Why Fluctuations in the Islanders’ TV Ratings are Irrelevant to MSG Networks
On Wednesday the Sports Business Journal published an article on the NHL’s local TV ratings, detailing the top and bottom five teams in a number of categories. The Islanders came in 2nd to last in the league in ratings with a .23, down from a .32 last season.
Here’s a rundown of the team’s TV ratings on MSG over the past few years.
2011-12 (to date): .23
2010-11: .32
2009-10: .36
2008-09: .17
Those numbers are percentages of the total number of homes in the local area that are tuned into the Islanders. They seem to be fluctuating quite a bit and obviously a 23% drop this year is not good news. In fact, it’s completely irrelevant news.
Over the past five years, the Islanders have barely registered in the ratings. What does this mean for MSG Network? Not much, really. That’s part of the reason they can take such a hard stance with Time Warner because losing Time Warner’s viewership is less important than the money they would make if Time Warner were to cave to increased pricing demands. Meanwhile, the Rangers and Knicks are likely doing quite well in the ratings department (per usual) with the former seeing a substantial increase in the number of households tuning in. The increase in households this year is top five in the league according to SBJ, thanks to the Rangers’ excellent play thus far. With those two chips at their disposal, MSG can sit back and wait for Time Warner to cave and diehard viewers to switch providers, one of which is sister company Cablevision — at least that is their likely strategy.
Furthermore, that .23 rating doesn’t suffer from much of a ‘Time Warner drop.’ The provider dropped MSG from its lineup on January 1st, and it would take more than two-plus weeks of ratings in a 15-week old season to really put a dent in it.
To put the real significance of the Islanders quite simply, the Islanders are an afterthought in the advertising sales department of MSG, one of the two vehicles driving the network’s engine (the other being fees from subscribers). It’s not a matter of bias against the Islanders. It’s simply business. The Rangers do better than a 1.0 rating when they’re mediocre and that number likely increased twofold this year are doing more than three times as well, with nearly a .9 this year. The Isles’ meager ratings pale in comparison.
After college, I spent some time getting coffee working at the Garden. One of the tasks I performed was to compile ratings sheets for clients who had purchased advertising on MSG. MSG then takes these reports back to the clients to show how many people saw the ad spots. They usually guarantee the clients that the programming will hit a certain figure, .6 many times, and the client may be given additional spots if the numbers don’t hit. There’s also a minimum at play here. If a team doesn’t get above a .3 rating, it doesn’t even get marked on the ratings sheet and may be comped back at a later time. The Islanders don’t hit a .3 all that often, meaning there’s not much point in selling their ad time to begin with when the team isn’t any good, which is most of the time.
There are only two teams that matter in ad sales; the Rangers and the Knicks. The Islanders and Devils are complete non-factors. In fact, they are usually ‘value added’ to a sponsor’s package. Many, but not all, of the ads you see on Islanders telecast are throw-ins from some other media buy whether it’s signage or commercial spots for a different team’s broadcast.
MSG likes to have the Islanders and Devils on their network. Let’s be clear about that. They help in staying a step ahead of the competition (wouldn’t YES or SNY love to have some more winter programming?) and keeps their channel in demand. But don’t have any illusions as to whom among the four teams are the ones paying the bills.
About Kevin Schultz
Kevin was formerly an NHL blogger for the now defunct AOL Fanhouse and was the creator of the hockey comedy blog Barry Melrose Rocks. He now covers the Isles for Islanders Point Blank. You can follow him for instant updates on the team and talk hockey with him on Twitter @schultz88. View all posts by Kevin Schultz →62 Responses to Why Fluctuations in the Islanders’ TV Ratings are Irrelevant to MSG Networks
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OTH says:
The Isles and News 12 protect Cablevision’s business on LI, so the Isles will be re-upped. I have zero doubt. The Isles are a minute cost in the grand scheme of things. $30M/yr in 2032 vs. losing 1/3 – 2/3 of Long Island’s cable subscribers? I sign the renewal faster than a Rolston shot hits the zamboni door.
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cgs878 says:
I’m very surprised that the TV ratings haven’t gotten better this season, what with less people paying $$ to see the games live and instead opting for watching the games on TV. Also, watching Tavares this season has been fun. Then again, watching the other 35 minutes of the games has led to a bit of nail biting and spontaneous snoozeage. LOL
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upstateisles says:
hahaha . treats and snoozin’, snoozin’ and treats.
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Rich says:
The Isles have been on I think three different channels this year. The last few games have been on channel 99! They used to be on 14, back when that was the TV guide channel. No wonder the ratings stink. Its hard to find them.
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5w30 says:
The Islanders are hooked up with MSG until 2031. That’s right, 2031. Devils, not as long but have a stellar relationship with the company. Sorry. YES doesn’t need more winter programming, though it has the Nets. Whoever buys SNY from the Wilponzis will always have the Mets. We all need comic relief in the winter, right?
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RWM says:
They get bottom treatment across the board. The HD feed is horrible. Fios has superior HD quality over Cablevision across the board. Their up conversion is also far better than Cablevision, so it is tough to compare the two companies versions of the Islanders in HD. However, I think the Ranger and Knick’s games are better feeds on FIOS. Same channels too.
Second problem is FIOS only has two of the MSG channels in HD anyway and the Isles are usually on the overflow. Either way, Dolan is being Dolan.Related topic that drives me nuts at the Coliseum itself. I sit behind the red seats and can easily see the tv’s there…the reception is beyond aweful…no joke rabbit ears quality. MSG has the Broadcast, Opt online/CV has the wiring and broadcast there and PC Richard is the other Main sponsor. How is it that between these top three sponsors/broadcasters they can’t fix this? This is about the 4th season I have noticed it, in multiple red seats, so it is not a fluke or happenstance. If I was paying 125 face per ticket for those seats (they are season ticket seats) I would go ballistic!!
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Dk says:
FIOS is phenomenal. Had it for years … Light year’s ahead of both Dolanvision and Directv. Had all 3 …. No comparison in anyway.
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Staten Islander says:
So i guess this means I have to keep searching for crappy online sites to watch them.
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Blizz says: Its kind of all coming into focus…..I mean if no one is watching Islander games in the Islander market the league can continue to trot out officials who are all to happey to hose them in games against teams like the Leafs.
And why? Because this team has sucked for an eternity. To the point that few care but us diehards who are now stuck in hockey pergatory.
Thanks Charles our savior.
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Gene F says:
since January, 1st i don’t have any MSG channels. Thank you MSG/TWC. Watching games online. If i don’t get them back by playoff time (I mean not Isles playoffs, but playoffs in general, i.e. Knicks, Rangers, Red Bulls season) I will have to switch provider (which is a pain in the neck)
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snowang must go says:
Gotta love channel 99 and cspan. I love watching a game with a picture that looks like I’m using rabbit ears on my television.
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So the Islanders are basically irrelevant to the league, referees, and cable providers. Nice job Charlie. Thank you for the past 12 years. You make Daniel Snyder look good.
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Danfromouteast says: At least that moron Snyder is willing to spend money
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Stumpy32 says:
I feel like it wasn’t too long ago that the Isles ratings completely trumped the Devils, which was why, even though the Devils were by far the better team, we would always get priority on the better channel.
This changed maybe 3-4 seasons ago, and hasn’t gone back since. I’m curious to see what the ratings were in and around the 01-02 season, when we were actually a solid team and got a decent playoff seed, and the #8 seeds that followed. Had to be better than .23.
Must admit, though…I feel like I’m the only one sometimes finding the game on Ch. 198 on Time Warner’s version of MSG+2, when I could actually watch it without hooking up Slingbox.
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TAG says:
From SportsBusiness Journal: “The New York Rangers, who last week were tied atop the NHL in points and were featured in HBO’s “24/7” series this season, have seen a 7 percent increase, with a 0.87 average rating and 64,000 homes for its games. The other “24/7” participant, the Philadelphia Flyers, has seen a 65 percent ratings jump.” They are nowhere near a 2.0 rating if they were they wouldn’t be getting bumped by the Knicks to MSG2 when they play at the same time.
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Kevin Schultz says:
Ah missed that. May have gotten confused in my mind between Knicks/Rangers ratings. Going to amend the post.
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AJAX says:
Last post on this subject. The phrase “The Product On The Ice” is thrown around a lot in the NHL.
This would be a DIRECT reflection of that.
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4theisles says:
What on line source is avalable for Isle’s games Free! NYC viewer Help please.
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PA ISlanders says:
Thanks for the indepth view. Very informative. Especaily MSG keeping devils/islanders despite probably losing money on them just in order to keep competators aways.
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nosebleed says:
I would watch this team, but I am too busy watching paint peel….which is far more exciting than this merry band of losers.
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Chris says:
As much as I would love to complain and I’m defensive when it comes to the Islanders, I can’t. The Islanders have been pathetic and the worst franchise in North American sports (yes, even worse than the Clippers) for 20 years. That is an unfathomable amount of time.
Until the team puts a product on the ice worth watching, they get what they deserve. After all that has happened, it’s amazing the ratings aren’t even lower.
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caber09 says:
Kevin…do you know what the ratings were Pre-Gordon…Lavvy and Nolan years?
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Kevin Schultz says:
I don’t specifically. I’ve tried a bit of Googling and came upon this which says the Isles got a .3 during the 1999-00 season. I would imagine they’ve been more or less hovering around .3 since the mid-90s, with a sizable spike in the early 00s.
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Phil says:
Here’s another example of how little the Isles seem to matter. On Monday night I went to a sports bar in Queens to watch the Leafs game. Normally I hate to do that, but since I’m stuck with Time Warner, and I didn’t want to miss the game, I had no other choice. They must have had about 20 monitors and not a single one had the Islanders, despite it being a slow night. They had the Nets, Syracuse, Hofstra, Red Wings-Blues, and Celtics-Magic games on. They even had freaking Rangers classics on MSG and Super Bowl 42 on NFL Network, but no Isles. I had to ask them to put it on for me, which they did.
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Bean322 says:
phil-ive had to do the same thing before when ive been out-they are irrelavant
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Curious how much Cablevision is losing on its contract w/ the Isles. Do the Isles really generate $250,000 per game in revenue for Cablevision? (That’s what it would take to cover Cablevision’s #20 million/year fees to NYI.)
If Cablevision is losing money hand-over-fist to the Isles on the contract, and that contract is really the only thing keeping the Isles financially viable (that is, losing $20 million per year instead of $40 million), then what is the real value of the Islanders franchise? How does this team ever stand to make money? And who in his right mind would buy this team — at any price — if it’s pretty much impossible to ever profit (without a new arena, that is)??
Based on my analysis, everyone should stop blaming Wang. He may have hired the wrong people, but this man has lost a quarter of a BILLION dollars on this team!
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CM says:
Look at how he ran CA. Wang should have been indited for fraud.
I do not beleive Wang when he cries poor.Create less of a circus. Fans, sposnors and respect wil come followed by $$’s. This is NY market afterall.
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IslesFan says:
CM,
I don’t want to get in a debate with you about Wang, but do you have any evidence to support an indictment for fraud or are you just speculating?
The guy built a company from scratch, employs thousands of people around the world including hundreds on Long Island.
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Danfromouteast says:
What?
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Danfromouteast says:
what? Are you serious?
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Danfromouteast says:
I don’t want to argue or insult any fellow islanders fans we’re all in the same boat. But what are you smoking? This is wangs fault. With a business you always stand a chance to lose money but that doesn’t mean you make your product worse. Haley doesn’t break the bank he isn’t up. Konopka a good team leader gone. Rick dipietro still on team if wang had any clue Neil smith would still be the gm and they wouldn’t have a minor league coach. So I think wang might still be a little at fault here.
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I think people are missing Eric Dixon’s point. Everyone is blaming Wang but he is losing his own money to be the owner of the Islanders. Who else would do that?
His other point is who would buy this team, where is the value? Why would you buy a team that is losing money?
My only guess is that someone would have to buy the team and bring it to an area where there is a HUB project or a nice arena (with pre-sold seats and sky boxes) so that the team generates enough revenue to stay afloat.
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If Wang put a good team on the ice it would translate, see the attendance 2001-2004 and then 2006-2007, if you improved on those teams the finances would be much better
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Brian G says:
meaningless, ratings talk wow….
I would rather talk about the great seats I got in the 200′s when I donated 2 jackets to charity at the coliseum….Wasn’t expecting that. Wang better have more things like (another coat drive, clothing drive, recycle electronics, give blood and other things) that to get the fans in the seats the rest of the year b/c they are out of the playoff hunt. Having to jump 7 teams and make up 10 pts in 34 games will be really tough. And this team has not won more than 3 in a row all year & can’t consistently put the puck in the net. (Shutout 8 times already – really!)
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TPJM says:
This is to be expected and will only change if they move to Brooklyn or Queens and get more attention from media and fans. Now, they can’t be heard on radio, they get limited newspaper coverage and nobody watches on TV. Part of this is Wang’s fault but most of it is based on the suburban location.
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Isles Revamped says:
This is the red headed step child theory. One big after thought.
First we start with an Owner that is non-existent. Add in a management system that is lacking. This equals poor product.
Second this team is last in line one the cablevision depth chart. Sad when a NJ team get priority over Isles from an Ilsand based company. Hence not enough HD telecasts. Heck I think Dolan gives Varsity Games in HD priority over Isles. Who wants to watch isles game in a cappy fuzzy telecast. Heck my son asked me the other nite if the game was fuzzy to me. Poor kid thought his eyes were going bad.
If Bettman truly cares about the Isles staying on long island he needs to step in.
One final note, it is pretty sad when I can the isles leafs game on a leaf station clear as a bell on long island with no islander broadcast available.
Third
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Another post that does not place any blame of Nassau politicians.
Does anyone believe the Islanders would be better off if they were given the development rights to area surrounding the NCVM?
No one posts that they are mad at Nassau for not giving Wang the chance to save this team. This is just mindblowing to me.
Nassau escapes all blame of this mess from Islander fans. It is incredibile.
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cm91 says:
I wish all you “so-called” Islanders fans who post on this blog would support your team instead of constantly complaining about everything.
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Are you kidding, cm91? Did you just show up yesterday?
If you’ve been an Isles fan for even half of the last 20 years, you more than have a right to complain.
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Danfromouteast says:
A lot xo support the team this is a sight that we all can go on to air our grievances on
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the truth says:
Thats a bunch of bull.We have been paying for Dolans losing teams for years every time he signs one of his losing players our cable bill goes up and the islanders go futher off the t.v .Look at cable the freakin nets are on channel 70, they have a losing team where is the theory there about losing team getting shuffled?, every night the devils not even on long island get better coverage,start winning and problem solved. They will be forced to put them on.Until then pay 140 a month to watch the long island team on channel “Its 5 minutes before the the game what freaking channel are they on channel”. .One last thing if the rangers were 0-60 they would still be on a prime station the dolans munipulate everything look at the News Media,2 biggest news outlets newsday and cable12 owned by them no voice except theirs. .
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AlbanyIslander says:
Before TWC lost MSG, there were plenty of nights, at least in the Albany area when the Isles were on supposed to be on MSG+, that our MSG+ was showing poker, NCAA Volleyball, Soccer from Europe or the darn Sabres. They weren’t on that much to begin with in the Albany area, so that said it hasn’t been a big loss. I can’t believe that a channel in NY would show poker over a professional NY Hockey team…but I’ll have to settle for listening to games on XM radio and pray for the away broadcast…we can’t even get on a ligit radio station!!!
See you all at NVMC on 2/11 for the Kings!
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bryang says:
Im in albany too. That used to drive me crazy. I switched to directv when msg was dropped and found out that the islanders games are blacked out because we are technically out of the islanders region. I think it had to do with blackout stuff why tw didn’t have the games on. by the way the quality on directv is perfect but i had to buy nhl center ice.
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If you have cablevision, look for MSG+2 games in on 460/774 if they are not on channel 72 or 73. (They are in digital quality there)
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The Sick one Six says:
As per Forbes Wang is worth $870 Million. So stop crying about losing $20 Million per season. The islanders are a tax shelter!!! Sell the team to someone who will run it like a business…invest money to make money!
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Sick one,
Sorry but your post makes no sense. Whether Wang has $870M or $2B, no one wants to lose money. If I had $870M and I was losing $20M per year, I would want out.
Islanders are tax shelter? Do you even know what a tax shelter is?
Wang invested money. He got Yashin and Pecca….look how it turned out.
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Fire Snow says:
Isles are a boring watch right now maybe the NHL. I think getting rid of the physical part of the game is a major turnoff to alot of fans including myself. I have a hard time watching one period of the new NHL let alone a full game. I definitatly watch ALOT less than i used to. There was a time i would record every game incase i missed some of it now im more surprised if i watch more than 5 minutes. Bring back the old NHL, stop with the gimicks and all the ticky tacky penalties. Its awful!!!!!
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moonshine says:
the ratings are so low that any ‘major change’ up or down is pbl within the range of error of the data.
to the $$ the islanders receive should be added the production costs. not a good deal for the tv network. in fact, it’s the tv equivalent of the nvmc lease, except thie time the islanders are on the taking end.
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j from nj says:
Move to Quebec already. This team becomes more irrelevant by the minute, and while it breaks my heart, I am slowly getting over them and getting over the fact that they will not be here past 2015. I just wish it wouldn’t take another 3 years.
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mickeyboy7 says:
I hate everything about the Dolan’s. But I do think the Isles broadcasts are of good quality. Although one more of Butch Goring’s: “and he makes no mistake” and I will barf.
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I think that the Isles telecasts tend to be of good quality…even though I hate everything about the Dolan’s. All the phoney adds they have run over the years shooting down any cable system that tries to negotiate with them. I remember when they were on the other side when MSG controlled the yankees and Charlie saw to it we missed an entire system. Then he ran adds taking the opposite point of view about how greedy MSG was. What a fraud & a phoney.
And while we are talking isles TV…can Butch Goring PLEEEEZE stop with the: “He made no mistakes”
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Mickeyboy7 says:
I think that the Isles telecasts tend to be of good quality…even though I hate everything about the Dolan’s. All the phoney adds they have run over the years shooting down any cable system that tries to negotiate with them. I remember when they were on the other side when MSG controlled the yankees and Charlie saw to it we missed an entire system. Then he ran adds taking the opposite point of view about how greedy MSG was. What a fraud & a phoney.
And while we are talking isles TV…can Butch Goring PLEEEEZE stop with the: “He made no mistakes”
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Hintonio says:
The marketing staff for the Islanders sucks. Gotta get the community interested and be out there. Going to Entenmann’s for an autograph signing sucks. Half the people there are looking forward to buying pecan pies and crumb cakes rather than a signing from a bum like Pandolfo. Number 1 rule in advertising & marketing: gotta spend $$$ to make $$$.
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Ted says:
My brother works for MSG. You’re right on the money Kevin, literally. The Islanders do very poorly in the ratings, and don’t generate much revenue. Very often MSG bumps the Islanders off HD broadcasts when the Rags, Knicks & Devils all play on the same night because of how poorly they do in the ratings. The Islanders are still the bottom feeders in the eyes of MSG.
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MarioCT says:
Ted, how can you say that when the other night the Knicks were on MSG, the devils on msg2, isles on msg2+, and rags on alternate. So come on they aren’t always pushed to the bottom.
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I have Cablevision I have been getting EVERY Isles game in HD for about a year now. ALL their overflow channels are also in HD. Channels 414, 460, and now 73 are overflow channels and are in HD in my area. Maybe it depends where you live, it definitely depends on your carrier whether you get the overflow channels in HD but maybe some of you who have cablevision need to look harder for the games in HD.
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even though i cant watch the isles on msg since i live in queens and have twc, at least i can listen to the isles on their radio satation and read about the isles in the newspapers. opps. i just remembered, thanks to the ringmaster of the circus, charles wang, there is no radio sataion and zero media coverage. since the isles will never make the playofs as long as clown wang owns the team, at least i am not missing much. the only thing good about not being able to watch the games is i cant see those disgusting and hideous 3rd. jersey clown suits that clown wang put out as he continues to do what ever possible to destroy the franchise as he laughs in our faces til 2015 when he will sell the team to the highest bidder who will move the team to canada.
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Danfromouteast says:
The islanders can make a ton of money even losing every game and wang can save a few dollars BUT he has to agree. Put wang in net with no goalie equip play him for 41the games them more of the same with snow the next 41.
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RICH L says:
Stumpy, where do you see any post that pertains to politics, I don’t see it here on this thread.
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Keep your political beliefs to yourself. This is a HOCKEY site. I repeat, HOCKEY site. No one wants to hear what you – or anyone else – believes in anything other than the Islanders.
I’m interested to see what happens in 2030 when this contract ends