ORLANDO, Fla. – Despite two games that turned into routs, the NHL and its broadcast partners found silver linings in the television ratings for games three and four of the 2011 Stanley Cup finals. In the wake of solid numbers for game one, and an expected drop for game two, the Versus cable network announced that viewership for the two games it aired this week did well.
According to the network, Monday’s 8-1 Boston win over Vancouver attracted an average of 2.76 million viewers, down from the 3.37 million that NBC 
drew for Saturday’s game two. It also represented a huge drop-off from the record-setting 3.6 million who tuned in for last year’s game three between Chicago and Philadelphia that was played on a Wednesday night (it was the most-watched game on cable since 2002 and the highest-rated and watched game ever on Versus).
During the 9:30-10 p.m. eastern time frame, 3.52 million viewers were watching as the Bruins scored four unanswered goals to blow the game wide open. Overall, the game was the most viewed finals game on cable with a Canadian team involved since game seven of the 1994 finals between the New York Rangers and Vancouver (that game had 5.439 million viewers on ESPN) and it was up six percent from the last time Versus had a final game on a Monday night (May 26, 2008 when 2.61 million saw Detroit and Pittsburgh in game two of the 2008 finals).
Additionally, during the primetime slot (8-11 p.m. eastern), Versus was the third most-viewed cable channel that night.
Locally, Versus was the most watched cable or network TV channel in the Boston and Providence markets. In Boston, Versus drew a whopping 23.37 rating – a number that eclipsed the Bruins’ 1-0 win over Tampa in the Eastern Conference finals just two weeks ago by 57 percent.
North of the border, 5.4 million Canadians tuned in to CBC’s “Hockey Night In Canada” broadcast of the game, a slight decrease from the 5.6 million viewer average for the first two games.
Wednesday’s game four dipped slightly from game three, attracting an average of 2.71 million viewers over the course of the evening. The game’s 1.1 rating in the 18-49 demographic made the Versus broadcast the second-most watched cable show for the evening, trailing only the “South Park” season finale. In Canada, 5.3 million tuned in to watch as Boston shutout the Canucks 4-0.
Taken as a four-game group, this year’s Stanley Cup finals have averaged 3.4 million viewers on NBC and Versus. That number is 20 percent less than last year’s four game average (4.23 million) and 17 percent less than the 2009 series which averaged 4.05 million over the first four contests. Even so, both NBC and Versus are encouraged with the numbers given the fact that one of the teams is from north of the border.
The series shifts back to NBC for game five Friday night in Vancouver and game six Monday in Boston. Should a deciding game seven be needed, it will be played next Wednesday in Vancouver on NBC.
Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com
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