Tom Mayenknecht: Game 7s are good for fans — and for TV

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Bulls of the Week

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There’s nothing like Game 7 tilts in those North American pro sports leagues that deploy best-of-seven series in their respective post-seasons (including the NHL, NBA and MLB).

That’s particularly true about Game 7s when it comes to TV ratings and overall fan engagement, especially in this era of mobile devices and social-media engagement.

Games 1 through 4 tend to be consumed mainly by hardcore fans. Game 5s begin to draw in more casual fans. By Game 6, and especially Game 7, the casual fans make up a bigger part of the overall audience than regular, longstanding fans.

In fact, because TV ratings’ records are driven by casual and crossover fans, a Game 7 can often double, if not triple, the viewership of earlier games.

We’ll see all of that at play this weekend in the Stanley Cup playoffs, where there is nothing more bullish going into the weekend for the NHL and its broadcast partners, sponsors, advertisers and merchandisers than Game 7 of the opening-round series between the Boston Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs, who were written off for dead after an embarrassingly tepid performance in Game 4 at Scotiabank Arena.

Boston versus Toronto isn’t just a Game 7. It’s an historic Original Six matchup. It’s a heritage brand pairing. And it’s an intense rivalry game; a showcase of fan intrigue and storytelling, which is ultimately what drives interest and audiences.

Will the Bruins become the first team in NHL history to squander a 3-1 series lead in back-to-back opening round series or will the Leafs be sent to the off-season by yet another heartbreaking collapse when it matters most?

Add the fact that it’s a 5 p.m. PT start on Hockey Night In Canada and it’s bound to be a TV monster as easily the most-watched game so far in these Cup playoffs.

South of the border will be equally hot. As per TV Sports News & Updates, with U.S. coverage anchored by ABC on Saturday night, it marks the first Game 7 in an opening-round series to be presented on American broadcast TV since 1972 when CBS showed Game 7 of the first-round series between the old Minnesota North Stars and the St. Louis Blues.

It says here that the conditions are perfect for Boston-Toronto to set a new Canadian record for an opening-round game (at least on English-language TV).

South of the border, it could rival the average American audience of 3.5 million that watched the Bruins beat the Washington Capitals in Game 6 in overtime on NBC in 2012, the year after a Game 7 Cup Final between Boston and the Vancouver Canucks in 2011 drew more than eight million in Canada alone.

All the ingredients are there for a TV juggernaut that could very well set the tone for the rest of these Cup playoffs. (There also could be three more Game 7s this weekend).

Bears of the Week

There’s nothing more sluggish this week than the notion of aging super-teams in the NBA.

The best case in point is the Los Angeles Lakers, owned for the second straight year by the defending Larry O’Brien Trophy-winning Denver Nuggets in a conference featuring the youngest team to ever win an NBA playoff series — Canadian Shai Gilgeous Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Tom Mayenknecht is the host of The Sport Market on Sportsnet 650 on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Vancouver-based sport business commentator and principal in Emblematica Brand Builders provides a behind-the-scenes look at the sport business stories that matter most to fans. Follow Mayenknecht at: twitter.com/TheSportMarket.

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