NHL Ratings Down Again As Ducks Clinch Stanley Cup

NBC Earns 2.5/4 Overnight Nielsen Rating For Stanley Cup Finale

NBC earned a 2.5/4 overnight Nielsen rating for Ducks-Senators Stanley Cup Finals Game Five last night, down 13.8% from a 2.9/5 overnight for last year’s Hurricanes-Oilers Game Five. Last night's game did a 6.1/12 in the L.A. market (THE DAILY).

COMPARE & CONTRAST: In Toronto, William Houston writes of the Stanley Cup Finals coverage, “NBC takes a journalistic approach. There's plenty of reporting and analysis. They try to get the information to you quickly. The CBC has a style that isn't quite as energetic or urgent. At times the telecast seems almost cinematic in the sense that talk is less important than pictures. Both work. … But for such a pivotal game, the CBC's coverage seemed too low-key at times.” Meanwhile, analysis by the CBC's  Greg Millen and NBC's Ed Olczyk was "effective," and NBC's Pierre McGuire, who is positioned between the team benches, "brought an extra dimension to the analysis” (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 6/7).

POOR RATINGS: NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman appeared on Fox’ "GameTime Live" last night, where he said of the sport’s low TV numbers, “When people just look at the TV ratings, they’re only looking at a small piece of the story, and all of us know in the media is that young people are consuming their sports differently than ever before. Ratings may be off a little, but it’s clear the digital world is tuning into our sport in record numbers. All of [our] platforms have never been stronger. TV is an issue and it’s something we need to work on both on the local and national level” (Fox Sports Radio, 6/6).  But ESPN’s Tony Kornheiser said, “A 1.1 (rating on NBC for Stanley Cup Finals Game Three) is terrible. If (Bettman) stands around and says, ‘We’re healthy, we’re doing better than we’ve ever been,’ he’s whistling past a graveyard” (“PTI,” ESPN, 6/6).  N.Y. Daily News columnist Bob Raissman said NHL ratings have kept "the perception going – which is more than perception -- that this sport is in trouble” (“Daily News Live,” SNY, 6/6).

DO IT YOURSELF: In Dallas, Tim Cowlishaw offered ten ways to “fix the NHL and deliver an improved product to more viewers.” Among the suggestions are to put microphones on all coaches and captains for all games; “kiss up to ESPN”; let the skaters in shootouts go without helmets; and move the U.S. league office from N.Y. to Atlanta (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 6/6).