Stanley Cup Finals Game Six Overnight Down 37.1% From ‘04

NBC Earns 2.2/4 Overnight Nielsen Rating For Stanley Cup Finals Game Six

NBC on Saturday earned a 2.2/4 overnight Nielsen rating for Hurricanes-Oilers Stanley Cup Finals Game Six, down 37.1% from a 3.5/7 for the double-overtime Lightning-Flames Game Six on ABC in ’04 (THE DAILY).

OVERLAPPING RUN: KSL-NBC in Salt Lake was “deluged with phone calls from angry viewers” when it did not air Game Six because it “was committed to broadcasting” the MLS Dynamo-Real Salt Lake match. KSL was contracted to air the soccer game Saturday from 7:00-9:00pm MT “as part of an agreement with RSL to air six games this season.” KSL offered to air the NHL game tape-delayed, but the NHL “declined, instead opting to find an alternate ‘cable outlet’ that could air the game.” KSL’s HD channel did carry the hockey game. KSL Programmer Michelle Kettle in an e-mail wrote, “We have worked closely with NBC to move the NHL to another station in the market and ... NBC has not been able to come to an agreement with another station” (Vince Horiuchi, SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 6/19).