Former TV boss: Ice hockey violence should not be shown on television

Jaakko Paavela

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Former television boss Jaakko Paavela proposes that the fighting and violence that from time to time breaks out in ice hockey matches should not be shown on the television at all. Paavela is of the opinion that showing fighting is a mere marketing trick.
      “Also in basketball and football men play hard and there is physical contact, but in these games there are no fights”, argues Paavela, who acted as the executive vice president of the Finnish commercial television channel MTV3 from 1972-1999.
     
In a way Paavela is criticising his own product, for he now sits on the governing board of the sports channel Urheilukanava.
      Urheilukanava in turn belongs, together with the TV channel Nelonen, to the Sanoma Entertainment group, which is part of the Sanoma Group.
      In Finland Nelonen has - together with Canal+ - the television rights to Finnish ice hockey league games.
      “In the next board meeting I am planning to bring up the subject of televising the ice hockey matches”, says Paavela. “Through television the fighting is marketed directly to 400,000 people. In the arena, it is only the immediate audience that sees the squabbles.”
     
But simply to turn the camera away from the fighting is not enough to rid ice hockey of the unnecessary violence. Paavela suggests tougher punishments for the players who fight, and bans from acting as an official for the referees who permit fighting on the ice.
      “The referees do get paid. Putting up with a fight should be directly deducted from their paycheck.”
     
The most ridiculous fight was seen in December, when Patrik Lostedt of Espoo Blues was sent to the showers only three seconds (!!) into the game. This was the quickest sending-off in the league's history.
      After the puck dropped, Lostedt dropped his gloves to the ice and started fighting with HIFK Helsinki’s Ilkka Pikkarainen. Pikkarainen was allowed to continue the game, but Lostedt was sent to the locker room.
      “The incident had absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with ice hockey”, charges Paavela.
     
Paavela, who has a long career in television behind him, also strongly criticises today’s skiing events, which he says have lost their appeal because of the excessive televising and showmanship.
      “The disciplines and unions no longer dictate how to do sports, but the final word is now with the television companies. Soon we will probably see a 500-metre drag race on skis because some TV station so desires”, Paavela declares.
      In Paavela’s view the downhill slide for cross-country skiing started from the introduction of the sprint events, which took the sport to a more "entertaining" direction. “For example the Salpausselkä Ski Games used to be a major spectator event in Finland, but now people hardly bother to show up.”


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Ice hockey league seeking tougher measures to curb crowd trouble (19.2.2008)

Helsingin Sanomat