First outdoor NHL game played in U.S. draws big TV numbers

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jan. 2  

NEW YORK - More people in the U.S. tuned in on New Year's Day to see the NHL play outdoors than any other regular-season game in more than a decade.

The Penguins-Sabres game in snowy Buffalo - the first regular-season outdoor NHL game in the United States - drew a 2.6 overnight rating and a 5 share on NBC. Those were the best numbers since a six-game regional telecast on Fox drew a 3.0 overnight rating and a 7 share on Feb. 3, 1996.

Pittsburgh won 2-1 in a shootout on a Sidney Crosby's score before a crowd of more than 71,000 at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

CBC's ratings weren't available Wednesday.

The big U.S. numbers, in the stands and on TV, came three years after the NHL lockout forced the cancellation of an entire season and after last season's Stanley Cup finals on NBC drew record-low ratings.

"We're delighted by the success of this historic event," NBC Sports president Ken Schanzer said. "The Winter Classic exposed hockey to a larger audience and definitely made new fans of the game."

The Winter Classic ratings also surpassed Wayne Gretzky's final game, which was broadcast on Fox on April 18, 1999, and drew a 2.5/6.

The Buffalo and Pittsburgh markets led the ratings, at 38.2/58 and 17.7/30, respectively. But markets such as Sacramento, Calif., St. Louis and Denver also drew strong ratings, even though the game went up against a number of college football bowl games, including an intriguing Capital One Bowl between Florida and Michigan.

"This was one of the best events I've ever been a part of as a player, coach or broadcaster," NBC game analyst Eddie Olczyk said. "It truly was a memorable experience and a great day for the sport of hockey."

Overnight ratings measure the 55 largest TV markets in the United States, and each ratings point represents about 735,000 households. The rating is the percentage watching a telecast among homes with televisions, and the share is the percentage tuned into a broadcast among those households with televisions on at the time.

Like everything else Bettmen will figure out how to screw this up. After listening to Pratt and Taylor yesterday on Sportsnet  you get a feeling that the NHL will now try and milk this for everything it is worth including making this an annual event.Now IMHO that would be a mistake, once every 4 years makes it exciting , and creates a buzz ,and making sure that it happens in the right city is also important.The outdoor game as to be in a city that strongly supporst Hockey other wise its going to look pretty lame on TV to see a football stadium empty.

Pittsburgh's win over Buffalo at Winter Classic a ratings hit for CBC

By THE CANADIAN PRESS
Jan. 3  

TORONTO - The Winter Classic was a hit in Canada as well.

A day after NBC reported the largest hockey viewing audience in more than a decade watched the outdoor game south of the border, CBC announced Thursday it drew its second-largest audience ever for an afternoon NHL game.

Pittsburgh's 2-1 shootout win over Buffalo at Ralph Wilson Stadium on New Year's Day attracted an average audience of 1.170 million viewers on CBC, second only to the 2.16 million viewers for the afternoon start that featured Wayne Gretzky's final game in April 1999.

Audiences peaked at 1,943,000 viewers during Tuesday's shootout when Sidney Crosby won it for the Penguins.

Tuesday's outdoor game, a 1 p.m. ET start between two U.S.-based clubs, didn't come close though to matching the first-ever regular-season NHL outdoor game four years ago in Edmonton. The November 2003 Heritage Classic between the Canadiens and Oilers, which had a 7 p.m. ET start time, drew 2.747 million viewers - the second-highest average audience ever for a regular-season game on CBC.

Hockey Night In Canada is averaging 1.19 million viewers for its 7 p.m. ET games this season and 696,000 viewers for the 10 p.m. ET games.

Houston: U.S. television numbers for outdoor game 'very good news' ...

by WILLIAM HOUSTON
Sport Media Specialist
Globe & Mail
January 4, 2008

Encouraged by heavy media coverage in the United States and the largest U.S. television audience in more than a decade, the NHL is expected to make the outdoor game a biennial event.

"An annual game will be contemplated," a source close to the NHL said yesterday. "But I think the league will end up doing it every two years."

NBC's New Year's Day telecast of the Pittsburgh Penguins-Buffalo Sabres game at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo earned an overnight rating of 2.6 (percentage of potential TV households tuned in) and a 5 share (percentage of televisions in use watching the telecast).

"Everybody thought if NBC got a 2 rating it would be a blessing," the source said. "This is very good news."

NBC's rating for the game, which went head to head against two bowl telecasts, fell just short of CBS's 2.7 and 5 share for Gator Bowl (Texas Tech-Virginia).

It was well below ABC's 9.9 rating and 19 share for the Capital One Bowl, a major college game that was close, with Michigan defeating Florida 41-35.

Still, NBC's rating was the best overnight for an NHL regular-season game in almost 12 years. On Feb. 3, 1996, Fox Television earned a 3.0 rating and 7 share for a regional package of telecasts. Wayne Gretzky's last game (April 18, 1999) earned a 2.5/6 rating/share on Fox.

Last season, NBC averaged a 1.0 rating for NHL telecasts in the regular season.

In addition to the TV audience, the outdoor game was given significant coverage in the U.S. news media.

"It publicizes our sport," an NHL club source said. "It introduces people who normally don't watch hockey to the game. We know we have a hard-core hockey group, but we need to break out.

"And when you get a network saying it wants to give you air time on the second largest household viewing day of the year, you do it."

In a release, Ken Schanzer, the president of NBC Sports, said he was delighted by the success of the telecast.

"The Winter Classic exposed hockey to a larger audience and definitely made new fans of the game," he said.

The game was played in poor conditions and marred by delays, but Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby, who is heavily marketed by the league and NBC, set up the Penguins' first goal and scored the winner in a shootout.

Not surprisingly, Buffalo and Pittsburgh led the individual U.S. markets. The game had a whopping 38.2/58 rating/share in Buffalo and a 17.7/30 in Pittsburgh. Minneapolis ranked third (5.1/11) and Denver (3.7/7) fourth.

The NHL will be encouraged by viewership in the non-traditional hockey market of Las Vegas, which tied Providence for fifth place with a 3.5 rating. The Las Vegas numbers will inspire more speculation about the league expanding to that city. Las Vegas had a 6 share; Providence, a 7 share.

St. Louis ranked seventh with a 3.3/5. Finishing up the top 10 were Boston (3.2/6), Sacramento (2.9/6) and Hartford and Richmond, which tied with 2.8/5 each.

Absent from the top 10 were the hockey markets of Detroit, where TVs were tuned into the Michigan-Florida game, and Philadelphia. Dallas didn't crack the top 10, neither did any of the super markets of New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. In Canada, the CBC audience will not be available until later this week.
(????Houston obviously didn't see the CP story posted above.)