April 8, 2008 4:52PM

What Versus is Doing Right

By Alexis Glick

It’s that time of year! Tomorrow night is the beginning of the NHL playoffs. I am a HUGE Rangers fan. We play the New Jersey Devils tomorrow night. Not the best draw for us, but we had no other option. We played them on Sunday and it came down to who was going to get home ice advantage. The Devils won!

Today I talked to Marc Fein, vice president of programming and production at Versus, about the growth and success of the Versus Network. Versus provides cable programming for the NHL, providing extensive game coverage and follow-up.

The deal has been a great success. Since changing the name of the network from the Outdoor Living Network to the Versus Network and signing a deal with the NHL, the company has increased its cable distribution by 10 million subscribers to 74 million. They also have increased their subscription rate with those cable operators to 26 cents from below 20 cents. This year, ratings are up 50% for the Versus Network. NHL fan attendance hit a record at 21 million and the playoffs include some of the darlings of the NHL, including Crosby from the Pittsburgh Penguins and Ovechkin from the Washington Capitals. In fact, the Versus Network will host games one and two of the Stanley Cup Championship. A HUGE deal! Versus just renewed or extended its deal with the NHL until 2011 for just over $70 million. Keep in mind the network runs other sports coverage, including one of the most explosive — Mixed Martial Arts.

How has Versus changed its strategy? Where will it go from here? See what you think!