Melrose: “I’m the Most-Watched Hockey Person in the United States”

Well, I’m a lot better looking and better dressed than Don Cherry. Gotta get that out there right away. But I would say so, yeah. If you look at the viewership for ESPN, non-hockey fans are watching SportsCenter. All of a sudden, this guy from Canada pops up, and they say, ‘this is the hockey guy.’ So I would definitely say that’s true. It’s something I take pride in, and something I work hard to cultivate, and something that I try to convey every night to people that aren’t hockey fans. So I try and entertain a little more than guys that are on hockey networks, but I think definitely that’s true that I’m the most watched hockey person in the United States. I don’t think there’s any doubt about that.

This and more from Paulsen’s fantastic interview with the World’s Most Interesting Analyst at Sports Media Watch.  Read it.

Conference Final Game 3′s Draw Mixed Results on VERSUS

After getting good news on the NBC side of things in the playoffs, a somewhat slower start has produced better numbers for the Conference Finals on VERSUS, though still not quite on par with 2009′s record-setting Conference Final on the network.

Game #3 of the Philadelphia/Montreal Eastern Conference Final series on Thursday drew a 1.1 rating, down 27% from last year’s comparable telecast (DET/CHI Game #3, 1.5 rating), but up 9% from Game #3 of last year’s Eastern Conference Final (PIT/CAR Game #3 drew a 1.0 rating on VERSUS).  The 1.1 likely draws even with the 1.2 million viewers the first two games of the series drew.

Game #3 of the San Jose/Chicago Western Conference Final series, an overtime thriller, drew a 1.4 rating, up 27% from last year’s comparable telecast (The aforementioned PIT/CAR Game #3, 1.0 rating) but down 9% from Game #3 of the 2009 Western Conference Final (Again, DET/CHI Game #3, also an OT thriller, 1.5 rating).  The 1.4 likely is slightly up from the 1.5 million viewers Game #2 drew to the network.

Through Friday, the Stanley Cup Playoffs are averaging an 0.9 household cable rating with 59 telecasts, an average of 832,962 viewers.  The playoffs are up 29% and 15% from the comparable up-to-date numbers in 2009 (0.7 rating, 721,445 viewers) through 55 telecasts.

VERSUS To Air Hockey Central After All Final Games

As announced on Hockey Central last night, once NBC signs off for the night at 11:00 PM, VERSUS’ NHL studio show will be on the air.  This is an absolute must, one that I’ve been clamoring for the network to do for years.  It’ll make the hockey viewing marketplace somewhat crowded, with NHL On the Fly airing at a similar time, but with On the Fly lasting on a cycle all night, VERSUS will be the place to be after every Final game.

Hughson’s Second Final Highlights CBC Stanley Cup Coverage

The 2010 Stanley Cup Final promises to be an intense battle between two storied franchises – one a reborn Original Six squad and the other a team that proudly embodies the blue collar physical play of the city it has called home since 1967. CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA continues a 57-year tradition, bringing Canadians exclusive, comprehensive coverage of the 2010 Stanley Cup Final between Chicago and Philadelphia in High-Definition.

The series begins on Saturday, May 29 at 7:30 p.m. ET, live from United Center with Hockey Tonight, hosted by Ron MacLean. At 8 p.m. ET the puck drops on Game One when the Western Conference Champion Blackhawks face off against the Eastern Conference winning Flyers. Winnipeg born, Jonathan Toews will be looking to lead the Hawks to their first Cup victory since 1961 – the longest drought in the NHL; while Philadelphia hopes to recapture the magic of the hallowed Flyers teams from the 1970’s and hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup for the third time in franchise history.

The best-of-seven final resumes in Chicago on Monday, May 31 at 8 p.m. ET, as veteran Flyers defenceman Chris Pronger, the pride of Dryden, Ont. will look to set the tone against fellow Canadian Olympian Duncan Keith and the Hawks. CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA then heads to Philadelphia on Wednesday, June 2 with Game Three at 8 p.m. ET, live from Wachovia Center (Please see below for the complete 2010 Stanley Cup Final broadcast schedule).

The legendary Don Cherry will return to his usual spot on Coach’s Corner alongside MacLean in the first intermission. Play-by-play announcer Jim Hughson with analysts Craig Simpson and Glenn Healy will call the game with rinkside reports from Elliotte Friedman and Scott Oake.

CBC’s exclusive Punjabi broadcasts continue in the Stanley Cup Final, live and on demand at CBCSports.ca. The Punjabi broadcasts will be available free to Bell TV subscribers on channel 249; selected games for Rogers Digital Cable subscribers in Ontario, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador on channel 385, to Shaw Digital Cable subscribers in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba on channel 333 and to Shaw Direct subscribers on channel 478. Viewers should contact their local service provider for more details. Parminder Singh, voice of CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA regular season Punjabi broadcasts will handle play-by-play duties while Harnarayan Singh, will provide analysis.

CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA continues to go live and interactive throughout the Playoffs on CBCSports.ca/stanleycup. In addition to each broadcast available online live and on-demand, each day at 1 p.m. ET throughout the 2010 Stanley Cup Final CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA Online with Scott Morrison, Jeff Marek and P.J Stock will keep fans in the game with the latest news, scores, stats, and highlights. Plus, throughout Final, CBCSports.ca/stanleycup will present an exclusive online post-game show following each broadcast, presenting highlights each night, exclusive interviews, and much more.

CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA: 2010 STANLEY CUP FINAL BROADCAST SCHEDULE

All games full network. Schedule subject to change.

CHICAGO (WESTERN CONFERENCE) VS. PHILADELPHIA (EASTERN CONFERENCE)

G1, Philadelphia @ Chicago, Sat, May 29 @ 7:30 p.m. ET starting with Hockey Tonight

G2, Philadelphia @ Chicago, Mon, May 31 @ 8 p.m. ET

G3, Chicago @ Philadelphia, Wed, June 2 @ 8 p.m. ET

G4, Chicago @ Philadelphia, Fri, June 4 @ 8 p.m. ET

G5**, Philadelphia @ Chicago, Sun, June 6 @ 7:30 p.m. ET starting with Hockey Tonight

G6**, Chicago @ Philadelphia, Wed, June 9 @ 8 p.m. ET

G7**, Philadelphia @ Chicago, Fri, June 11 @ 7:30 p.m. ET starting with Hockey Tonight

In Case You Haven’t Seen It Yet, Finals On Saturday!

NEW YORK (May 24, 2010) – The National Hockey League announced today the schedule for the 2010 Stanley Cup Final between the Western Conference champion Chicago Blackhawks and the Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia Flyers.

Based on their superior regular-season performance, the Blackhawks will host Games One and Two of the Stanley Cup Final, as well as Games Five and Seven, if necessary. Games Three and Four will be in Philadelphia, as well as game Six, if necessary.

NBC will telecast Games One and Two and, if necessary, Games Five through Seven of the best-of-seven series in the U.S., while VERSUS will broadcast Games Three and Four. In Canada, CBC and RDS will provide coverage for the entire series. All games also will be carried on Sirius XM Satellite Radio.

NHL Network, the League’s 24-hour, all-access pass to the most comprehensive hockey coverage, will feature special programming surrounding the Stanley Cup Final. NHL.com will continue to provide extensive digital coverage.

2010 Stanley Cup Final Schedule

Game Date Time (ET) Chicago vs. Philadelphia Networks

Game 1 Saturday, May 29 8:00 p.m. Philadelphia at Chicago NBC, CBC, RDS

Game 2 Monday, May 31 8:00 p.m. Philadelphia at Chicago NBC, CBC, RDS

Game 3 Wednesday, June 2 8:00 p.m. Chicago at Philadelphia VERSUS, CBC, RDS

Game 4 Friday, June 4 8:00 p.m. Chicago at Philadelphia VERSUS, CBC, RDS

*Game 5 Sunday, June 6 8:00 p.m. Philadelphia at Chicago NBC, CBC, RDS

*Game 6 Wednesday, June 9 8:00 p.m. Chicago at Philadelphia NBC, CBC, RDS

*Game 7 Friday, June 11 8:00 p.m. Philadelphia at Chicago NBC, CBC, RDS

Stanley Cup Final Schedule

Game 1 SAT @ CHI 8ET on NBC

Game 2 MON @ CHI 8ET on NBC

Game 3 6/2 @ PHI 7:30ET Versus

Game 4 6/4 @ PHI 7:30ET Versus

*Game 5 6/6 @ CHI 8ET on NBC

*Game 6 6/9 @ PHI 8ET on NBC

*Game 7 6/11 @ CHI 8ET on NBC

I paused my DVR to swipe this from Versus.

Your Announcers and Open Thread For Night 36 of the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs

Montreal vs. Philadelphia, Game 5 (PHI Leads 3-1), 7:00 PM ET

National TV (US): VERSUS (HD)
Play by Play: Joe Beninati
Color: Daryl Reaugh
Reporter: Charissa Thompson

National TV (Canada): CBC (HD)
Play by Play: Bob Cole
Color: Gary Galley
Inside the Glass: Glenn Healy
Reporter: Elliot Friedman

NHL’s Mojo on TV Continues Rising

NEW YORK (May 24, 2010) – NBC Sports’ coverage of yesterday’s decisive Game 4 between the Chicago Blackhawks and San Jose Sharks, earned a 2.0 overnight rating and a 5 share, a 33 percent increase over last year (Detroit/Chicago, 1.5/4), as Chicago advanced to its first Stanley Cup Final in 18 years by completing a sweep of San Jose. Hockey-mad Chicago delivered a 14.1/32.

Saturday’s Philadelphia Flyers/Montreal Canadiens Game 4 earned a healthy 1.6/4 (no comparison in 2009). The Philadelphia market delivered a 12.0/27. Both games won every half hour against competition from the other networks.

Top Five NHL Markets of Weekend:

1. Chicago – 14.1 (Sunday)

2. Philadelphia- 12.0 (Saturday)

T3. San Jose – 4.4 (Sunday)

T3. Buffalo – 4.4 (Sunday)

4. Buffalo – 4.2 (Saturday)

5. Pittsburgh – 3.6 (Saturday)

Top Five Non-NHL Markets of Weekend:

1. San Diego – 2.8 (Sunday)

2. Sacramento – 2.5 (Sunday)

3. Richmond – 2.2 (Sunday)

4. San Diego – 2.0 (Saturday)

T5. Indianapolis -1.9 (Sunday)

T5. Las Vegas – 1.9 (Sunday)

FIRST TWO ROUNDS ON VERSUS MOST-WATCHED IN HISTORY

VERSUS’ coverage of the first two rounds of 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs was the most-watched first two rounds on cable on record with an average of 775,000 viewers for the 54 telecasts (Stanley Cup Playoff cable viewership became available by Nielsen for the 1994 playoffs).

The 1.0 HH rating and average viewership (1.041 million) for the second round were up 25 percent and 28 percent, respectively, over last year’s Conference Semifinal (.8 HH rating and 816,000 viewers). Throughout the duration of the Conference Semifinal, VERSUS ranked as a top 10 cable network in primetime viewership (8-11 p.m.) among Adults 18-49 and 25-54 and was one of the top five most-watched cable networks among Men 18-49 and 25-54.

NBC and VERSUS have combined for the most-watched first two rounds since 1997 (ABC, ESPN, ESPN2).

DIGITAL STRATEGY PAYS DIVIDENDS

The NHL is engaging and connecting with more fans than ever on its digital platforms and the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs has continued that trend. Some highlights:

· For the first 40 days of the playoffs, video starts on NHL.com are up 148 percent over last year

· Unique visitors to NHL.com are up 31 percent

· Page views are up 50 percent

· Mobile page views are up 183 percent

· April was the most trafficked month in the history of NHL.com in terms of unique visitors surpassing 17 million

· NHL.com ranked as the number two site in terms of percentage change in unique visitors from March to April according to comScore (see chart below).

comScore’s Top 10 Gaining Properties by Percentage Change in Unique Visitors (U.S.)

April 2010 vs. March 2010

1. MLB.COM – 67%

2. NHL.com Network – 35%

3. Buzzle.com – 19%

4. chachha.com – 16%

5. The Mozilla Organization – 15%

6. The Home Depot, Inc. – 12%

T7. Vevo – 11%

T7. Ford Motor Company – 11%

T7. Examiner.com Sites – 11%

T7. Conduit.com – 11%

TV MILESTONES IN THE 2010 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS

· Game 1 of the Blackhawks-Sharks series on NBC earned an 11.2 rating in Chicago, beating the Cubs, White Sox and Boston-Orlando broadcasts combined.

· The Flyers Game 7 victory over the Bruins was the most watched Flyers game in Comcast SportsNet history with an 11.7 rating and 345,000 households, topping the previous record set two days earlier.

· CBC’s coverage of Game 7 between the Montreal Canadiens and Pittsburgh Penguins drew an average audience of 4.24 million viewers, ranking as the sixth largest Stanley Cup Playoff audience in CBC history.

· On French language RDS, the Canadiens-Penguins Game 7 was the most-viewed NHL telecast in the network’s history with 2.69 million viewers.

· The game also scored on FSN Pittsburgh averaging a 26.4 HH rating, the highest-rated game ever on the network. At one point 43 percent of all households in the Pittsburgh DMA were tuned into FSN.

· There were three major Boston-area sports events televised on May 7 and Game 4 of the Bruins-Flyers series scored the best numbers, earning an 8.3 local Nielsen rating (328,000 viewers) on Versus in the Boston metered market besting the Yankees-Red Sox matchup on NESN, which earned a 6.3 local rating (223,000 viewers) to finish in second, while Game Three of the Cavaliers-Celtics NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals earned a 4.1 local rating (142,000 viewers) on ESPN.

· On Thursday April 22, the Blackhawks, with 278,000 viewers in Chicago, prevailed over some tough local competition: Bulls (255,000 viewers, playoff game against Cleveland and LeBron James), NFL Draft (138,000) and the Chicago Cubs vs. NY Mets (137,000 viewers).

· Combined, NBC and VERSUS averaged 742,000 viewers per telecast, the most for the first round since ABC/ESPN/ESPN2 averaged 750,000 viewers in 2000 and a 24-percent increase over last year.

· VERSUS’ average viewership of 595,000 for the first round of the playoffs was the best for the NHL on U.S. cable in nine years (ESPN/ESPN 2, 608,000 in 2001).

· Game 2 of the Detroit/San Jose series averaged 1.772 million viewers, making it VERSUS’ most-watched Conference Semifinal game in network history and the most-watched second-round game on cable in a decade (Colorado/Detroit, May 1, 2000 on ESPN, 1.926 million).

· The Washington-Montreal Game 7 was the highest rated (1.2 HH rating) and most watched (1.2 million viewers) Conference Quarterfinal game ever on VERSUS, and the most watched Conference Quarterfinal game on U.S. cable since Minnesota-Colorado in 2003 on ESPN.

· TSN’s audience of 2.8 million for the Washington-Montreal Game 7 was the highest audience ever recorded for an NHL game on TSN and was the most-watched program on Canadian television Wednesday night in all key demographics.

· The Montreal-Washington series ranks as the most-watched playoff series ever on TSN (any round) with an average audience of 1.8 million viewers over seven games.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE NHL’S RECORD-BREAKING BUSINESS SUCCESS IN 2009-10

· Corporate sponsorship was up 20 percent

· New League partners this season include Geico, Starwood Hotels, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, LG Electronics and Hershey’s Canada

· Ad spending on NHL® media increased by 37 percent over last season

· NHL.com ad revenue is up 50 percent over last year

· Revenue from big event platforms, led by the Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic®, are up 22 percent over last season

· Unique visitors to NHL.com surpassed last year’s record by 32 percent

· NHL Game Center Live™ subscriptions were up 25 percent

· NHL Network subscribers have increased by 104 percent

· Sales at SHOP.NHL.com were up 12 percent from last year’s record

· Viewership for NBC’s Game of the Week telecasts were up 13 percent

· Ratings for exclusive telecasts on Versus were up 20 percent

· NHL Mobile™ reached 1.6 million page views, an increase of 233 percent over last season

Source: Nielsen Media Research US, Nielsen Media Research Canada / BBM and comScore

NHL On NBC Playoff Overnights Up 14% From 2009

Now that the NHL On NBC is done until the Stanley Cup Final, it can be noted that their playoff coverage of the first three rounds drew an average overnight rating of 1.5 for the nine playoff games the network televised.  This was up 14% from last year’s eight games, which averaged a 1.3.

2010 Playoff Overnights on NBC
4/17/10 – BOS vs. BUF, Game 2: 1.2
4/18/10 – PHX vs. DET, Game 3: 1.5
4/24/10 – NSH vs. CHI, Game 5: 1.3
4/25/10 – PHX vs. DET, Game 6: 1.3
5/1/10 – PHI vs. BOS, Game 1: 1.6
5/2/10 – MTL vs. PIT, Game 2: 1.6
5/16/10 – CHI vs. SJ, Game 1: 1.7
5/22/10 – PHI vs. MTL, Game 4: 1.6
5/23/10 – SJ vs. CHI, Game 4: 2.0
Nine Game Average: 1.5

2009 Playoff Overnights on NBC
4/18/09 – NYR vs. WSH, Game 2: 1.0
4/19/09 – PIT vs. PHI, Game 3: 1.7
4/25/09 – PIT vs. PHI, Game 6: 1.2
4/26/09 – WSH vs. NYR, Game 6: 1.0
5/2/09 – PIT vs. WSH, Game 1: 1.4
5/3/09 – ANA vs. DET, Game 2: 1.3
5/17/10 – CHI vs. DET, Game 1: 2.0
5/24/10 – DET vs. CHI, Game 4: 1.5
Average: 1.3

Chicago Local Ratings For Stanley Cup Playoff Run

(NOTE: Game 1 of Round 2, and Games 3 and 4 of Round 1 are unavailable at this time)

Round 3
Game 1 (NBC) – 11.2
Game 2 (VERSUS) – 10.9
Game 3 (VERSUS) – 11.5
Game 4 (NBC) – 14.1

Round 2
Game 1
Game 2 (CSN Chicago) – 8.3
Game 3 (CSN Chicago) – 10.1
Game 4 (VERSUS) – 8.8
Game 5 (CSN Chicago) – 9.4
Game 6 (CSN Chicago) – 9.9

Round 1
Game 6 (CSN Chicago) – 9.2
Game 5 (NBC) – 7.8
Game 2 (CSN Chicago) – 5.9
Game 1 (CSN Chicago) – 4.5