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The good news: 14 of the 22 U.S. teams with available ratings had more people watching local NHL broadcasts than last year. The bad: If you add up the bottom seven teams’ households, they still fall short of the Pittsburgh Penguins. The strange: The Buffalo Sabres, who missed the playoffs in 2008-09 had 18 percent less viewers on average in 2009-10 and the San Jose Sharks, who spent most of the season at No. 1 in the Western Conference (and finished first) also saw a significant drop (20 percent). Also in the strange department, the St. Louis Blues, who missed the playoffs, brought in 20.8 percent more viewers than last season.
Before we get to all the numbers, here’s a look at how the best and worst teams compare to other major league sports (other sports based on last season):
Here’s how the top rated teams stack up:
Pittsburgh Penguins rank 3rd for local rating in all sports behind the Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Cavs. They rank 13th in total households sandwiched between the Seattle Mariners and the Chicago Blackhawks.
Buffalo Sabres draw similar local ratings as the San Antonio Spurs and Minnesota Twins, ranking 8th overall among all major league sports teams. The mid-market Sabres rank 45th in the total households category, drawing similar amount of households as the Portland Trail Blazers and San Diego Padres.
Detroit Red Wings stand at 13th with a 4.21 local rating right behind the New York Yankees and in front of the Chicago Cubs. They rank behind the San Francisco Giants at 19th and in front of the Chicago White Sox.
Here’s how the bottom looks:
Florida Panthers are the worst team among all major sports teams that report ratings. Four of the bottom five in households in all professional sports are NHL franchises. The Charlotte Bobcats, who have the fourth least more than double the Panthers. In the rating share department, the New Jersey Nets stand just above the Panthers with a 0.29. In the Miami market, which is the 17th largest in the U.S., the Florida Marlins have more than 12 times the rating the Panthers have.
Western / Southern struggles. The Anaheim Ducks scored lower ratings than the Los Angeles Clippers in LA. In the Northern California area, the Warriors had more watching than the San Jose Sharks. The Phoenix Coyotes scored 2.56 lower than the Phoenix Suns on TV. The Thrashers scored 1.33 lower than the Atlanta Hawks.
*All numbers according to Sports Media Watch
Here's all the numbers from NHL Local Markets:
1. Pittsburgh Penguins (FS Pittsburgh) – 8.05 (Up 26.2%)
2. Buffalo Sabres (MSG Buffalo) – 6.45 (Down 19%)
3. Detroit Red Wings (FS Detroit) – 4.21 (Up 5.3%)
4. Chicago Blackhawks (CSN Chicago) – 2.45 (Up 131.1%)
5. St. Louis Blues (FS Midwest) – 2.33 (Up 21.4%)
T6. Boston Bruins (NESN) – 2.18 (Down 13.8%)
T6. Philadelphia Flyers (CSN Philadelphia) – 2.18 (Down 8.8%)
8. Minnesota Wild (FS North) – 1.67 (Down 27.4%)
9. Washington Capitals (CSN Mid-Atlantic) – 1.6 (Up 46.8%)
10. Colorado Avalanche (Altitude) – 1.56 (Up 13%)
11. Columbus Blue Jackets (FS Ohio) – 1.39 (Down 25.3%)
12. San Jose Sharks (CSN California) – 1.11 (Down 20.7%)
13. New York Rangers (MSG) – 0.89 (Down 18.3%)
14. Dallas Stars (FS Southwest) – 0.74 (Up 27.6%)
15. Phoenix Coyotes (FS Arizona) – 0.62 (Up 55%)
16. Tampa Bay Lightning (Sun Sports) – 0.60 (Up 27.7%)
17. New Jersey Devils (MSG Plus) – 0.58 (Up 48.7%)
18. Los Angeles Kings (FS West) – 0.48 (Up 50%)
19. Anaheim Ducks (Prime Ticket) – 0.42 (Up 50%)
20. New York Islanders (MSG Plus) – 0.36 (Up 100%)
21. Atlanta Thrashers (SportSouth) – 0.33 (Up 26.9%)
22. Florida Panthers (FS Florida) – 0.25 (Up 8.7%)
Households Watching
1. Pittsburgh Penguins – 93,000 (Up 25.7%)
2. Chicago Blackhawks – 86,000 (Up 132.4%)
3. Detroit Red Wings – 80,000 (Up 3.9%)
4. New York Rangers – 67,000 (Down 17.3%)
5. Philadelphia Flyers – 64,000 (Down 9.9%)
6. Boston Bruins – 53,000 (Down 13.1%)
7. New Jersey Devils – 43,000 (Up 48.3%)
8. Buffalo Sabres – 41,000 (Down 18%)
9. Washington Capitals – 37,000 (Up 48%)
T10. Minnesota Wild – 29,000 (Down 27.5%)
T10. St. Louis Blues – 29,000 (Up 20.8%)
12. San Jose Sharks – 28,000 (Down 20%)
T13. New York Islanders – 27,000 (Up 107.7%)
T13. Los Angeles Kings – 27,000 (Up 50%)
T15. Anaheim Ducks – 24,000 (Up 50%)
T15. Colorado Avalanche – 24,000 (Up 14.3%)
17. Dallas Stars – 19,000 (Up 35.7%)
18. Columbus Blue Jackets – 13,000 (Down 23.5%)
19. Phoenix Coyotes – 12,000 (Up 71.4%)
20. Tampa Bay Lightning – 11,000 (Up 22.2%)
21. Atlanta Thrashers – 8,000 (Up 33.3%)
22. Florida Panthers – 4,000 (Unchanged)
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Matthew Coller is a staff member of the Business of Sports Network, and is a freelance writer. He can be followed on Twitter
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