NHL Viewership on ESPN and TNT Hit Troubling Lows, Struggling to Compete with Other Sports
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Gary Bettman and the NHL are under fire today after the latest nationally televised games had embarrassingly bad ratings.
The Seattle Kraken hosted the San Jose Sharks last week in a game that was featured nationwide in the United States on ESPN.
The game was largely uneventful, resulting in a 6-2 victory for Seattle, unsurprising to fans of both teams.
What may come as a surprise though is just how many fans actually tuned in to the game, and this is not a surprise in a good way.
According to Awful Announcing writer Drew Lerner, the game only got 175 thousand viewers on the network, making it the least watched NHL game of the year for ESPN as well as the least-viewed program that night.
"Last Thursday's game between the San Jose Sharks and Seattle Kraken averaged just 175,000 viewers on ESPN - the least-watched NHL game of the year for the network and the lowest-viewed program on ESPN for the entire day."
Lerner also revealed shocking numbers from other recent games.
During a game between the Devils and Flyers, TNT accrued just 253 thousand unique viewers while the late game that night between the Penguins and Utah mustered just 138 thousand viewers.
"A Philadelphia Flyers-New Jersey Devils game on TNT and truTV averaged 253,000 viewers, which was actually a 59% increase versus last year's comparable window (though that game was non-exclusive, meaning fans could watch their normal local broadcasts).
Later that night, TNT and truTV averaged a paltry 138,000 viewers for a Pittsburgh Penguins-Utah Hockey Club game, which itself was a non-exclusive broadcast."
Later that night, TNT and truTV averaged a paltry 138,000 viewers for a Pittsburgh Penguins-Utah Hockey Club game, which itself was a non-exclusive broadcast."
Both of those games were available to fans on their local networks which certainly drove down numbers for TNT, but still, those viewership numbers simply are not good enough for the NHL.
This is not the first time Gary Bettman has faced criticism from fans and it certainly won't be the last.
This season, the commissioner has been under fire for the NHL's stance on CTE, which has been linked to the deaths of many former NHL players.
Luckily for fans, the end of the Gary Bettman era of the NHL may be in sight.
Apparently, Bettman told the league executive committee that he plans to retire in the relatively near future.
When that day comes it will certainly be a joyous one for most fans of the sport.
| POLL | ||
FEVRIER 5 | 205 ANSWERS NHL Viewership on ESPN and TNT Hit Troubling Lows, Struggling to Compete with Other Sports Do you think the NHL should only show good teams on nationally televised games in order to improve ratings? | ||
| Yes | 80 | 39 % |
| No | 125 | 61 % |
| List of polls | ||
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