The Good 'Ol Hockey Game

The NHL season concluded Wednesday as the Anaheim Ducks hoisted the Stanley Cup in front of a raucous California crowd. Outside of the Honda Center, however, few people took notice.

The fifth and final game of the series attracted merely 2.88 million viewers for NBC - the smallest audience for an NHL finale in 12 years. That statistic only caps off an abysmal ratings run for the NHL that prompted commisioner Gary Bettman to downplay the importance of TV ratings in his State of the Union address last week.

Versus, the exclusive distributor for NHL games during the regular season, experienced similar playoff woes. Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals managed 769,000 viewers, narrowly behind the Food Network's "Build a Better Burger" at 807,000. Perhaps that is an indicator of the NHL's order-of-importance south of the Canadian border.

But should NHL fans and analysts simply blame the States for ignoring the sport? Of course not. The NHL made a crucial mistake following the lockout by cashing in quickly on Versus' (then OLN) generous two-year, $130 million offer for regular season coverage. While this pooled a few more million to all 30 teams, it hid the league in a non-traditional sports network, and lost the league considerable exposure that ESPN could have provided. Not only does ESPN reach over 20 million more households than Versus (as well as hotels and bars), but they know how to promote a league. Unfortunately, ESPN was smart enough not to offer $130 million.

The NHL's ratings troubles reached a peak for game 3 of the Cup finals when NBC recorded their lowest ratings for a prime-time program in network history. The 1.1 national rating was 31% below last year's third game showdown between Edmonton and Carolina.

So what does this say about the future for the NHL? In Canada, no sport even approaches hockey's national popularity, but in the US the sport's wanning popularity has become the only topic for discussion regarding the NHL. With recent rumours of expansion teams in Las Vegas and Kansas City it appears the league is still trying to market the game to places that just aren't that interested. Lost in the mix are Canadian fans, who have watched three different Canadian teams fall at the hands of American teams over the past three consecutive seasons. Sure Tampa Bay, Carolina, and now Anaheim have embraced their winning squad, but in these Canadian cities where fans eat, sleep, and breath hockey, it almost doesn't seem fair.