Overnights
Iced over: NHL final game skunks out
By Toni Fitzgerald
Jun 7, 2007 - 12:04:16 PM

Not many people saw the Anaheim Ducks capture their first Stanley Cup trophy last night by defeating the Ottawa Senators in Game 5 of the finals. In fact, this looks to be the least-viewed National Hockey League finals since they moved from broadcast to cable in 1995.

Last night’s finale averaged a mere 2.88 million viewers in primetime, according to Nielsen overnights. Those measure timeslot and not actual program data, which means they aren’t entirely accurate for live shows such as last night’s game, which ran past 11 p.m. Final ratings out later today will give a better view of how many people watched.

But compared with primetime overnights for Game 5 last year, last night was down in both households, from a 2.7 to a 1.8, and in adults 18-49, from a 1.7 to a 1.2.

The series is on track for fewer viewers than last year, when Edmonton-Carolina averaged 2.8 million, the lowest since at least 1995, according to Nielsen records.

Last week, coverage of Games 1 and 2 on Versus was down more than 20 percent compared with 2006. And last Saturday’s Game 3 on NBC drew just 1.6 million total viewers, the lowest viewership for any finals game since the network began carrying hockey last year.

The finals did revive in the two games since, up more than a third over Saturday’s game.

The NHL is hardly alone in its viewership decline. The NBA, Indianapolis 500 and other sporting events have seen ratings fall this year.

Meanwhile, Fox was first for the night among 18-49s with a 3.6 average rating and an 11 share. ABC was second at 2.5/7, CBS third at 2.1/6, Univision fourth at 1.8/5, NBC fifth at 1.2/4 and CW sixth at 0.7/2.
 
At 8 p.m. Fox led with a 2.8 for a repeat of “So You Think You Can Dance,” followed closely by ABC with a 2.7 for “The Next Best Thing: Who Is the Greatest Celebrity Impersonator,” up from last week’s 2.5 for its premiere.
 
Univision was third with a 1.9 for “La Fea Mas Bella,” CBS fourth with a 1.8 for an hour of “King of Queens” repeats, NBC fifth with a 1.1 for its first hour of Stanley Cup coverage and CW sixth with a 0.4 for “Hidden Palms.”
 
Fox led again at 9 p.m. with a season-high 4.4 for an original “Dance,” with ABC second with a 3.0 for the second-season debut of “American Inventor.” Univision remained third with a 2.1 for “Destilando Amor,” with CBS fourth with a 1.9 for a “Criminal Minds” rerun, NBC fifth with a 1.2 for its second hour of hockey and CW sixth with a 0.9 for “One Tree Hill.”
 
CBS took the lead at 10 p.m. with a 2.7 for a repeat of “CSI: NY.” ABC was second with a 1.8 for “Traveler,” Univision third with a 1.5 for “Don Francisco Presenta” and NBC fourth with a 1.3 for its last hour of hockey.
 
Among households, Fox edged the competition for the night with a 5.4 average rating and a 9 share, with CBS right behind at 5.3/9. ABC was third at 4.6/8, Univision fourth at 2.2/4, NBC fifth at 1.8/3 and CW sixth at 1.3/2.