What does it say about the Anaheim Ducks that the largest market to tune into Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals was Buffalo, NY? Despite the hometown Sabres losing to the Ottawa Senators in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Buffalo market drew a 3.9 overnight rating locally for Game 1, more than double the 1.7 rating in the Los Angeles market.
Gary Bettman must be sick, just thinking about how good the ratings would have been had the Sabres made the Stanley Cup Final. Buffalo may be a small market, but one expects that the numbers would have been astronomical locally — and the national ratings could use as much help as possible.
Versus “ranked fifth among the cable networks in Los Angeles from 8 p.m. EDT to 10:45 p.m.” Considering just how low Versus is on the cable totem pole, and considering how big of a market Los Angeles is, that is not a terrible thing. However, it is never a good sign when a local team in the championship round of a major sporting event cannot even attract two percent of the local television audience.
National ratings for Game 1 have not been released as of yet.
Meanwhile, ratings in Canada are down from last year; Game 1 drew 2.6 million viewers, down 14% from the 3.0 million for Game 1 last year between the Carolina Hurricanes and Edmonton Oilers.
Link to Toronto Globe and Mail article found via Kukla’s Korner.
