from John Consoli of Broadcasting & Cable,

Without a team from Chicago, New York or Los Angeles in the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2011, Seth Winter, executive VP of sales and marketing for NBC Sports Group, knew heading into the final round that it was going to be tough to come close to last season’s record viewership that averaged 5.6 million viewers for the six game series....

Winter says while the lack of a major market city team may hold down the ratings, the NHL audience has still been an attractive one for marketers who want to reach millennial men.

“The NHL has one of the youngest, most upscale audiences among all the sports." And he adds, it’s been an “attractive environment for auto advertisers.”

Lexus, Mercedes, GM, Chevy and Chrysler are among the auto advertisers, along with official sponsor Honda, who have bought time during the season and into the playoffs.

Other strong categories throughout the season and playoffs have been quick service restaurants, insurance, and technology.

Despite the soft Final ratings, Winter says the hockey season on the NBCU networks as a whole “has been very good once again,” adding that “we have already generated a lot of advertiser renewals for next season.”

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