Florida Panthers Suffer Attendance and Viewership Woes As Ratings Rank Below Children’s Shows and Infomercials

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Feb 25, 2011

Florida Panthers Suffer Attendance and Viewership Woes As Ratings Rank Below Children's Shows and InfomercialsIt’s no surprise that the Florida Panthers are struggling with attendance and viewers.

So far this season, they’re boasting a 25-28-7 record that earns them the 26th spot in the NHL standings. They haven’t qualified for the playoffs for the past nine seasons, and it’s not looking promising this year, either.

In a market saturated with Miami Dolphins and Miami Heat coverage, the Panthers have yet to amass a strong fanbase. They rank 23rd in the NHL in attendance with 15,275 average visitors per game.

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald took a closer look at just how poorly the Panthers are doing, and came to the realization that the Panthers have one of the worst television ratings in the league.

“To give you some perspective on how few people watch the Panthers, consider this: Their .19 local rating was the worst in the NHL among the 22 teams studied by Sports Business Daily (numbers for Carolina, Nashville and Canadian teams were not available).

“That’s lower than the rating for a kid’s show named Doodlebops at 7 a.m. Sunday on WFOR-4, lower than an AbCoaster exercise equipment infomercial on WFOR last Sunday, and lower than the Ninja Professional Blender, Chopper and Ice Crusher infomercial on WPLG-10.”

For a little more perspective, here’s a taste of the Panthers’ competition:

Due to their attendance troubles, Florida has also become known for something else — bizarre marketing and advertising.

In the past, the Panthers have had Hanukkah celebrations where they gave out yarmulkes, ran campaigns based on LeBron James’ move to Miami, and even gave away tickets to new fans with valid driver’s licenses.

Currently, they’re running a promotion based on the possibility that the NFL and NBA might not exist next year. Their ads are filled with messages imploring fans to buy for the sport that is “guaranteed” to play next season.

Photo Courtesy of NHL.com

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