NESN Bruins ratings on NESN down 33% this season but still attracts the most eyeballs in the US

[Fenway]

These numbers are troublesome

NHL local ratings dropped by 23% this season, with only four teams showing increases

While the NHL’s national TV partners were quite happy with viewership in the 2021-22 season, it’s a different story at the local level. Per the Sports Business Journal, the league’s average ratings on RSNs this season dropped by 23%. The usual caveats apply – data for the Hurricanes and...

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Sports Media: NHL sees local ratings dip in return to full season

The NHL’s local TV story took a hit this season, as regular-season games on U.S. RSNs posted a 23% ratings drop compared to last year’s shortened season, according to Nielsen data analyzed by my SBJ colleague David Broughton. The main reason for such an extensive drop — only four teams showed...

www.sportsbusinessjournal.com

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Let’s start with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Their games on AT&T Pittsburgh had the league’s highest ratings for the second consecutive season, with a 5.43 average rating, yet still 30% below the previous season. The Penguins have posted the league’s highest ratings nine times over the past 16 seasons.

St. Louis Blues games on Bally Sports Midwest (4.28 average) and Buffalo Sabres games on MSG (3.78) rounded out the season’s top three positions.

In Minnesota, Wild games on Bally Sports North jumped 14% thanks in large part to the team’s on-ice performance that included a franchise-record 53 wins. The Wild’s 3.04 rating is up 50% over the past three seasons.

And the team with the league’s best record — the Florida Panthers — posted its highest-ever local rating. Panthers games on Bally Sports Florida were up 6% this season, though their 0.46 ratings average still is among the NHL’s lowest.

The Panthers have doubled their local TV rating over the previous 10 years, which is a reason why the team signed a new media rights deal with Bally Sports Florida that more than doubles its rights fees, which went from one of the league’s lowest at around $6 million per season to one that’s in the high teens.

Boston Bruins games on NESN drew the highest audience of all NHL teams for the third straight season with 661,000 homes. That comes as Bruins games posted their lowest average rating (2.8 on NESN), which is down 33%.

Notes: Complete data was unavailable for the seven Canadian-based clubs, as well as the Carolina Hurricanes and Nashville Predators.
N/A: This was the Kraken’s first season.

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