Media

Stanley Cup finals unlikely to beat last year’s ratings

Network execs can stop salivating over the Stanley Cup Finals.

The best-of-seven series pitting the New York Rangers against the Los Angeles Kings, which kicks off Wednesday on NBC, is unlikely to beat the ratings record set last year between hockey-mad Boston and Chicago.

That series ended when the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Boston Bruins 3 to 2 in Game 6. Getting there delivered an average household rating of 3.3 and an average viewership of 5.8 million — up 83 percent and 91 percent, respectively, from the previous year.

Where did those eyeballs come from? NBC Sports credited Boston with a whopping 33 rating for Game 6 and Chicago with a nearly as impressive 30 rating.

While having the country’s two largest cities vying for the Cup would seem to be a broadcaster’s dream, the hockey fever sweeping New York hasn’t spread to Los Angeles.

The Kings mustered only a 4.8 rating this past Sunday for Game 7 against the Blackhawks.

And when the Kings won the Cup two years ago, their series with the New Jersey Devils averaged just three million viewers — the NHL’s lowest ratings since 2007.

Despite LA’s tepid fan base, an NBC Sports spokesperson said the network is “thrilled to have two of the nation’s largest markets competing for the most-coveted trophy in sports.”

And should this year’s Final catch fire as hockey ramps up its popularity, NBC stands to benefit all the more.

While hockey’s traditional advertisers lock in their commercial buys at the beginning of the year or sometimes at the beginning of the league’s 60-plus game playoff season, the Finals have broader appeal.

After noting that five of this year’s championship series lead right into Father’s Day, the NBC Sports spokesperson said, “We always hold back inventory for the Final and are in market right now.”