In what was a very good New Year's Eve for the St. Louis Blues, the most recent Winter Classic was a complete flop in terms of viewership. What in the world happened to the most sought-after and exciting game of the regular season.
What happened and why?
The Blues faced off against the Chicago Blackhawks in the Winter Classic to a sold-out crowd at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Around the world, people tuned in to the great game, or so it seemed. For the first time in the 15 games of this special occasion, the viewership fell below 1 million.
TV ratings for the NHL Winter Classic declined 16% from last year, which was a 48% decline from the year prior pic.twitter.com/BMozJoYC9S
— Jimmy G. (@jamgold818) January 3, 2025
That is astounding to think about, but it makes complete sense. Let's think about it.
Usually, this game is held on New Year's Day, typically in the middle of the day. Usually, the College Football Playoff is going on at this particular time of year, but those games are normally on later at night. Enter the night-time game at Wrigley Field, right in the middle of the playoff game between Penn State and Boise State, which started around the same time.
Another thing to consider is the teams selected. At the time of the puck drop, both teams were in the Lottery for next season's Draft. Chicago was far and away from gaining any ground toward a playoff appearance this season, and the Blues are on their way toward the postseason but not there yet. In addition, the smaller markets may have also hurt national ratings as well.
Lastly, this game was broadcast on TBS and MAX if you pay for the subscription. TBS is a fairly universal station for most, if not all, of scale users. If streaming is your main way of watching TV, MAX would have been your way to go. If you are a casual fan of Hockey, this may have been confusing to understand and gain access to. Airing the Winter Classic on NBC would have been a simpler choice and may have fixed the viewership problem.