ismelofhockey
Registered User
- Oct 22, 2017
- 806
- 875
1) fyi when you adjust for population changes over time, nhl ratings are WAY DOWN since fighting tamped down.
2) do you think the recent rise in nhl ratings has anything to do with games being carried on espn? Crazy huh?
You keep pointing to playoffs, so lets have some fun. The cup is a fair barometer of ratings since its on national tv
Lets look at the 4 years leading up to the 2012 lockout compared to the most recent 4 years Average viewership of the stanley cup.
2008: average viewship: 4.6mm US Population: 304mm
2009: average viewship: 4.9mm US Population: 307mm
2010: average viewship: 5.2mm US Population: 309mm
2011: average viewship: 4.6mm US Population: 312mm
2020: average viewship: 2.15mm US Population: 332mm
2021: average viewship: 2.43mm US Population: 332mm
2022: average viewship: 4.59mm US Population: 333mm
2023: average viewship: 2.6mm US Population: tbd
So…
For the Stanley Cup finals, you're comparing two covid years (2020-21) plus one year with no games on broadcast television (2023), and only one normal year that had the highest viewership of the four recent years you picked. Now 2022's 4.59mm viewers is lower than you'd want given population increases, but you also had no major market involved in the final unlike 2008-2011 which had a major traditional market involved every year sometimes two.
You say that correlation does not equal causation, I think that is the case here. The only normal year in your data set shows the best viewership, and that's with small markets in the final.
Meanwhile, all other signs point to the NHL's popularity increasing, including the most watched regular season game in history being this season.