The NBA Finals has averaged over fifteen million viewers per game over the last ten years. The Stanley Cup (the NHL’s version of  finals) have averaged a little over two-and-a-half million viewers. So, why such a big difference? We find out below. 

Just going to a local tavern will tell you that football, basketball, and baseball are all much more popular than hockey. Heck, it’s hard to get a SPORTS BAR to turn on the Stanley Cup. Why is this? Why do Americans not appreciate arguably the most intense, fast-paced, high-octane sport in the world? Well, let’s close the spectrum to the two professional sports where schedules overlap: the NBA and NHL (Both start in October and end in June).

As can be seen, tickets sales between the two sports are similar:

. 

So, if not tickets, then what? Could it be television broadcasting? The NBA Is broadcast across three different cable channels: ESPN, ABC, and TNT. The only channels that the NHL is broadcast on is NBC and it’s corresponding channels. It’s pretty said when Lavar Ball gets more media attention than the Stanley Cup Finals. We could say that the amount of broadcasting that the NBA gets compared to the NHL has an effect on why one is watched more.

Broadcasting can’t be the only thing that differentiates thirteen million viewers, so we have to dig deeper. Is there a hatred for hockey in America? This question has been asked many times by reporters, but has never really been answered. I think it attributes to the fact that we aren’t as good at it as Canadians. As you can tell in America, if we aren’t the best at it, we just shove it under the rug (for example: education, soccer, obesity, etc..). I also believe that laziness comes into play. In hockey, you have to follow the puck to know what’s going on. I’ll admit sometimes it is hard to find that sucker, but with some concentration and knowledge of the sport, it’s becomes easy to identify. Many of us are probably just too lazy to pay attention to the puck!

I really think that hockey is on the rise (as seen by recent playoff viewership), but it would take a “Miracle on ice” for it to overtake the NBA.