One would imagine that it is tough to fall from the bottom.
The Sports Business Daily today reports that Game 1 of the 2007 Stanley Cup Finals drew a 0.6 overnight cable rating on Versus, “down 28.7% from a 0.87 for Oilers-Hurricanes Game One last season.”
The 0.6 is the lowest rating in at least thirteen years for a Stanley Cup Finals game.
A 28% decline on Versus does not bode well for NBC. NHL games on Versus do not attract many casual fans, meaning that NHL fans were the ones tuning out this series. If that is the case, NBC could very well be on its way to some record-low ratings (not just for the NHL but for broadcast television period) for its Stanley Cup Final coverage.
With that being said, part of the decline may have to do with the fact that this game aired on Memorial Day (as opposed to last year’s Game 1, which aired a week later). The true barometer as to whether or not this series will be a complete disaster will come tonight. If the ratings rebound, then the league and its broadcast partners can breathe a sigh of relief. If not, this could be the year that the NHL falls even further off the map.
