The NHL All-Star Game hit a six-year low in viewership — with the caveat that were only two other games played during that span.
The 2015 NHL All-Star Game drew 1.2 million viewers on NBCSN Sunday afternoon, down 9% from 2012 (1.3M), down 19% from 2011 (1.5M), and the least-watched edition of the game since 2009 (1.1M). Keep in mind the game was not held in 2010 (Olympics), 2013 (lockout) or 2014 (Olympics).
This year’s All-Star Game ranks third out of the six on NBCSN (previously VERSUS and OLN). Viewership has dropped off since the game moved from broadcast to cable, with NBCSN’s top audience of 1.5 million (2011) barely half of the 2.7 million ABC earned in its final year (2004).
Though down from previous years, Sunday’s game earned the third-largest non-playoff NHL audience ever on NBCSN. The All-Star Game and SuperSkills Competition account for the top six.
Compared to other sports, the NHL trailed the NFL Pro Bowl (8.8M) as well as last year’s MLB (11.3M) and NBA (7.5M) exhibitions. It even ranked slightly behind the combined audience for last year’s MLS All-Star Game on ESPN and UniMás (1.3M).
On Saturday, the NHL SuperSkills Competition drew 895,000 viewers — down 19% from 2012 (1.1M), down 24% from 2011 (1.2M) and the smallest audience for the event since 2009 (875K), reports Sports Media Watch.