The NHL’s Winter Classic hit rock bottom this year, with viewership numbers telling a painful story for hockey’s signature outdoor event.
Just 920,000 people tuned in to watch the Chicago Blackhawks face the St. Louis Blues at Wrigley Field. That’s the lowest rating in the event’s history.
It’s not hard to see why fans stayed away.
The NHL recycled two teams that have already played multiple outdoor games. They picked a venue that’s been used before. And neither team is particularly good right now.
The numbers are pretty shocking when you compare them to recent years. This year’s game saw a 16% drop from last year’s matchup between Vegas and Seattle – which was already the previous low point for outdoor games.
Even worse? It’s down a whopping 48% from the 2022 game between the Penguins and Bruins.
The league made some head-scratching decisions along the way. They moved the game to New Year’s Eve instead of its traditional New Year’s Day slot, trying to dodge competition from college football playoffs.
That backfired spectacularly in Chicago, where local fans had to choose between watching the Winter Classic or their University of Illinois bowl game against South Carolina.
There’s also the TV situation. The past two years marked the first time the game has been on cable (TNT) instead of network television, where it used to reach millions more viewers on NBC.
It’s not all doom and gloom, though. The Winter Classic can still be something special. These outdoor games, when done right, are some of hockey’s most magical moments.
But the NHL needs to wake up. Fans are tired of seeing the same teams – especially when those teams aren’t very good. The Blackhawks, in particular, need a long break from outdoor games.
The league desperately needs to rethink its approach to scheduling, marketing, and team selection. This year was a perfect storm of bad decisions and bad luck.
The numbers don’t lie. The NHL dropped the puck on this one.
