Did Canadian hockey fans stop watching the Stanley Cup playoffs with the elimination of the last remaining Canadian team at the end of the Third Round?
That would be a resounding yes/oui.
In Game 1 of the finals, played on Tuesday, June 2, the game between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Carolina Hurricanes drew an overnight, estimated audience of 723,000 on Sportsnet National and 582,000 on CBC Total. That adds up to a little over 1.3 million combined in English Canada.
Previous to that, here is how the Habs did, ratings-wise, in each of the three rounds they played: they averaged 3,715,000 viewers in the opening round vs. Tampa Bay Lightning; 4,551,000 in Round Two vs the Buffalo Sabres; and 4,510,000 in Round Three vs Carolina Hurricanes (All numbers 2+ AMAs.) In the final round so far, the Stanley Cup has shed around three million viewers since the Habs were eliminated.
TVA in Quebec has not released specific numbers throughout these playoffs but Numeris recently noted that the french language broadcaster was reaching 81 per cent of their market through the first three rounds — adding one and perhaps as many as two million viewers to the cross Canada take.
Game 2 of the finals sunk even further despite how close these games have been on the scoreboard. CBC’s share of the overnight, estimated total on Thursday, June 4, was 553,000, with another 598,000 watching the ‘Canes/Knights on Sportsnet national. Total Game 2 audience 1,151,000.
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Viewership rebounded In Game 3 on Saturday, June 6. That double overtime thriller drew an estimated 726,000 on CBC and another 787,000 on Sportsnet national for a little more than 1.5 million viewers. Earlier that same day comparing Sportsnet to Sportsnet, more viewers watched the Toronto Blue Jays battle the Baltimore Orioles (837,000) than watched Game 3 in prime time of the Stanley Cup finals.
As one might expect, the all-American Stanley Cup final is doing better than average Stateside. Game 2 last Thursday between Vegas and Carolina drew 4.7 million US viewers on ABC. That makes it the most-viewed Game 2 of an NHL final, according to the network, in over a decade.
How are viewers in English Canada responding so far to the NBA finals? Game 1 on Wednesday, June 3 between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs drew an overnight, estimated 405,000 viewers on TSN. Game 2 two nights later dribbled down to 304,000 on Sportsnet. Hey, what do you want, it’s on one network one night, another the next.
More viewers in Canada right now are watching the CFL than the NBA finals. An overnight, estimated 467,000 caught the Friday June 5 game between Winnipeg and Calgary on TSN. The next day on Saturday the 6th, Edmonton and Ottawa battled before 376,000 home viewers on TSN.
