Red Wings-Pens Stanley Cup Game Six Earns 3.4 Rating On NBC

NBC Averaging 2.8 Rating Through Four Telecasts Of Red Wings-Penguins Finals

JUST THE BEGINNING: In Detroit, Drew Sharp writes the Red Wings and Penguins "possess all the natural ingredients -- skill, antagonism and, perhaps most important, the likelihood they'll meet again in years to come." Sharp: "The NHL has struck the mother lode. NBC may be looking at a ratings bonanza Friday night because they have two star-laden teams and two more traditional hockey franchises." All of this is "music to" NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman's ears, as his league has "gained a newfound cache, the home of professional sports' latest virulent grudge match" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 6/11). USA TODAY's Christine Brennan writes due to HDTV, hockey is now "watchable and even understandable for people who didn't grow up in or near Canada," and it is "entirely possible that better times are ahead for the sport, due in large part to technology." Also, the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since '06 will be decided by a seventh game Friday night, and "best of all, the game won't have to compete with the NBA, which plays [tonight], meaning all those basketball fans won't have to wonder what they missed" (USA TODAY, 6/11). 

Writer Says Signs Encouraging For NHL As U.S. Viewership Increases

NET IMPACT? The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER's James Hibberd reports CBS' "Late Show With David Letterman" Tuesday earned a higher rating than NBC's "The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien" for the "first time since the NBC late-night franchise switched hosts from Jay Leno to O'Brien last week." Hibberd notes one "mitigating factor was that NBC aired live NHL Stanley Cup Finals coverage Tuesday in primetime, which led to low-rated local programming during the later hours on the West Coast, potentially providing 'Tonight' with a lead-in weaker than usual" (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 6/11).

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