deadline.com
Oooops!
How so? NBCSN is the "dead man walking" network and has lower overall viewer numbers than USA anyway.
Another lump of coal for a parting gift from the NHL to NBC -- a Canadian team in the final guarantees minuscule US ratings and, I would imagine, make-goods to advertisers (maybe free spots during the upcoming Olympics, since the NHL won't be back on the network after this final series). Their opponents will be either the Islanders or Lightning, so I suppose the former would be better for the network financially although the Isles don't have nearly as big a following as the Rangers in the New York market.
If the final is anything like either of the semis, it will be one talked about among hockey fans for years. But for all of NBC's efforts to promote the league during its years with the contract (until this lame duck year), the NHL still has limited TV appeal outside of its home markets. The product, IMO, is as attractive to watch as it's been in decades, but hockey remains best appreciated from a seat in the lower bowl of the arena, not from the couch.
There were big crowds outside the building in Montreal in the previous round of the playoffs, too. Apparently law enforcement thought it best not to disperse them, given the iconic status of both ice hockey and Les Canadiens. I've seen photos of the happy throngs posted, though, as evidence that COVID must be a hoax.
