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Originally Posted by Paulie Walnuts
Hope Bettman is paying close attention the ratings are in the toilet in the US. Down almost 30% and that is with the new expanded rating system that includes streaming. So the numbers might be even worse. One of the least watched finals of all time and it’s all because of Edmonton and having the least marketable superstar in the 3 pro leagues.
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That's not Edmonton's or McDavid's problem.
The issue is that the finals don't involve teams from the markets where they care about hockey in US. Add that with being a repeat of last year.
And it's not just an NHL problem.
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Predictably, the national TV audience for Game 1 wasn’t commensurate with the sheer entertainment value on display. (There’s no accounting for taste.) Per Nielsen, ABC’s broadcast served up an average audience of 8.91 million viewers, down 19% from the analogous Mavericks-Celtics game in 2024 (10.99 million), while earning the dubious distinction of being the least-watched NBA Finals opener this side of the pandemic-blighted series in 2020 and 2021. (Prior to Thursday’s broadcast, the lowest delivery for a regularly-scheduled Game 1 was the 9.21 million viewers ABC managed with the 2007 Spurs-Cavaliers title tilt, a quick four-night set that remains the least-watched complete NBA Finals on record.)
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https://www.sportico.com/business/me...-1-1234855478/
Finals involving teams that aren't from big US markets for their respective leagues aren't gonna be big draws. Water is also wet.