If you ever watched the Hockey Night in Canada production on the CBC, you would understand. The Disney/ESPN/ABC production is unwatchable unless you turn the sound off.
CBC's ratings continue to climb: Game 6 attracts 4.673 million viewers
Canadian Press
Monday, June 07, 2004
TORONTO (CP) - Canadian ratings for the Stanley Cup final are on fire.
Saturday's Game 6 between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Calgary Flames drew 4.673 million CBC viewers, making it the second-highest rated NHL game ever for the network.
Only Game 7 of the 1994 final between Vancouver and the New York Rangers, the last time a Canadian team played for the Cup, drew more, with 4.957 million tuning in to watch the 3-2 Rangers win. The Lightning defeated the Flames 3-2 in double overtime Saturday to force Game 7.
Aside from Game 2, the numbers for this year's series have steadily increased. Game 1 attracted 3.063 million compared to 2.811 million for Game 2 and 3.135 million for Game 3. Game 4 drew 3.450 million viewers while Game 5 brought in 3.515 million.
Last year's Game 6 between Anaheim and New Jersey, which was also played on a Saturday night, drew just 1.510 million viewers.
The record audience for a sporting event in Canada, with more than 10 million English and French-language CBC viewers, was the Canadian men's gold medal hockey win over the U.S. at the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics.
The American ratings for this year's series have been among the lowest since U.S. networks began carrying the Cup final in 1998.
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