Not-So-Hotlanta: Abysmal Local T.V. Ratings for Thrashers

If I told you that an Atlanta Thrashers' playoff game had fewer viewers in the Atlanta metro area than a Braves game or a NASCAR race being televised at the same time, you wouldn't be surprised. You might not even be shocked to hear that more locals were watching figure skating than their hometown Thrash (insert Marian Hossa joke here). But the raw numbers are fairly jaw-dropping.

Consider first that metro Atlanta has 2,205,500 housesholds (for the purpose of this exercise, at least) and that the Thrashers drew an average of 18,830 fans to the first two games of the series (the first two playoff games in franchise history, no less). Now guess how many of those households watched Games Three and Four (which were mid-week games shown on cable stations Fox SportsNet and SportSouth, respectively). Seriously, think of a number.

Now divide that number by the sum of Kari Lehtonen's playoff goals against average and Coach Bob Hartley's goalie switches and maybe you're close.

For Games Three and Four, the Thrashers had only 8,800 households watching per night. On the positive side, that probably gives you a pretty accurate estimate of the size of the Thrasher's fan base. On the negative side, that probably gives you a pretty accurate estimate of the size of the Thrasher's fan base.

How can the Thrashers have had fewer households watch Games Three and Four combined than people in attendance at Game One or Two? Are FSN or SportSouth not broadly offered on cable systems in the Atlanta metro area? Help me out, Thrasher fans, because the raw numbers tell a pretty embarassing story.