Stanley Cup Playoffs ratings continue to sag

Television ratings for the Stanley Cup Playoffs continue to be weighed down in the United States by the heavy presence of Canadian teams.

Playoff games on ESPN networks have averaged 886,000 viewers, down 28 percent from last year's record through two rounds. Meanwhile, TNT Sports has seen a 19 percent drop to an average of 882,000 viewers, per Nielsen ratings cited by Sports Media Watch.

Second round games averaged 1.2 million viewers on each platform, down from 1.6 million on ESPN and 1.5 million on TNT Sports last year.

The Dallas Stars will meet the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals on Wednesday, while the Florida Panthers hold a 1-0 series lead on the Carolina Hurricanes in the East.

While three of the remaining teams are from the United States, three of the eight teams that reached the second round were from Canada. That marked the first time since 2004 that three second-round series featured at least one Canadian team.

That is believed to be a significant factor in the lower ratings this year, with 21 of the first 34 games on TNT Sports involving a Canadian team. ESPN and TNT broadcast only to U.S. viewers.

ABC did set a new record for the current media rights deal with an average of 2.27 million viewers tuning into Game 6 of the Dallas-Winnipeg series on Saturday. And Sunday's Game 7 between Florida and Toronto averaged 1.9 million across TNT and truTV, up from last year's 1.66 million for Game 7 between Edmonton and Vancouver on ESPN.

The NHL does have separate media rights deals in Canada, and reported that ratings across the two countries for the second round were up 12 percent. According to the league, second-round games were up 45 percent to an average of 2.2 million viewers in Canada.

--Field Level Media