The Hockey News: Headlines: American television ratings rise for Stanley Cup final opener

American television ratings rise for Stanley Cup final opener

2008-05-25 22:30:00

STAMFORD, Conn. - The Detroit Red Wings' victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Stanley Cup final opener was the highest-rated and most-watched cable telecast of the championship round in six years in the United States.

The Red Wings' 4-0 win on Saturday night had a 1.8 rating in the U.S. - drawing over 2.3 million viewers. The rating was the highest for an NHL game on Versus, topping the audience that watched the Penguins' Game 2 victory over Philadelphia in this year's Eastern Conference finals.

Only Lance Armstrong's final ride in the 2005 Tour de France had a higher rating in Versus history (2.1).

Versus will show Game 2 of the finals on Monday night before the series shifts to NBC for the remaining games.

The Game 1 rating is a 157 per cent increase over last year's opener and a 100 per cent rise from two years ago.

COMMENTS (12)

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AA Posted
(2009-04-30 06:23:27)

Technically, the NHL is based in Toronto so it is a Canadian League. Sun Belt teams are a joke.

Bob Cling Posted
(2009-04-30 06:21:41)

The ratings increase isn't a big surprise. Remember the last X Stanley Cups have featured a'lot of Sun Belt cities that don't care about hockey, and Canadian cities that don't figure in the US TV ratings. Detroit and Pittsburgh are two strong hockey markets, at least in terms of US cities.

Dee Karl Posted
(2009-04-30 06:21:41)

So... if the games were being televisioned on other stations as well.. then the ratings are actually HIGHER than announced. Way cool! Oh.. and if you'd like to have your own canadian hockey league... go right ahead. Take your six teams and have a field day. There ARE fans in the sun belt. Check the callers on NHL Live and XM Home ice. It's pretty weird to hear hockey fans with southern accents... but HECK! There are a LOT of them!

Joe Blake Posted
(2009-04-30 06:21:36)

Anyone know if game 1 sold out ? Hard to imagine, but heard before game 1 tickets still available in Hockeytown . I guess Pistons homegame same night did not help. Awesome scheduling.

Donald Vasquez Posted
(2009-04-30 06:21:34)

I find that comment about u.s. fans watching because no canadian teams are left absurd. Where I live in the u.s we have no hockey teams and I love watching teams from Canada play. If Montreal was playing Calgary for the cup I would watch it and enjoy it even more because of the extreme excitement that the fans bring to the playoffs.

Gregg Posted
(2009-04-30 06:21:33)

The reason NHL ratings stink is for a few reasons. 1. the marketing is horrible from TV contracts to commercials promoting the sport. The NHL shows commericials of great hit, goals and breakaways during hockey games in which the hockey fan is watching. Big Deal the fan is already there and they know about the hockey excitement. Try showing these commericals during NBA, NFL and MLB games where other sports fan are watching. Get new fans this way geniuses!! 2. support high schools and youth hockey with money to develop interest with future fans at a young age. When one plays a sport they identify with it and watch it for life thus support it too with dollars and ratings at the gate and on TV. No hockey in Harlem is not the answer LOL. Have local support come from the local NHL teams and funded through the league. 3. Open up the ice a bit more and allow for fast skating. When i say open the ice I dont mean as much as international standards but maybe in between. People like scoring and shooting and greta saves. Yes that means removing some coverted seats in an arena for the good of the game and overall health of it. Lost revenure to be made up in future increased ratings,gate receipts, etc. 4. Play to your strengths!! Ratings shouldnt be low in the North East like Boston where the team has a great history. Play up this history and increase the fan base! what do the Bruins and other teams ever do to increase the fan base????? Nothing as usual!! NYR, Bruins, Philly,etc there is no excuse. How a great sport like hockey is so weak nationally is a disgrace. Its not like the sport stinks LOL. This is a product thet NHL just doesnt know what to do with.

Tim Posted
(2009-04-30 06:21:33)

Steve-I live in Michigan and my rule of thumb for who I root for in any given series is 1) Red Wings; 2) Original Six (except NY Rangers); 3) Canadian teams; 4) Whoever else piques my interest. I would LOVE to see Toronto make it to the finals. And I would tune in for Calgary-Montreal before I would, say, Los Angeles-Florida.

Bob Brownell Posted
(2009-04-30 06:21:33)

Funny thing about this is that no one in Detroit tuned in to Vs. They all watched on channel 9 in Windsor.

John K Posted
(2009-04-30 06:21:33)

That's nice, but imagine if it was on a channel that was available to everyone on their basic package. VS is still a premium channel on some cable and satellite providers. I couldn't get it on my satellite package with out buying another 50 channels I didn't want to see.

Steve Posted
(2009-04-30 06:21:32)

It just goes to show you that when all the Canadian teams are out, Americans tune in. Canadians should come to terms with the fact that the NHL tolerates, not values our teams. We no longer have a real place at the table and therefore should be forging our own hockey destiny, independant of a league who no longer values our input and contributions to the game.

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