You mean a sport that only has northern regional appeal in the US would lose out in the rating to shows marketed to old people, women, and Southerns?

downstairs: Not sure if you realized both teams are in HUGE television markets.

Yes they are. The Devils are the third most popular team in NYC/NJ area, and the Kings are maybe more popular than the Clippers.

So not exactly a ratings draw.

Is there a reason those weren't sorted in decreasing number of viewers and were instead thrown into the list in a haphazard illogical manner?

downstairs: Well, I guess the proof is in the numbers. I don't know, I'm not a huge hockey fan. Just never grew up following it, and neither did my dad. But when the Blackhawks were in the finals, I watched every minute.

Hockey is a regional sport in America. Unless the teams are the Bruins, Red Wings, Black Hawks, Rangers, and maybe the Islanders, or Sabres. American's won't care. Why there are NHL teams below the Mason Dixon Line is behind me.

WTF Indeed: downstairs: Well, I guess the proof is in the numbers. I don't know, I'm not a huge hockey fan. Just never grew up following it, and neither did my dad. But when the Blackhawks were in the finals, I watched every minute.

Hockey is a regional sport in America. Unless the teams are the Bruins, Red Wings, Black Hawks, Rangers, and maybe the Islanders, or Sabres. American's won't care. Why there are NHL teams below the Mason Dixon Line is behind me.

The Preds sell their games out all the time, and are quite financially stable, and we knocked off the Red Wings this year. Not their best year, but still a noteworthy achievement from a team that you say shouldn't exist. In 2010, we lost to the Canucks, who as you know won 3 games in the Stanley Cup. Every visiting playoff team in the last several years has complemented Nashville fans as being quality playoff fans and as good as any historic hockey team.

So why shouldn't the team exist again?

Di Atribe: I think it's "beyond me," but I digress. People like hockey, regardless of geography. It's more popular in Canada and I think that bleeds over the border a bit. But if franchises weren't doing alright below the Mason Dixon Line, they'd probably.... die?

Yeah, I know I typed it wrong lol. Hockey in the South is like baseball in Florida. Some areas don't care about certain sports. I understand "growing the brand", but when a hockey team in a town with 730,000 people in their metro area (Winnipeg) sells out their tickets in less than day, and the area they left had a metro area of 5,268,860 (Atlanta) couldn't sell anything it means something is wrong about hockey in the south.

I love to see TNT's NBA post game on the list. Best show on TV right now.

KellyKellyKelly: 52. "WWE Raw" - USA - 3.91 Million Viewers

I'm sure this will be mentioned in one of the "Did You Know...?" bumpers.

Oh, and WHAR RAW THREAD WHAR

Apparently not until an hour before Nickelback... It's been what? Almost 2 days since a wrestling thread was greened? I'm Ortoning with anticipation here!

Di Atribe: I watched it at the bar. It was on the little tv underneath the baseball game on the big tv. Kinda couldn't miss it.

Also, So You Think You Can Dance is actually really good, as long as you can get past that one lady judge screaming at you all the time. Mute the judges & it's good.

I also have to wonder how accurate the ratings are. Still using journals & set-top boxes, I presume?

Yes, which is why I doubt these numbers' accuracy.

So is saying there's more shows that have better ratings than the Stanley Cup supposed to be a shaming exercise? Cause I bet a lot of hockey fans don't care.

New Jersey and L.A. was probably one of the worst match ups that could have happened for the ratings. I don't think there are too many hockey fans in L.A. (but those who are there are knowledgeable). And, seriously, fark the Devils. The fanbase is kind of a sluice of leftovers from New York people who don't like the Rangers or Islanders or people living near Philly who don't like the Flyers. Nobody from either of those fanbases gives a damn about the Devils.

Now, for someone who just wants to watch hockey, it's been a fun series to watch. I think the Kings are going to be able to keep this team mostly intact for awhile, which kind of scares me.

KellyKellyKelly: violentsalvation: Representative of the unwashed masses: KellyKellyKelly: 52. "WWE Raw" - USA - 3.91 Million Viewers

I'm sure this will be mentioned in one of the "Did You Know...?" bumpers.

Oh, and WHAR RAW THREAD WHAR

Apparently not until an hour before Nickelback... It's been what? Almost 2 days since a wrestling thread was greened? I'm Ortoning with anticipation here!

"will post to Sports » on 04 Jun 2012 at 8:00 PM"

[sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net image 320x215]
"YES!"

A DEVILS FAN!?!

After the Kings clinch the Stanley Cup, I will cut my cable for good. Hockey is the only thing I watch on cable. Next year I will get my fix from NHL Gamecenter, America One for ECHL, and firstrowsports.eu for my hockey fix. Roku and my home theater PC will take care of the rest.


As for hockey being a niche sport, I read that viewership is up this year. I think that once people open up their minds to the sport and actually understand it, they then begin to love it.

dosboot: As for hockey being a niche sport, I read that viewership is up this year. I think that once people open up their minds to the sport and actually understand it, they then begin to love it.

I really need to give this new thing you call "hockey" a chance.

If anyone out there can bear the intense white heat of faceless internet brewed hatred for a few moments, am I the only person who thinks America's funniest home videos is a fantastic comedic venue these days. I think the writers must come from a fine crop Hollywood LSD burnouts. Plus they are really scraping at the bottom of the video bin barrel each week too. It's such freak-storm. I love it.

I remember the first battle-royale death match between the avs and the red wings after Claude Lemieux gave Draper a dental appointment. Pretty much the whole first period was preempted because a senior golf tournament went into an extra hole playoff. In the paper the next day they said it was because the ratings for senior golf were 3x that of Hockey. It really hadn't dawned on me until that moment how farkin stupid people really are.

I'm not a hockey fan, but I would rather watch the Finals than any of the 66 programs listed.

At the same time, you really have to admit that NBC and the NHL continually farked up its marketing. Even with the new NBC ownership already working with the NHL, even with the new TV contract, the network still continued to favor the same teams. They continued the throw its excitement behind Crosby until Game 3 of the ECQF, along with Frat Boy Kane and Tea Party Thomas in the credit card commercials. If they marketed all 30 teams (or 29 minus the Blue Jackets), then there wouldn't be this perception of no one watching. Another thing they could've done is put those commercials on regular programing. Whatever, just something better than the department they have currently.

And yet, Hockey still gets higher ratings than soccer.

dosboot: After the Kings clinch the Stanley Cup, I will cut my cable for good. Hockey is the only thing I watch on cable. Next year I will get my fix from NHL Gamecenter, America One for ECHL, and firstrowsports.eu for my hockey fix. Roku and my home theater PC will take care of the rest.


As for hockey being a niche sport, I read that viewership is up this year. I think that once people open up their minds to the sport and actually understand it, they then begin to love it.

I didn't know how awesome hockey was until the Avs moved to Denver. Before that it was only on TV once a week on Sunday and it was up against my two favorite shows the Simpsons and Married with children. I remember going to a bar with my friends to watch a Nuggets game and they were getting their butts kicked so our eyes started drifting to the hockey game. We were awestruck. From that night on we were hooked.

Contrabulous Flabtraption: Wow, the NBA draft lottery got higher ratings? That means more people watched the reading of the results of a ping pong ball machine no one ever even gets to see in operation than the SCF.
Nothing even f*cking happens in the draft lottery! It's literally people sitting around while another guy reads a number and a name.

I don't believe.it got worse.ratings than this.draft lottery the entire night, maybe the first few mins but after that nobody watched.

Most of those are chick shows though and they beat those shows in the category advertisers crave, men. Still I find it funny this gets green lit but if anyone dares to make fun of MLS ratings it will get hurried and the poster a ban for a day. What soccer fan.is sucking all the mods, my vote is the Virginia tech fan.

kukukupo: And yet, Hockey still gets higher ratings than soccer.

The USA Friendly (not even a real tournament game) against Brazil May 30 got the same 18-49 rating as the May 22 NHL playoff game. Not quite apples to apples I know, but soccer is not far behind. The Champions League final without a team in this hemisphere got 2 million viewers.

MugzyBrown: dosboot: As for hockey being a niche sport, I read that viewership is up this year. I think that once people open up their minds to the sport and actually understand it, they then begin to love it.

Hockey has been around for a long long time and isn't getting any more popular. It's not going to get more popular.

The barrier to entry is just too high, especially in those areas that don't have bodies of water that freeze in winter.

Di Atribe: WTF Indeed: Hockey is a regional sport in America. Unless the teams are the Bruins, Red Wings, Black Hawks, Rangers, and maybe the Islanders, or Sabres. American's won't care. Why there are NHL teams below the Mason Dixon Line is behind me.

I think it's "beyond me," but I digress. People like hockey, regardless of geography. It's more popular in Canada and I think that bleeds over the border a bit. But if franchises weren't doing alright below the Mason Dixon Line, they'd probably.... die?

You mean like the two franchises that Atlanta has had over the years?