arch enemy, moisture. It is a battle worth paying attention to. Dan Craig is facing the music...will pressure make diamonds? Tune into NBC at 8 pm see how this drama plays out.
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