Courtside versus rinkside, it's no
contest. For the Los Angeles Lakers: Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio and Denzel Washington. For the Kings: Alyssa Milano,
Mike Myers and Justin Bieber.
The Kings, who share Staples Center with the Lakers, are in
the Stanley Cup finals for the first time since 1993.
Merchandise sales are up as much as 20 percent, according to the
National Hockey League, and the team has built its own celebrity
following, including Bieber, Myers and Milano, who licenses the
team logo for her line of women's sports clothing.
For all the enthusiasm, the Kings probably need more
seasons like this one to win the city's heart as baseball's
Dodgers and the National Basketball Association's Lakers have,
according to David Carter, executive director of the Sports
Business Institute at the University of Southern California in
Los Angeles. They lost to the Montreal Canadiens in their only
trip to the finals with Wayne Gretzky 19 years ago.
"The Dodgers and the Lakers are in a very, very elite
status," Carter said in an interview. "The Kings are one of
those emerging brands. They have clearly captured the attention
of our community."
Estimated franchise values, based in large measure on TV
contracts, tell part of the story. Forbes magazine valued the
Lakers at $900 million as of Jan. 25, tops in the NBA. The
Kings, who open their series tonight against the New Jersey
Devils, checked in at $232 million, or 10th in the NHL. The
Dodgers, their stadium and surrounding land sold for $2.15
billion in a bankruptcy auction in May.
Skateboards or Skates
The team also has a ways to go in reaching a wider circle
of Angelenos who may be more familiar with skateboards than ice
skates — starting with the local news media.
When the Kings made it to the second round of the NHL
playoffs, and the Lakers and Clippers were advancing in the NBA
post-season, a local NBC newscast flashed all three logos –
except basketball's Sacramento Kings were inserted instead of
the hockey team. KNBC newscaster Chuck Henry read the station's
apology the next day.
Led by the team's top scorer, Anze Kopitar, the Kings
reached the finals by defeating the Phoenix Coyotes, winning
four of five games in the Western Conference finals. They begin
the best-of-seven series for hockey's top prize in Newark.
Game one airs at 8 p.m. New York time on Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) (CMCSA)'s
NBC network. NBC will carry the first and second games of the
series. Pay-TV's NBC Sports channel, which had 76 million
subscribers at year-end, is scheduled to air games three and
four, and then the series returns to the network for the final
three meetings, if needed.
Broadcast and Cable
The league doesn't release merchandise sales, which are
shared by teams to equalize revenue, according to Jim Haskins,
group vice president for consumer marketing for the New York-
based NHL. The pattern for the Kings this season is similar to
that of the Boston Bruins in their 2011 championship season, he
said.
The Bruins began to gain share of the sports merchandise
market in a city dominated by Major League Baseball's Red Sox,
basketball's Celtics and football's New England Patriots.
"After they won the Stanley Cup, Boston became one of the
hottest markets in history" with sales of Bruins merchandise
continuing through the summer, Haskins said. "As we're eyeing
Los Angeles, we're seeing many similar dynamics."
The Kings, bought out of bankruptcy by billionaire Philip Anschutz's AEG Worldwide live-entertainment company in 1995,
sold out 37 of 39 regular-season games at Staples, with
attendance averaging 18,113, according to the team website.
Lower Prices
The average price of a Kings game for a family of four,
including admission, parking, food, drink, programs and a couple
souvenirs, was $304.66 this season, or 17th among the 30 NHL
teams, according to Team Marketing Report, based in Wilmette,
Illinois, which produces a fan-cost index.
The Lakers, led by Kobe Bryant, averaged 18,997 seats per
home game. They were eliminated from the NBA playoffs May 21 by
the Oklahoma City Thunder, ending the city's hopes for a 12th
NBA title. A family of four spent an average of $514 seeing the
Lakers, second highest in the NBA, according to the Team
Marketing Report's index.
Los Angeles' other NBA team, the Clippers, were bounced
from the playoffs on May 20 by the San Antonio Spurs. Forbes
ranks the team 20th in value at $324 million.
Celebrity Sightings
With their ascent to the finals, the Kings are winning some
of the love the city showers on the fabled Lakers and Dodgers
teams that have included Sandy Koufax, Fernando Valenzuela, Don
Drysdale and Kirk Gibson.
"It's fair to say Los Angeles is kind of a Dodgers market,
Lakers market," said Haskins. "The Kings have gained a lot of
ground."
Representatives for Myers, Milano and Bieber didn't respond
to phone calls or e-mailed requests for comment.
The Kings' 40-27-15 season isn't the first time the team
has attracted Hollywood luminaries. Stars including Kurt Russell
and Goldie Hawn began turning out when the Kings acquired
Gretzky in 1988.
Celebrity sightings at games help with sales because of the
attention they draw to the sport, Haskins said.
He pointed to hockey's featured role in Judd Apatow's
"This Is 40," scheduled for a December release from Comcast's
Universal film unit. The cast includes Wyatt Russell, son of
Russell and Hawn. The younger Russell pursued a hockey career,
playing in Canada's junior leagues, a feeder system for
professional teams, before turning to acting, Haskins said.
"Having that buzz from high-profile personalities, not
only is it an identifier, but it creates partnership
opportunities" for movies and TV shows, Haskins said.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Michael White in Los Angeles at
mwhite8@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Anthony Palazzo at
apalazzo@bloomberg.net
Article source: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-05-30/bieber-rinkside-for-kings-plays-second-fiddle-to-lakers-a-list
Short URL: http://musicnewsjunkie.com/?p=3144
