Perhaps Pittsburgh can make a better argument as “Hockeytown” than Detroit.
Games 1 and 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals drew massive ratings in hockey hotbeds Pittsburgh and Detroit. Sunday night’s Game 2 on NBC drew a whopping 31.7/43 in Pittsburgh and a 28.1/43 in Detroit, meaning 43% of televisions in use in both markets were tuned to the game.
Meanwhile, Saturday’s Game 1 drew a 26.5/43 in Pittsburgh and a 19.3/34 in Detroit.
Throughout the postseason, NHL games drew massive ratings in both Pittsburgh and Detroit. Games 5, 6 and 7 of the Penguins/Capitals series were not only the highest rated Penguins telecasts ever on FSN Pittsburgh, but they also drew the three highest ratings ever for an NHL telecast on a FOX-owned RSN — topped by a 25.0 for Game 7.
The Penguins’ clinching victory over the Hurricanes in the East Finals, televised exclusively by Versus, drew a 27.1 rating locally. The series as a whole averaged a 21.7 in Pittsburgh.
Ratings were also impressive, though not quite as much, in Detroit. FS Detroit set all-time ratings records twice during the Red Wings postseason run, including a 17.5 rating for the Wings’ Game 7 win against the Ducks.
And the Red Wings’ clinching win over the Blackhawks in the West Finals drew a 15.9 rating locally, the highest rating ever for an NHL game on Versus in the market, and especially impressive when one considers that Versus aired Games 1 and 2 of last year’s Stanley Cup Finals involving the Red Wings.
