Game 2 between the Sharks and Penguins was a pretty exciting game which required overtime to settle the score. Despite the great game, the television ratings were pretty much a disaster. Game 2 earned a 1.9 overnight rating on NBCSN which was the lowest for a Stanley Cup Final game in the past four years.
Was NBCSN the culprit? Possibly, but it’s worth noting that Game 2 of the Final between the Blackhawks and Bruins in 2013 was also on NBCSN and that delivered a 2.9 rating. Game 2 of the Sharks and Penguins was 34% lower.
It certainly doesn’t help to have a Final game shown on cable, let alone on a channel that a decent chunk of America doesn’t even receive. The matchup will also receive plenty of criticism as San Jose isn’t exactly a captivating team compared to a team which the NHL has thrown more marketing dollars behind (LA Kings, Chicago Blackhawks).
This news comes not too long after the league received negative press for shutting down a watch party in Tampa Bay for a Lightning game. The belief then was that the league was concerned about television ratings which may suffer if a significant number of fans attended a watch party. Now that numbers for the Final are coming out, it should be more than obvious to the NHL that there’s a significant problem which can’t be addressed by simply banning a team from hosting a watch party.
