Without a large market between the Pittsburgh Penguins and San Jose Sharks, ratings were expected to dip in this year's Stanley Cup Final.
With Game 1 matched up against an incredible Game 7 in the NBA between the Golden State Warriors and Oklahoma City Thunder, the viewership was as low as anticipated.
Viewership for Monday's game on NBC dropped 36 percent from last year, receiving a 2.7 overnight rating - the lowest for a Cup Final Game 1 since the 2012 series opener between the Kings and Devils, which earned a 2.4 rating, according to Sports Media Watch.
Meanwhile, the Warriors-Thunder game had nearly five times the viewership, grabbing an 11.2 rating on the night nationally, as well as in the Bay Area, with both the Warriors and Sharks representing Northern California.
Overnights in the San Francisco market: a source says the OKC-Golden State was around a 30.9; Sharks-Pens came in at around a 5.3.
— John Ourand (@Ourand_SBJ) May 31, 2016
Earlier in the week, Sharks forward Joel Ward told reporters "it sucks" that the games occurred on the same night, but that won't be an issue for Wednesday's Game 2, which should provide a great opportunity for San Jose to truly rally around their hockey team.
That said, Tampa posted an ~18 last year for Game 1 of the final, so it'd be nice to see Bay Area do better when not head-to-head with NBA.
— James Mirtle (@mirtle) May 31, 2016
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