The Cup Final's viewership trend follows many other major sports, which are also seeing declinesGETTY IMAGES
Viewership numbers for the first three games of the Lightning-Stars Stanley Cup Final “are way down across the board” from last year’s Blues-Bruins series, according to Jay Cridlin of the TAMPA BAY TIMES. Wednesday’s Game 3 drew 1.2 million viewers on NBCSN, down 60% from ’19. That follows a trend from the first two games -- Game 1 on NBC last Saturday drew 2.16 million viewers (down 60% from ’19) while Monday's Game 2 on NBCSN also drew 1.2 million viewers (down 65%). One distinction is that last year featured the Bruins, a “nationally popular” Original Six club. While the Lightning and Stars both are “Sun Belt cities with solid hockey histories,” they also have “decidedly smaller national followings.” The “biggest hurdle for the NHL is timing,” with the Final taking place in a crowded late September calendar instead of its normal June home. Locally in the Tampa market, Game 3 drew an 8.6 rating, the “best of the playoffs and NBC Sports' best local cable rating for any game" since '18. Game 1 drew a 6.4 rating in Dallas-Ft. Worth, the “best-ever for an NHL game on NBC” in that market (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 9/25).
NO CROSS-BORDER INTEREST: THE ATHLETIC's Sean Fitz-Gerald noted with all Canadian teams being eliminated from the playoffs after the conference semifinals, Sportsnet has "found itself back in that familiar circumstance, and audiences have not been as resilient as hoped." Sportsnet confirmed Lighting-Stars Game 1 drew an "average audience of only 1.081 million on Saturday night." Monday's Game 2 shrank to 841,000. Sources suggest that the "blame for low ratings in Canada falls on the teams themselves" (THEATHLETIC.com, 9/23).
BEST OF A BAD SITUATION: In N.Y., Carol Schram notes Sportsnet "chose to keep its broadcast crew outside the bubble" in Edmonton, which has "led to some challenges" for reporter Kyle Bukauskas. He typically conducts player interviews "rinkside before games and during intermissions." However, while in Toronto for the early part of the restart, he was "stationed multiple levels above the ice and could communicate with players only through a speaker." His setup is a "little better in Edmonton, where he’s able to make eye contact through a monitor" (N.Y. TIMES, 9/25).
