The idea that hockey is dead as a mainstream sport is well-worn territory. We know, nobody cares about those toothless guys on skates. What we didn't know was to what extent nobody cared. Here are the number of viewers for the first two games of the Stanley Cup Finals.
Game 1 Of The Stanley Cup Finals — NBC — 2.90 Million Viewers
Game 2 Of The Stanley Cup Finals — NBC — 2.54 Million Viewers
To give this some perspective, I went through last week's ratings and put together a list of all the programs that had more total viewers than the Stanley Cup finals.
Note 1: Not all time slots are equal, and not all nights are equal so this isn't a one-to-one comparison. But championships are supposed to draw viewers regardless of scheduling, and especially when they have games on network television.
Note 2: Yes these are all real shows.
Network
1. "Dogs In The City" — CBS — 6.72 Million Viewers
2. A Rerun Of "Dogs In The City" — CBS — 4.5 Million Viewers
3. A Rerun Of "The Middle" — ABC — 4.81 Million Viewers
4. A Rerun Of "Suburgatory" — 3.67 Million Viewers
5. A Rerun Of "Modern Family" — ABC — 4.43 Million Viewers
6. A Rerun Of "Criminal Minds" — CBS — 5.89 Million Viewers
7. A Rerun Of "CSI" — CBS — 7.06 Million Viewers
8. "So You Think You Can Dance" — FOX — 7.15 Million Viewers
9. "Secret Millionaire" — ABC — 5.6 Million Viewers
10. A Rerun Of "Secret Millionaire" — ABC — 3.34 Million Viewers
11. "Dateline" — NBC — 6.02 Million Viewers
12. A Rerun of "Shark Tank" — ABC — 4.77 Million Viewes
13. A Rerun Of "Undercover Boss" — CBS — 5.01 Million Viewers
14. "What Would You Do?" — ABC — 3.69 Million Viewers
15. "20/20" — ABC — 4.66 Million Viewers
16. A Rerun Of "CSI: NY" — ABC — 5.05 Million Viewers
17. A Rerun of "Blue Bloods" — CBS — 5.41 Million Viewers
18. "Miss USA Pageant" — NBC — 6.2 Million Viewers
19. A Rerun Of "Family Guy" — FOX — 3.8 Million Viewers
20. A Rerun Of "American Dad" — FOX — 3.338 Million Viewers
21. "Adele Live In London" — NBC — 6.2 Million Viewers
22. A Rerun Of "America's Funniest Home Videos" — ABC — 4.8 Million Viewers
23. "60 Minutes" — CBS — 9.6 Million Viewers
24. A Rerun Of "The Big Bang Theory" — CBS — 8.79 Million Viewers
25. "Duets" — ABC — 5.92 Million Viewers
26. "Touch" — FOX — 4.58 Million Viewers
27. A Rerun Of "Rules Of Engagement" — CBS — 6.43 Million Viewers
28. A Rerun Of "Person Of Interest" — CBS — 7.43 Million Viewers
29. "America's Got Talent" — NBC — 11.51 Million Viewers
30. A Rerun Of "America's Got Talent" — NBC — 7.43 Million Viewers
31. Another Rerun Of "America's Got Talent" — NBC — 3.90 Million Viewers
32. "Rookie Blue" — ABC — 5.65 Million Viewers
33. A Rerun Of "The Mentalist" — CBS — 7.27 Million Viewers
34. A Rerun Of "NCIS" — CBS — 10.25 Million Viewers
35. "Cougar Town" — ABC — 3.42 Million Viewers
36. A Rerun Of "NCIS: Los Angeles" — CBS — 6.80 Million Viewers
37. A Rerun Of "Grimm" — NBC — 3.48 Million Viewers
38. "48 Hours: Mystery" — CBS — 5.98 Million Viewers
39. "The Bachelorette" — ABC — 5.79 Million Viewers
40. A Rerun Of "How I Met Your Mother" — CBS — 3.74 Million Viewers
41. A Rerun Of "2 Broke Girls" — CBS — 4.18 Million Viewers
42. "American Ninja Warrior" — NBC — 5.79 Million Viewers
43. A Rerun Of "Two And A Half Men" — CBS — 5.89 Million Viewers
44. A Rerun Of "Mike & Molly" — CBS — 5.42 Million Viewers
45. A Rerun Of "Hawaii Five-O" — CBS — 5.52 Million Viewers
46. A Rerun Of "Castle" — ABC — 4.15 Million Viewers
Cable
47. Part One Of "Hatfields & McCoys" — History — 13.87 Million Viewers
48. Part Two Of "Hatfields & McCoys" — History — 13.13 Million Viewers
49. Part Three Of "Hatfields & McCoys" — History — 14.29 Million Viewers
50. Game 1 Of The Eastern Conference Finals — ESPN — 8.99 Million Viewers
51. "Pawn Stars" — History — 6.70 Million Viewers
52. "WWE Raw" — USA — 3.91 Million Viewers
53. Game 2 Of The Western Conference Finals — TNT — 7.30 Million Viewers
54. "Inside The NBA" — TNT — 2.95 Million Viewers
55. "Deadliest Catch" — Discovery — 2.99 Million Viewers
56. A Rerun Of "The Big Bang Theory" — TBS — 2.96 Million Viewers
57. Another Rerun Of "The Big Bang Theory" — TBS — 3.10 Million Viewers
58. Another Rerun Of "The Big Bang Theory" — TBS — 2.91 Million Viewers
