I Never Thought I Would Say This…
…but thank God the Stanley Cup Finals are over! At least that is what most people (especially NBC advertisers) are saying. If you haven’t heard about it by now, Game 3 of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals made history for NBC. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the ‘bragging-rights’ kind of history. Game 3 exhibited the lowest rating of all time for an NBC prime time program. Never before had NBC run a program with such a low reach, share, you name it during prime time.
ESPN talk shows normally discuss the competitiveness and the story lines that are balled-up in this historical series. This week, however, most ESPN talk shows focused on the fact that nobody is watching the Stanley Cup Finals. As hockey sports analysts cried out to fans, sports reporters began devising new systems to bring viewers back to the NHL.
Until the Stanley Cup Finals, playoff games could only be found on cable channel VS. NBC covered a game or two during weekends, but they never put the NHL playoffs on prime time network television. This week’s numbers show that it just doesn’t belong.
Historically, sports have not done well on prime time network television. In fact, the only sports programs that seem to produce great numbers are football championships (NCAA and NFL of course). Even though MLB and NBA playoffs and championships aren’t the best prime time sports producers, they have proved to be more desired that the NHL championship.
When the Lightning were in the playoffs for a whole (1) series, I wondered why they weren’t broadcasting the games on the major sports channels, or even on network television. I now see how terribly the NHL sits among American viewers.
Hopefully we acquire an ice skate client here in the coming year. We will be able to get them some great TV spots on prime time national television for super cheap! That is, if NBC dares to duplicate its risky prime time NHL broadcast again next year.
