Should Stanley Cup games be on NBC Sports Network? Nearly 2.5 million more viewers for Game 4 on NBC

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The question needs to be asked: Should the entire Stanley Cup Final air on NBC?

The difference was striking between Games 3 and 4. On Monday, Game 3 pulled in 4.04 million viewers on NBC Sports Network. The network is in 80 million homes.

Wednesday, NBC, which is in 115 million homes, took over for Game 4. Number of viewers: 6.49 million.

That’s a 61 percent increase. Why?

Quality of games: Boston dominated Game 3, winning 2-0. Meanwhile, Game 4 was a wild affair, with the Blackhawks finally taking a 6-5 victory in overtime. The rating peaked at 8.192 million viewers during the extra session, a huge number for hockey.

So some of the increase obviously has to be attributed to the quality of games. However, Game 2 also went to overtime. The game attracted 3.94 million viewers on NBC Sports Network.

OK, it can be argued that ratings build as you get deeper into a series. Well then, what about Game 1, which pulled in 6.4 million viewers for the triple overtime? The network: NBC.

Clearly, the fact that NBC is in 35 million more homes than NBC Sports Network means that many more people will have access to the biggest hockey games of the season. And that includes the casual viewer who doesn’t have much interest in hockey but might just tune in while channel surfing. Who knows? That person might have been intrigued by the terrific end to Game 4 and decide to watch Game 5.

That’s how hockey fans are born.

As I wrote Wednesday, airing Stanley Cup Final games on NBC Sports Network is a way to drive viewers to that network.

NBC Sports Network wants to grow its subscriber base from 80 million homes to nearly 100 million homes, or comparable to the distribution for ESPN. It wants potential viewers to call their cable operators and demand that the network either be added to their systems or put on a basic tier.

NBC knows it takes missing out on Stanley Cup Final games for people to make that call.

The NHL also has a vested interest in growing NBC Sports Network. The network is the main home for hockey, airing more than 100 regular season and playoff games. More subscribers means more potential hockey viewers.

But can the NHL afford to be missing out on a potential 1.5-2.5 million viewers and possibly future fans by airing Final games on NBC Sports Network?

It is a question that should be asked within Gary Bettman’s office and then addressed with NBC.

 

 

 

 

 

2 thoughts on “Should Stanley Cup games be on NBC Sports Network? Nearly 2.5 million more viewers for Game 4 on NBC”

  1. You are going to have to explain to me how “quality of game” can make that big a difference when no one knows going if it’s going to be a good game or not when they decide to tune in or not.

  2. Keep in mind that only games 2 and 3 (Non-clinching games) air on NBCSN. All the rest (1, 4-7) are on NBC. Makes sense.

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