When something doesn’t ring the ratings bell on television, it’s always fascinating how the incoming press release will spin it. With that, the headline from NBC Sports on the 2016 Stanley Cup Final:

“2016 STANLEY CUP FINAL IS MOST-WATCHED NON-ORIGINAL SIX SERIES IN 15 YEARS”

So, uh, pop the champagne?

Ad Age had a different read on the ratings:

The 2016 Stanley Cup Final was one of the lowest-rated National Hockey League title tilts since the sport returned to NBC 11 years ago. And while partisans can offer up more excuses for the weak turnout than there are gaps in Brent Burns' smile, the fact remains that hockey simply is no longer a consistent TV draw.

So let’s do a little Q&A on what these ratings mean for the NHL, NBC and being “a consistent TV draw” in the U.S.

Q. What were the ratings for the 2016 Stanley Cup Final?

The six-game series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and San Jose Sharks averaged a 2.3 rating and 3.948 million viewers. Game 6 drew 5.407 million viewers, which made it NBC’s “most-watched non-Original Six Stanley Cup Final game ever.” Sure.

Q. How does that compare to other recent Stanley Cup finals?

According to Sports Media Watch, the ratings for the series were down 28 percent in ratings and 29 percent in viewership from the Chicago Blackhawks’ 2015 series win over the Tampa Bay Lightning, which drew a 3.2 average rating and 5.6 million viewers through six games. It was down 23 percent and 21 percent from the Los Angeles Kings’ series win over the New York Rangers (3.0 rating, 5 million viewers). That series went five games.

It trumped the Los Angeles Kings’ win over the New Jersey Devils in six games, 1.8 rating and 3 million viewers over six games.

Q. So what happened to the Final ratings this season?

As usual, it all depends on the markets.

The Penguins averaged a monstrous 31.7 rating locally, but they’re the No. 23 TV market in the U.S.; in other words, a very large percentage of a comparatively small viewership was captivated. San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose, by contrast, averaged a 7.0 rating locally, and is the No. 6 market in the U.S.

In contrast, the Golden State Warriors were averaging an 8.42 rating on cable – in February.

Q. How much did the Warriors impact the Sharks’ rating?

More than you’d expect.

Consider that Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final launched the series against the highest rated NBA game ever on cable, featuring the Warriors.

Consider how much media oxygen the Warriors sucked up, like on sports talk radio and well-read San Jose Mercury News columnist Tim Kawakami writing exclusively about Steph Curry and the boys. It has to feel like the biggest story in town, and the Sharks were never getting there with the Warriors in the NBA Final.

Consider how much time a casual fan can dedicate to watching sports in a given week in June, as the Warriors games were spaced out with the Sharks game in-between them.

There’s no doubt the Sharks had strong local support. But it could have been exponentially better had they been the only show in the championship round. Keep in mind that the Bay Area wasn’t even one of the top 10 local markets for the playoffs, including the Final.

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Q. How much did the scheduling impact the ratings?

Greatly. From Ad Age:

Participating teams aside, the schedule itself did NBC Sports no favors, as the Pens-Sharks series hit the ice on the Monday after Memorial Day weekend, when TV viewing is about as depressed as it gets, outside of Christmas. Then Games 2 and 3 aired on cable net NBCSN, which only reaches about 70% of all U.S. TV homes, whereupon the ratings dropped accordingly. Lastly, Game 6 was scheduled for Sunday night, where it was forced to square off against HBO's biggest hit, "Game of Thrones." Pittsburgh's 3-1 clincher drew 5.41 million viewers and a 1.9 rating among adults 18-to-49, while the warring Westeros clans delivered a princely 7.6 million viewers and a 3.9 in the demo.

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