Over the next few days we are going to be taking a look at the state of the National Hockey League from a business perspective. Today we will focus on attendance figures and the NHL’s TV ratings, both at the local level and at the national level. Later this week we’ll take a look at some of the things (other than W/L records) that drive these figures such as marketing, media coverage, and everyone’s favorite thing to chastise, scoring.

In the U.S. everyone knows that the NHL is often placed behind the NBA in terms of popularity. However, the NHL’s average attendance is actually equal to that of the NBA. The average attendance for the NBA this past season was 17,323. Meanwhile the NHL’s average attendance was 17,132. Additionally, the NHL’s average attendance beat the NBA’s attendance in nine of its shared markets.

Of course, that is where the similarity ends. The true driving factor behind the perception that the NBA is more popular than the NHL is because of TV ratings. And to be frank, the NBA blows the NHL out of the water.

This season the NHL averaged a 0.2 U.S. household rating (353,000 viewers) on Versus and delivered a 1.0 household rating (1.65 million viewers) on NBC. The NBA on the other hand delivered a 1.6 rating on TNT (2,453,000 viewers), a 1.3 rating on ESPN (2,025,000 viewers), and a 3.0 rating on ABC (5,110,000 viewers). While the NHL’s numbers aren’t bad per se, until they get those Versus ratings closer to a mill, hockey just won’t get the coverage we feel the sport deserves.

At the local level, hockey’s TV ratings look much different. In New York, the Rangers get about 60,000 viewers on average on MSG, which puts them 6th in the league behind the Flyers (71K), Red Wings (76K), Bruins (77K), Blackhawks (96K), and Penguins (101K). At the other end of the spectrum, the Panthers deliver just 3,000 viewers on average, the Thrashers deliver 6,000 viewers, and the Coyotes get about 9,000 viewers on average. Pathetic.

Of course ratings aren’t everything, and the metric the league is most concerned about is revenue. This year the league did $2.9 billion in revenue, a record for the NHL. The NBA also had a record year garnering $4.3 billion in revenue. I know what you are thinking, it seems like everything the NHL does, the NBA does a little better.

Look, I don’t want to kill you with too many numbers, but the point of this is to give you an idea of where the league stands, at least in terms of metrics.

While there are still areas that need improvement, I do believe that the league is heading in the right direction. If the powers that be can find a way to relocate a few moribund franchises, rework some of their marketing (please no more Crosby), and maybe find a way to get more women and minorities watching our game, perhaps these figures will one day be on par with the NBA. At least, that’s my hope.

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