Chicago Blackhawks TV ratings took a hit in the 2024-25 season

The 2024-25 season for the Chicago Blackhawks didn’t give fans much to cheer about until the very end, and there are many reasons for that. The front office decided to move on from head coach Luke Richardson in December and brought up the Rockford bench boss, Anders Sorensen, to take his place for the rest of the campaign.

The Blackhawks played a stronger offensive game with Sorensen calling the shots, but there was still too much inconsistency from the group to make anything special happen. Because of the team’s 25-46-11 record, they finished 31st in the league standings and will have a guaranteed top-four pick in the draft this summer.

When the NHL TV ratings came out for each team on Monday, Chicago’s numbers were not too surprising based on various factors throughout the year.

The Chicago Blackhawks’ TV ratings were down this season

The Chicago Blackhawks’ TV ratings for this season were down by an eye-popping 78% from a season ago. Despite the team having a strong finish with a bunch of young faces shouldering the load down the stretch, the organization did not do well in its market. A major reason for this is the new network that the Blackhawks played on this year.

CHSN hasn’t been a huge help in terms of getting Blackhawks, Bulls, and White Sox fans their games on TV since it went into effect on October 1. The network has had many disputes with various cable and streaming companies, which have held out select fans from watching games over the last six and a half months.

Combining a new TV network that a good portion of the fan base does not have and a struggling product on the ice makes for a rough go in the ratings scene. The Blackhawks have been in this rebuild for a handful of years now, but it looks like the light at the end of the tunnel is much closer than fans originally thought.

Next season’s team should change the ratings

With the team having such a strong finish to the season, it will have fans more intrigued at the end of the summer than in previous years. It will be harder to make the opening night roster this fall compared to the last three seasons, and the youth movement makes things very exciting for the fan base.

Connor Bedard will need to kick his game into a new gear next season after slumping a bit in his sophomore campaign. The 19-year-old still posted over 20 goals and 60 points in his second season as a professional, but there is no doubt that the expectations of him will only continue to grow.

The pressure is certainly there for the front office as well to continually have prospects ready to take the next step and help Bedard with the rest of this young core in the NHL. General manager Kyle Davidson has made eight first-round draft selections in the last three years and will make two more at the end of June to help this team’s future.