The city of Detroit is celebrating its champion Red Wings, but ratings for the Stanley Cup Finals in the market could not compare with recent runs by the Pistons and Tigers.
NBC’s four Stanley Cup Finals telecasts averaged a 25.2/40 in Detroit. The clinching Game 6 of the series averaged a 30.6/45 last night, while the triple-overtime Game 5 drew a 29.6/46 on Monday.
To put the 25.2/40 average in perspective, the Pistons’ trips to the 2004 and 2005 NBA Finals averaged ratings of 41.2/57 and 39.2/55, respectively, while the Tigers’ 2006 World Series averaged a 36.9/53.
Some of the disparity in ratings can be blamed on Detroit residents having access to the CBC, which does not count towards American television ratings. Even still, ratings for this year’s Stanley Cup Finals were down from the Red Wings’ last title run in 2002. The 25.2/40 is off 21% from the 31.7 average rating for the 2002 Stanley Cup Finals on ABC, and the 30.6/45 for the deciding game is down 15% from the ’02 clincher, a Game 5 that drew a 36.2/48.
