Buffalo led all local markets for Stanley Cup Finals Game 1 TV Ratings with a 7.8. Better than NYC (5.1) & LA (4.2).
Top Local Markets for Game 1 of the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals
1. Buffalo - 7.8/12
2. New York - 5.1/8
t3. Los Angeles - 4.2/8
t3. Minneapolis/St. Paul - 4.2/8
t5. Pittsburgh - 3.5/6
t5. Oklahoma City - 3.5/5
Impressive!!! Cannot believe we beat teams that are actually in the Stanley...and by a wide margin...OKC looks like to me a prime spot for an expansion team. If anyone has watched any NBA playoffs the OKC Thunder are doing amazing in that city!
NEWARK, N.J. -- NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman went out of his way before Game One to make sure how much he appreciated the passion fans in Buffalo have for hockey. He pulled me to the side and made his point after his news conference. It came as a surprise to me.
Bettman for years has been impressed with television ratings in Buffalo during the Stanley Cup final regardless of whether the Sabres are involved. The Sabres haven't reached the finals since 1999 but routinely are among the top three cities watching, usually after the two cities that have teams playing for the Cup.
"We have great fans in Buffalo,'' Bettman said. "It’s that simple. You have to remember, I knew that going back and I really had that reinforced when we ran the club during a difficult period. It’s a passionate, knowledgeable fan base. While they love the Sabres perhaps more than anything else, they’re also big fans of the game."
Bettman wasn't simply blowing smoke. He said it was important to him that Buffalo has done well because the support has been there from ownership and the fans.
"It’s always good to know that you have teams in a place where hockey really matters and the team is really important," he said. "Two, it also means we’re particularly pleased when we have good strong ownership, which we have in Buffalo.
"Terry [Pegula] is a terrific owner. I’m glad that someone like him, who has an onerous passion about a game, has a team in a market like Buffalo. I’ve been watching the [television] numbers long enough to not be surprised. I now expect it."
How often does it happen that neither of the two home markets are the #1 rated market for a sports championship? I'm guessing hardly ever.
The NYC number would definitely have been higher if it were the Rangers instead of the Devils. But I'm not sure it would have beaten 7.8.
Its shocking...Can you imagine a market beating out Buffalo if they were in the Stanley freaking Cup? I don't think so. Literally 95% of TVS in WNY would have that game on.
I think it was like this last year, too. I think only Boston had higher numbers during the cup finals. Vancouver might've been higher as well, but I'm pretty sure Buffalo was the highest for a market not in the finals.
The really embarrassing thing is that the Boston-Miami NBA game (which was on cable, btw) beat Devils-Kings (which was on broadcast network NBC) in both New York City and Los Angeles.
I don't think it's "embarrassing" or a "black eye".
NY and LA are always going to be basketball towns. So many people, so many TV/entertainment options.
I know they're more basketball towns.
But regardless - for a semi-final game on cable involving two out-of-market teams to trounce a championship game on a broadcast network featuring a local team - that is embarrassing, no matter how you slice it.
I probably wouldn't blame the NYC market to not be higher.
When Buffalo was eliminated from the playoffs in the last two years, I absolutely did not watch ANY hockey at all until the finals, as a way to cope with elimination.
But that's just me, and I'm sure some NYR fans might be feeling the same, probably would not want to watch the SCF at all at this point.
I probably wouldn't blame the NYC market to not be higher.
When Buffalo was eliminated from the playoffs in the last two years, I absolutely did not watch ANY hockey at all until the finals, as a way to cope with elimination.
But that's just me, and I'm sure some NYR fans might be feeling the same, probably would not want to watch the SCF at all at this point.
That's funny. I wonder how much higher it would be if you could somehow count Buffalo expats (like me).
Good point. There are a lot of us out there.
Question: Is this US markets only? On NBC ? What about the Canadian markets? Was Buffalo's share of viewers greater than any of the Canadian markets as well?
Im sure torontos was bigger, I live here in TDot and theres gotta be a million hockey fans here
I believe the 7.8 refers to the percent of homes in each market watching the game and not total viewers. So a larger percentage of Buffalonians watched the game than any other US city, however, the population is so much smaller than NYC and LA that both of those places run away with the raw numbers.
5 percent of 8 million is much bigger than 8 percent of less than a million.
Still, it's an impressive number and shows true passion. Buffalo's a small market though and will always have fewer viewers. It's more like Manny Pacquaio...maybe he can't beat a heavyweight champ, but pound for pound there's no one finer. (And no, let's not bring Mayweather into a hockey debate )
)
