NHL and NBA Ratings [J. Mark English]

Oh where, oh where are the NHL fans? Will a real NHL fan please stand up? Please stand up and grab a remote and turn on your TV before the NHL is never on national TV again?

The ratings are in from game 3 of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals that was on NBC:

Ottawa's 5-3 victory over Anaheim in Game 3 Saturday night received a 1.1 national rating and a 2 share, the network said Tuesday. That matched a rerun of "The West Wing" on July 23, 2005, which also drew a 1.1 rating.

Saturday's rating was down 31 percent from last year's Game 3 between Edmonton and Carolina, which had a 1.6/3.

The national ratings for Monday night's Game 4 declined less sharply from last year. The Ducks' 3-2 victory received a 1.9/3, down 5 percent from the 2.0/3 for Game 4 in 2006.

This translates into "women and children" first as far as the state of the ship of the NHL is concerned. I can't imagine that NBC will stick with the NHL much longer if the ratings continue. Spelling bees on ESPN probably get higher ratings. College softball on ESPN must get higher ratings. (There are probably some sexist reasons why guys enjoy watching college softball...guys, check it out, you'll see what I mean)

Anyway, I apologize ahead of time for that comment.

To be fair though, the ratings for the NHL in Canada have gone up...a nudge...but at least thats something right?

How about the NBA though? David Stern and the TV execs at TNT should be sending LeBron James lots of wonderful presents after what he did for their ratings.

TNT will finish at the top of the rating charts among cable stations for the month of May. This according to Mediaweek:

TNT will wrap up the month of May as the top ad-supported cable network in prime time, averaging 2.6 million total viewers and 1.35 million adults 18-49, thanks in large part to its coverage of the National Basketball Association's playoffs.