It’s true. Big markets need to get their act together.
soyov
Idk how rating can tell the full story tbh. Was at bdubs and it was almost packed, most where watching the game too
PingBongBingPong
Florida Panthers vs Las Vegas Knights. Doesn’t seem like it would be a big draw like the old school teams that have been around. Vegas has been around since 2017 and the panthers have been around the early 90s. Both towns don’t have a natural hockey love like Detroit, Boston, Chicago and other teams.
However big market teams shouldn’t be shoveled into the finals. They should just not be bad and win.
biscuitslayer77
Fuck ratings. Just give me the two best teams from the playoffs. This year that was these 2.
ThatOneDudeFromOhio
It mostly because I couldn’t watch it on a streaming platform ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ sorry for letting everyone down.
natty_mh
It’s almost like it’s impossible to stream the NHL.
Falcon3492
It was also the first only on cable final since I believe 1993. The NHL really shot themselves in the foot by going back to an only on cable final. People have been dropping their cable service for years, so by limiting your audience your almost assuring yourself a smaller audience that will be tuning in to see the STANLEY CUP Finals. By and large this was truly a really stupid decision by the NHL.
shmoove_cwiminal
There was no drama. 2-0 lead after 2 games, 3-1 after 4. Series was over before it started. As a fan, it’s hard to care when one of the two teams in the series doesn’t appear to care.
JustSixTrees
If it were on a streaming platform instead of cable this shit wouldn’t happen
PDXalreadtused
Because it was only on tnt, tbs and tru- tv of all places, blacking out a finals and forcing people to subscribe to live tv is a travesty. I’m not upgrading, I’ll watch so illegal stream.
toasty327
Ratings are down because the games were only on premium channels. With so many people cord cutting, they are likely to not opt into espn+or an app with tbs
theTallBoy
It was also 2 deeply uninteresting teams.
What is average attendance to a panthers game?
InquisitiveTechy
I think the channel had as much to do with this as anything.
I paid for Sling because I wanted to watch all the playoff games, but these days a lot of people don’t have TNT.
Then I’m sure a large number watched it illegally.
But regardless I don’t think the number shows what they think it shows..
yemx0351
Trying to create causation and correlation.
People had to seek out a way,to watch was not on normal channels.
Covid was just getting over and people were now able to go out and enjoy the outdoors.
So many other factors but those 2 some.of the biggest in my opinion.
Ambitious-Search-843
Only on cable? Do none of you know how to find pirate streams?
wikipuff
What happens when the finals are on basic cable and not Network TV in America
PAUMiklo
Lack of viewing options and a matchup that was not interesting.
Love hockey but live in a climate with short summers and after a long winter I wasn’t willing to go through the dog and pony show to find a viewing option for two teams I could care less if they existed v go out and enjoy my day.
gentleman_bronco
The NHL doesn’t do a good enough job making the game accessible to watch. If you want old *and new* fans, it needs to be easy to find and watch. Gary Bettman thinking everyone has cable is a dumb strategy.
Broncotron
I don’t get TBS. 5 hockey games isn’t going to get me to reup my cable package.
nerd_account
Well, not one SCF game on Network television. If it’s all on cable, you’re going to get less people watching. Like A LOT less, like 43% less.
We don’t have cable, and probably never will. It’s over $150 a month for the family’s streaming habits. I just cannot add cable on top of that.
AND! I had to wait TWO days to watch the replays on ESPN+. Last year the Sports Net feed was available upon completion of the post game show. Early in this year’s playoffs, this was available. Until the Eastern Conference Finals and SCF.
eledad1
I posted that this would happen because the two cities were not big tv grabbers. Got downvoted like crazy. Said Bettman’s playoff plans would blunder when the top teams getting eliminated by second round. Tv is money for professional sports. Time to switch back to old playoff format. 1 vs 8, 2 vs 7 etc.
skankhunt_relapse
It’s almost like nobody cares about hockey in the south.
steggun_cinargo
I watched every game but I was either at a sportsbook or streamed it. I imagine the real view count is higher than they think
Melting_Plastic
I had cable and ESPN+. Once the rangers were eliminated, I dropped both. Honestly, I’ll ride the high seas next year especially since I couldn’t watch like 1/4 of the games with just ESPN+
Bettman is slowly killing the casual fan but the owners keep raking in the money so nothing will change any time soon
mudamuckinjedi
Thats because unless you had a way of getting TNT you couldn’t, even if were interested in watching!
OldDirtyInsulin
Serious (stupid) question:
Why doesn’t the NHL (and NBA) stream games for free? The ad revenue couldn’t cover the cost to provide that kind of server bandwidth or what? I’d watch a lot of hockey and basketball if it was easy and free to do so. Instead I watch, like, none of it.
future_chili
I couldn’t watch if I wanted too I don’t have cable
Key-Surprise-9206
Man the nhl really needs to put their games on an ESPN type streaming where they actually get paid for it cuz no one is buying cable anymore it seems
ARussianSheep
Watched it from the high seas. Maybe if hockey were easier to watch without a cable service or 4 different streaming subscriptions, their ratings would be better.
Oatboatafloat
I stopped watching hockey this year with new digital advertisements. Sport is also getting pretty soft, They rarely show fight and hit recaps… my heart just isn’t into it anymore.
Sadiq_Sabonis
I am salty but when my team is out I don’t watch 🙂
lilscammah
Look at the teams making it past the first 2 rounds… makes a lot of sense
FloggingTheCargo
I haven’t had cable since I moved out of my parents house some 18 odd years ago. I didn’t see a single second of the playoffs/final since my only option would be going to a bar since nobody I’m friends with has cable either. The NHL needs to write up some streaming contracts with one of the big services.
AdmirableStatement47
I guess the NHL missed the memo – cord-cutting is a thing now! #BringBackTheStanleyCupToThePeople
KevinKCG
The NHL worked so hard to not conflict with the NBA that they shot themselves in the foot. This was the worst NHL finals in my memory and a huge part of the problem was the giant gaps between games.
People just lost interest when it would take weeks for the NHL final to start and end.
Also, surprise, surprise, the team that went several millions of dollars over the Salary Cap limit beat the team that was cap compliant. I’m so shocked…
CosmicMarbles
It doesn’t help that the NHL is so stupid when it comes to deciding how people can watch their games. I want to watch Vancouver games throughout the year, but even if I pay for a membership, half are still blacked out for me. Why would I even pay for that?
I don’t have cable, Lots of people are getting rid of it. Having the finals be only cable was a stupid idea. Everyone likes to make it out as if it’s all due to the final having to south teams. But it’s largely because the NHL continues to shoot themselves in the foot.
Just have one streaming site, one membership to pay for. If the process of trying to watch a game wasn’t such a pain in the ass, numbers would be a lot better.
Flex1855
Not a lot of ppl care to watch Vegas and Florida in a finals,if not for Tkachuk and the ex blues on Vegas I wouldn’t have watched until the end( always watch the cup skated)
JustWannaChill82
People have other things to do in life. The weather usually gets nice around playoff time. Unless your team is in it people usually don’t care that much. I’m a die hard fan and I barley watched anything after the 1st round
NefariousnessDue7584
Also two shit market cities
PressureDense9552
Get rid of Bettman. I bet things get better. Oh, and get rid of those dam online betting commercials. thats were I draw the line. They come on. I change the channel
NHL viewership has been trending down pretty hard since ESPN took over from NBC. That articles was from February 2023.
Intelligent_Limit462
How did the respective conference finals ( ECF & WCF) perform this year as compared to previous years?
jkman61494
The NHL was LUCKY to either have a major franchise and/or a name brand elite star like Crosby in the finals every year from 2007-23 aside from the bubble final of Tampa and Dallas.
These were 2 non hockey markets from a national point of view and 2 teams that were really unlikeable in many ways. AND it was a cable only final.
The NHL seemingly going out of their way the past few years to REMOVE ways for people to see their game has been impressive in their idiocy.
I have TNT via my in-laws. But I still saw myself sail the seas to see better coverage on Sportsnet
Charming_Weird_2532
Because the final was two markets that are small. Bettman constantly talks about growing the game but actively goes against what he says. If he truely wants to grow the game of hockey he needs to allow for more hockey on the world stage. Letting there be more international tournaments and players to go to the Olympics would grow the game more rather than trying to get shit markets to the final.
No-Dish-2695
Even Snoop Dogg called it, NHL sucks at marketing.
Barilko-Landing
The access to viewership was obviously botched in the US from what I’m reading… But I can also tell you that in Canada where it was accessible in the same way as the rest of the playoffs – the finals lost a ton of viewers to needless delay between the end of the conference finals and the start of the scf. Any buzz that was present leading up to the final matchup fizzled out before the series started.
And of course there’s also the simple fact that most Canadian fans love to bitch about cities without winters having success, which I don’t personally agree with… But it’s obvious that most people simply don’t care much about who wins it once their own team is out, and the last Canadian team is out as their « backup »
DeadStringScrolls
To me personally, this was the least interesting matchup possible out of the pool of 16 teams. Can’t speak for others, or any other reasons. Fairly limited broadcasting I’m sure didn’t help either… this winds up hurting a good number of established and up & coming sports.
Kevolved
No. I’m done caring about sports. I broke my hand « finding a stud » after game 7 of Florida Bruins. I say I’m done, but I’ll still watch the bruins and pats, but that’s it.
Yes it’s sad, but now maybe I can enjoy it as « just a game » and if my team is playing I’ll root for them but I’m done going to the games.
mymar101
i know, we should only allow Toronto and the NYR to be in the cup finals every year. Because that’s what the sport is all about. Ratings.
49 Comments
It’s true. Big markets need to get their act together.
Idk how rating can tell the full story tbh. Was at bdubs and it was almost packed, most where watching the game too
Florida Panthers vs Las Vegas Knights. Doesn’t seem like it would be a big draw like the old school teams that have been around. Vegas has been around since 2017 and the panthers have been around the early 90s. Both towns don’t have a natural hockey love like Detroit, Boston, Chicago and other teams.
However big market teams shouldn’t be shoveled into the finals. They should just not be bad and win.
Fuck ratings. Just give me the two best teams from the playoffs. This year that was these 2.
It mostly because I couldn’t watch it on a streaming platform ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ sorry for letting everyone down.
It’s almost like it’s impossible to stream the NHL.
It was also the first only on cable final since I believe 1993. The NHL really shot themselves in the foot by going back to an only on cable final. People have been dropping their cable service for years, so by limiting your audience your almost assuring yourself a smaller audience that will be tuning in to see the STANLEY CUP Finals. By and large this was truly a really stupid decision by the NHL.
There was no drama. 2-0 lead after 2 games, 3-1 after 4. Series was over before it started. As a fan, it’s hard to care when one of the two teams in the series doesn’t appear to care.
If it were on a streaming platform instead of cable this shit wouldn’t happen
Because it was only on tnt, tbs and tru- tv of all places, blacking out a finals and forcing people to subscribe to live tv is a travesty. I’m not upgrading, I’ll watch so illegal stream.
Ratings are down because the games were only on premium channels. With so many people cord cutting, they are likely to not opt into espn+or an app with tbs
It was also 2 deeply uninteresting teams.
What is average attendance to a panthers game?
I think the channel had as much to do with this as anything.
I paid for Sling because I wanted to watch all the playoff games, but these days a lot of people don’t have TNT.
Then I’m sure a large number watched it illegally.
But regardless I don’t think the number shows what they think it shows..
Trying to create causation and correlation.
People had to seek out a way,to watch was not on normal channels.
Covid was just getting over and people were now able to go out and enjoy the outdoors.
So many other factors but those 2 some.of the biggest in my opinion.
Only on cable? Do none of you know how to find pirate streams?
What happens when the finals are on basic cable and not Network TV in America
Lack of viewing options and a matchup that was not interesting.
Love hockey but live in a climate with short summers and after a long winter I wasn’t willing to go through the dog and pony show to find a viewing option for two teams I could care less if they existed v go out and enjoy my day.
The NHL doesn’t do a good enough job making the game accessible to watch. If you want old *and new* fans, it needs to be easy to find and watch. Gary Bettman thinking everyone has cable is a dumb strategy.
I don’t get TBS. 5 hockey games isn’t going to get me to reup my cable package.
Well, not one SCF game on Network television. If it’s all on cable, you’re going to get less people watching. Like A LOT less, like 43% less.
We don’t have cable, and probably never will. It’s over $150 a month for the family’s streaming habits. I just cannot add cable on top of that.
AND! I had to wait TWO days to watch the replays on ESPN+. Last year the Sports Net feed was available upon completion of the post game show. Early in this year’s playoffs, this was available. Until the Eastern Conference Finals and SCF.
I posted that this would happen because the two cities were not big tv grabbers. Got downvoted like crazy. Said Bettman’s playoff plans would blunder when the top teams getting eliminated by second round. Tv is money for professional sports. Time to switch back to old playoff format. 1 vs 8, 2 vs 7 etc.
It’s almost like nobody cares about hockey in the south.
I watched every game but I was either at a sportsbook or streamed it. I imagine the real view count is higher than they think
I had cable and ESPN+. Once the rangers were eliminated, I dropped both. Honestly, I’ll ride the high seas next year especially since I couldn’t watch like 1/4 of the games with just ESPN+
Bettman is slowly killing the casual fan but the owners keep raking in the money so nothing will change any time soon
Thats because unless you had a way of getting TNT you couldn’t, even if were interested in watching!
Serious (stupid) question:
Why doesn’t the NHL (and NBA) stream games for free? The ad revenue couldn’t cover the cost to provide that kind of server bandwidth or what? I’d watch a lot of hockey and basketball if it was easy and free to do so. Instead I watch, like, none of it.
I couldn’t watch if I wanted too I don’t have cable
Man the nhl really needs to put their games on an ESPN type streaming where they actually get paid for it cuz no one is buying cable anymore it seems
Watched it from the high seas. Maybe if hockey were easier to watch without a cable service or 4 different streaming subscriptions, their ratings would be better.
I stopped watching hockey this year with new digital advertisements. Sport is also getting pretty soft, They rarely show fight and hit recaps… my heart just isn’t into it anymore.
I am salty but when my team is out I don’t watch 🙂
Look at the teams making it past the first 2 rounds… makes a lot of sense
I haven’t had cable since I moved out of my parents house some 18 odd years ago. I didn’t see a single second of the playoffs/final since my only option would be going to a bar since nobody I’m friends with has cable either. The NHL needs to write up some streaming contracts with one of the big services.
I guess the NHL missed the memo – cord-cutting is a thing now! #BringBackTheStanleyCupToThePeople
The NHL worked so hard to not conflict with the NBA that they shot themselves in the foot. This was the worst NHL finals in my memory and a huge part of the problem was the giant gaps between games.
People just lost interest when it would take weeks for the NHL final to start and end.
Also, surprise, surprise, the team that went several millions of dollars over the Salary Cap limit beat the team that was cap compliant. I’m so shocked…
It doesn’t help that the NHL is so stupid when it comes to deciding how people can watch their games. I want to watch Vancouver games throughout the year, but even if I pay for a membership, half are still blacked out for me. Why would I even pay for that?
I don’t have cable, Lots of people are getting rid of it. Having the finals be only cable was a stupid idea. Everyone likes to make it out as if it’s all due to the final having to south teams. But it’s largely because the NHL continues to shoot themselves in the foot.
Just have one streaming site, one membership to pay for. If the process of trying to watch a game wasn’t such a pain in the ass, numbers would be a lot better.
Not a lot of ppl care to watch Vegas and Florida in a finals,if not for Tkachuk and the ex blues on Vegas I wouldn’t have watched until the end( always watch the cup skated)
People have other things to do in life. The weather usually gets nice around playoff time. Unless your team is in it people usually don’t care that much. I’m a die hard fan and I barley watched anything after the 1st round
Also two shit market cities
Get rid of Bettman. I bet things get better. Oh, and get rid of those dam online betting commercials. thats were I draw the line. They come on. I change the channel
https://www.sportspromedia.com/news/nhl-regular-season-2022-23-us-tv-ratings-audience-viewers-espn-turner-tnt/?zephr_sso_ott=7mOiwa
NHL viewership has been trending down pretty hard since ESPN took over from NBC. That articles was from February 2023.
How did the respective conference finals ( ECF & WCF) perform this year as compared to previous years?
The NHL was LUCKY to either have a major franchise and/or a name brand elite star like Crosby in the finals every year from 2007-23 aside from the bubble final of Tampa and Dallas.
These were 2 non hockey markets from a national point of view and 2 teams that were really unlikeable in many ways. AND it was a cable only final.
The NHL seemingly going out of their way the past few years to REMOVE ways for people to see their game has been impressive in their idiocy.
I have TNT via my in-laws. But I still saw myself sail the seas to see better coverage on Sportsnet
Because the final was two markets that are small. Bettman constantly talks about growing the game but actively goes against what he says. If he truely wants to grow the game of hockey he needs to allow for more hockey on the world stage. Letting there be more international tournaments and players to go to the Olympics would grow the game more rather than trying to get shit markets to the final.
Even Snoop Dogg called it, NHL sucks at marketing.
The access to viewership was obviously botched in the US from what I’m reading… But I can also tell you that in Canada where it was accessible in the same way as the rest of the playoffs – the finals lost a ton of viewers to needless delay between the end of the conference finals and the start of the scf. Any buzz that was present leading up to the final matchup fizzled out before the series started.
And of course there’s also the simple fact that most Canadian fans love to bitch about cities without winters having success, which I don’t personally agree with… But it’s obvious that most people simply don’t care much about who wins it once their own team is out, and the last Canadian team is out as their « backup »
To me personally, this was the least interesting matchup possible out of the pool of 16 teams. Can’t speak for others, or any other reasons. Fairly limited broadcasting I’m sure didn’t help either… this winds up hurting a good number of established and up & coming sports.
No. I’m done caring about sports. I broke my hand « finding a stud » after game 7 of Florida Bruins. I say I’m done, but I’ll still watch the bruins and pats, but that’s it.
Yes it’s sad, but now maybe I can enjoy it as « just a game » and if my team is playing I’ll root for them but I’m done going to the games.
i know, we should only allow Toronto and the NYR to be in the cup finals every year. Because that’s what the sport is all about. Ratings.