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No...game 2's ratings on NBC were terrible, after a promising game 1 rating. Mostly because game 2 fell on a Saturday night -- the lowest viewership of the week. Plus, a Canadian market hurts NBC.
Vancouver HURTS the ratings...few Americans know anything about it, that it's beautiful and livable, where it is, etc. Most couldn't tell you Van. hosted the Olympics!
Saskatoon would be even more anonymous to the U.S. fan. No Canadian city counts in the NBC ratings. If Boston played Detroit, Colorado or even San Jose, the ratings would likely be better for the 2011 Finals.
You're forgetting that NBC might have 3 million viewers for the finals, but the CBC had an average of 5.6 million viewers in Canada peaking at 7.8 million--for both games. Even with Canada being 10 times smaller than the US--the market for hockey is still that much larger. And Game 1 still had the highest ratings for a Stanley Cup opener in 10 years for US viewers.
Hockey doesn't have much of a TV audience in most of the US because:
a)If you live in most of the US and don't live in a hockey hotbed or have the Versus Cable network or a satellite, you're resigned to watching the occasional broadcast game on NBC for most of the season. Where I live I only rarely get to see games broadcast unless I go to a sports bar or until the playoffs. Which is why hockey will never grow in the US.
b)Most Americans don't follow the Stanley Cup finals unless they live in the northern cities that have strong hockey traditions or have a home team in the finals. People in Tampa Bay or Carolina might follow the finals if the Lightining or Hurricaine are in it, but even it was Chicago vs. Los Angeles--most people wouldn't care outside a few diehard hockey fans.
Hockey is really a niche sport in the US outside of the northern tier and a few select cities. In Canada it's as big nationally as the Super Bowl and World Series combined.
The Canadian tax structure really hurts their teams when competing against the US markets. Having the games on VS is killing ratings, especially when they go against the NBA.
b)Most Americans don't follow the Stanley Cup finals unless they live in the northern cities that have strong hockey traditions or have a home team in the finals. People in Tampa Bay or Carolina might follow the finals if the Lightining or Hurricaine are in it, but even it was Chicago vs. Los Angeles--most people wouldn't care outside a few diehard hockey fans.
Hockey is really a niche sport in the US outside of the northern tier and a few select cities. In Canada it's as big nationally as the Super Bowl and World Series combined.
Individual market breakdowns for ratings in game 1 and game 2 of the Cup Finals. Some of the results might surprise you.
Heh....Well I guess Tampa Bay and Nashville might be better hockey towns than some people give them credit for. It's interesting that most of the towns with teams that won a round in the playoffs had higher ratings for the Cup finals--having a good team seems to make a difference for the market.
Heh....Well I guess Tampa Bay and Nashville might be better hockey towns than some people give them credit for. It's interesting that most of the towns with teams that won a round in the playoffs had higher ratings for the Cup finals--having a good team seems to make a difference for the market.
I think having a good team does make a difference...as does the "what could've been" factor. A lot of teams that lose are interested in how the team in the next round plays them.
Aside from that, I did find it interesting how well some of the mid level midwest and southern markets fared. Richmond and Fort Myers, for instance.
Also, one market that had been rumored as a possible NHL relo city (Kansas City) did awful. Seattle (I know they're feeding off of neighbor Vancouver) makes a much more compelling case as a potential hockey market.
Also, these numbers do not take into account US markets that border Canada, which can receive the CBC game broadcasts.
Wow....I already have the name chosen: The Saskatoon Goons!
Actually, St. Louis almost moved there back in the early 80's, when the league was a backwater outfit, not like today.
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