NHL Stanley Cup Final Audience Down From '10 Through Four Games

Versus earned a 1.6 U.S. rating and 2.71 million viewers for Wednesday night’s Canucks-Bruins NHL Stanley Cup Final Game Four from 8:00-11:01pm ET, down 5.9% and 13.3%, respectively, from a 1.7 rating and 3.13 million viewers for the comparable Blackhawks-Flyers Game Four last year, which aired on a Friday night. Wednesday's telecast peaked with 3.5 million viewers between 9:30-9:45pm. Versus was the top cable network in primetime among males and adults 18-49 and 25-54. The game earned a 23.6 local rating in Boston, which is the market’s best NHL rating ever for a game on Versus. The network averaged a 1.6 U.S. rating and 2.7 million viewers for its two Stanley Cup Final telecasts, down 15.8% and 18.8%, respectively, from a 1.9 rating and 3.4 million viewers last year. However, this year's figures for Versus are up big from the 0.5 U.S. rating and 675,000 viewers the net averaged for its two telecasts of the Ducks-Senators series in '07, which was the last time the Final featured a Canadian team. Through four telecasts across NBC and Versus, the Stanley Cup Final is averaging a 2.0 rating and 3.4 million viewers, down 13.0% and 19.7%, respectively, from a 2.3 rating and 4.2 million viewers through the same point last year. This year's series is also up from a 1.0 rating and 1.473 million viewers through four games in '07 (Austin Karp, THE DAILY).

THE VOICE: In Boston, Chad Finn notes Versus and NBC analyst Mike Milbury's "commentary about the Canucks has raised the ire of Vancouver fans and media, particularly with his comment Wednesday night" about Canucks C Henrik Sedin and his twin, LW Daniel. During Game Four, Milbury said, "By all means, stay in the face of Thelma and Louise -- I mean Henrik and Daniel. Get in their way, make them pay. This series is starting to go our way." Finn notes when Milbury said "our way," he "wasn’t implying that he’s in the Bruins’ corner." But an "extensive search is not required to understand why Vancouver media and fans are claiming bias: Milbury played for and coached the Bruins and has served as a NESN analyst since 2007." Still, Finn writes, "Milbury has been on a Tim Thomas-like roll recently, and his I’m-going-to-say-what-I-believe approach makes for outstanding television. Versus and NBC want him to be entertaining and opinionated, and that is precisely what he has been" (BOSTON GLOBE, 6/10). Meanwhile, in Chicago, Adam Jahns writes when Blackhawks G Marty Turco decides to retire, "TV is an option for the always-approachable and opinionated" player, who has been an analyst for NHL Network since the conference finals. NHL Network producers "like what Turco brings." Still, Turco said, "I didn’t know it was going to be that difficult. To say the least, I feel like I have room to improve. It’s been an eye-opening experience. To see a show put together was really unique" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 6/10).

HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT: The GLOBE & MAIL's Bruce Dowbiggin noted, "No one is certain CBC can hang onto Canadian NHL media rights after the current contract expires in 2014, but the Corp. is leveraging its deal for all it’s worth." There is "no better example than in British Columbia, where managers there have added a popular postgame show 'Seeking Stanley' and are hosting almost 15,000 fans a night on their plaza to watch the Vancouver Canucks games on the big screen." The outdoor "parties sprung from CBC’s experience doing impromptu gatherings during the Olympics, utilizing the plaza in front of their building developed after selling part of their space for private condo development." Dowbiggin noted "Seeking Stanley" has found "audiences as large as 730,000 viewers with a 45 share in the province -- unprecedented numbers for a regional program" (GLOBESPORTS.com, 6/9).