Last years Pittsburgh Penguins v. Detroit Redwings marquis "Original 6" match up produced the best NHL Stanley Cup Finals ratings in 6 years, breaking the recent sharp downward trend. That matchup would happen again this season, and a six or seven game series could provide another uptick.
Full Data for NHL Stanley Cup Finals Ratings, 1995-2008
| Year | Net | Games | HH Rating | HH Share | Avg. HHs (million) | Avg. Viewers (million) | Teams |
| 2008 | NBC/VS | 6 | 2.6 | 5 | 2.929 | 4.479 | Pittsburgh vs. Detroit |
| 2007 | NBC/VS | 5 | 1.2 | 2 | 1.307 | 1.764 | Ottawa vs. Anaheim |
| 2006 | NBC/OLN** | 7 | 1.8 | 3 | 1.994 | 2.834 | Carolina vs, Edmonton |
| 2005 | NHL Season Cancelled | ||||||
| 2004 | *ABC/ESPN | 7 | 2.2 | 4 | 2.366 | 3.286 | Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Calgary Flames |
| 2003 | *ABC/ESPN | 7 | 2.4 | 4 | 2.557 | 3.627 | New Jersey Devils vs. Anaheim Ducks |
| 2002 | ABC | 3 | 3.6 | 7 | 3.815 | 5.768 | Detroit Red Wings vs. Carolina Hurricanes |
| 2001 | ABC | 5 | 3.3 | 6 | 3.371 | 5.058 | Colorado Avalanche vs. New Jersey Devils |
| 2000 | ABC | 4 | 3.7 | 8 | 3.734 | 5.511 | New Jersey Devils vs. Dallas Stars |
| 1999 | FOX | 3 | 3.4 | 6 | 3.379 | 4.873 | Dallas Stars vs. Buffalo Sabres |
| 1998 | FOX | 1 | 3.3 | 6 | 3.230 | 4.830 | Detroit Red Wings vs. Washington Capitals |
| 1997 | FOX | 1 | 4.0 | 8 | 3.930 | 6.370 | Detroit Red Wings vs. Philadelphia Flyers |
| 1996 | FOX | 2 | 3.6 | 7 | 3.430 | 5.090 | Colorado Avalanche vs. Florida Panthers |
| 1995 | FOX | 2 | 3.4 | 8 | 3.254 | 5.210 | New Jersey Devils vs. Detroit Red Wings |
*ABC had 5 telecasts & ESPN had 2 telecasts so this is the combined average of both networks.
**NBC had 5 telecasts & OLN had 2 telecasts so this is the combined average of both networks.
Data for 2006-8 is Live+SD, all previous years is Live viewing.
Nielsen TV Ratings Data: ©2009 Nielsen Media Research, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Er, Penguins vs. Red Wings isn’t “Original 6″.
But anyway.
Doh! My bad. Will correct.
Other than 1998, the Red Wings have always put up better numbers (Hockey Town and all that), but this will be like 1998, since it will be the second year in a row that Detroit will win.
Do you not have the cable ratings for any year prior to 2003?
Julia, that table is a direct copy/paste from the Nielsen SS, I have no other information. Since I my knowledge of the NHL could fit in a thimble, I assumed that there were no cable telecasts of the Stanley Cup finals before that year.
Correction: It was a copy/paste from the portion of the spreadsheet with *ratings*. I now see that ESPN telecast the games in 1992-1994, but the Nielsen SS has no ratings data for those years.
Hey now, Julia, don’t count out the Penguins so fast. They’re a better team, with a better coach, than last year. And even last year they put up a hell of a fight with Detroit. It went to a game six, and a lot of people assumed the Red Wings would sweep it.
I still hope Chicago comes back and beats Detroit though. Chicago’s my second favorite city even though I don’t have second favorite hockey teams.
The Pens game last night was such great hockey.
You keep dreaming, Annie.
Bill, there have to be at least four games a series, so 1995-1999 and 2002 must have had some games aired on cable. I believe Detroit swept at least one final between 1997 and 1998, though it might have been both. I can’t remember.
Julia, of course there have to be 4 games. D’oh!
Appreciated, but the Thrashers did not play Detroit for the Cup. That was the Carolina Hurricanes.
Tsani, Thanks for the catch. Interesting error from the Nielsen SS. Will correct.
Yeah, go Wings!
I believe the Stanley CUp finals should be played at the end of May. The ratings wuold be much better if they finished before June 1.
People have moved on in June, and do not want to watch hockey (even real fans). I hope the NHL realizes this.
Playoff hockey is great. It is good to see the Blackhawks back in action. Also was good to see Boston get some air time. Versus is doing a good job. Go Pens.
Another season, another first round exit by my beloved Philadelphia Flyers.
Blackhawks are flying tonight. At least in this 1st period. Great atmosphere in hockey arenas during playoffs.
My dear Canucks hit the second round glass ceiling again
It’s almost a shame that the Cup final last year got such high ratings when it was one of the most boring finals in the past decade.
Detroit won’t win the cup this year though, they’re an inferior team to last year. Though they will still likely be in the final so I guess that won’t affect the ratings at all.
Ratings for the 2004 – 2007 finals were higher in Canada, if only the League cared
Canada has a few extremely lucrative untapped markets left for hockey teams, but Bettman will never recognize that. Gotta keep throwing money into that bottomless pit called the Phoenix Coyotes.
“Detroit won’t win the cup this year though, they’re an inferior team to last year.”
I’m not sure how you can claim this. Sure, they have a few people (notably Datsyuk) going through a slump, but they have virtually the same team as last year, in addition to picking up Hossa. Also, Osgood is playing very well – I don’t think any of the goals this series were anything he could reasonably be expected to stop (redirects, rebounds, sloppy defensive play, etc.). Considering the team didn’t have Datsyuk tonight and lost Cromwall to that ludicrous bad call in the first period, and they still almost won, I’d say they’re doing just fine =).
Oy, what I’d really like to see are the NHL Arbitron numbers.
Julia, I must agree with Annie on this one. The Pens are outperforming themselves versus last year – Malkin is nothing short of amazing. My biggest fear is that the Pens get “lazy” with this Carolina series. So listen up, Penguins!!!! Stay on your toes! No slacking off! I also believe a Detroit- Pittsburgh matchup might swing Pittsburgh’s way due to pure karma, in the form of Marian Hossa. That’ll teach him for jumping ship to Detroit just to win a Cup
As for ratings, a Pens/Detroit final is likely to be a very good thing this time around. This “rematch” idea, when played out properly, is an outstanding marketing tool.
Clutz – Hossa took a significant pay cut in order to play with the Wings. You might want to cut him some slack – apparently he just REALLY wants to play in Detroit =)
Sam, he just REALLY wanted to play in Detroit because he wanted the Cup. We lost a fan favorite in a trade to get Hossa and then he jumps ship to another team (that we lost Lord Stanley to) just so he might have a better chance the next year. I agree, clutz, that it’d be sweet revenge if the Pens beat the Wings this year, not only just because of last year, but specifically because of Hossa.