My E-Mail to Ted Leonsis

Ted,

It seems like comments aren't working at ted.aol.com the last few days and I wanted to take a moment to respond to:

Hardest Thing to Do in Business.

I like that you're a man of the people, both for the Washington, DC area and your NHL Franchise. But I think I'd encourage you to change your focus from championships to improving the abysmal television ratings for the NHL. I know I am always harping on YOU to do this, and I'll tell you why. It's because you probably have a higher Q-rating than any of your stars, including Alex O. Does Alex O have a link to his Web site from the Engadget Blog? No. But Ted Leonsis does. You sir, are more in the pop culture than the NHL. It wouldn't shock me (at all) to find more households read your blog in a month than watched any of the Stanley Cup finals.

For the NHL, I fear the hardest thing to do may be to stay in business.

You know the ratings lines, you have seen these #'s (courtesy of Nielsen Media):

2006 *	**NBC/OLN	7	1.8	3	1,994,000	2,834,000	Carolina vs, Edmonton
2002	ABC	3	3.6	7	3,815,000	5,768,000	Detroit Red Wings vs. Atlanta Thrashers

In four years, the NHL lost half its households and viewers. HALF. In only 4 years. This year's #'s seem to be WORSE so far. Hockey isn't in the popular culture and as nice as ted.aol.com is, it did absolutely nothing to improve NHL television ratings. I'd encourage you to think about this: "why not". My best guess is: "that wasn't really what Ted was going for here," to which I must also ask, "why not?"

Sincerely,

Robert Seidman