Your Announcers and Open Thread For Night 32 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs

San Jose vs. Vancouver, Game 2, 9:00 p.m. ET

National TV (Canada): CBC
Play by Play: Jim Hughson
Color: Craig Simpson
Inside the Glass: Glenn Healy
Reporter: Elliotte Friedman

National TV (US): VERSUS
Play by Play: Dave Strader
Color: Brian Engblom
Inside the Glass: Darren Pang

VERSUS Draws 1.56 million for Game 2, Up 5% For Conference Finals

A classic Game 2 between Tampa Bay and Boston drew solid numbers for VERSUS on Tuesday.

The Game 2 broadcast of the Eastern Conference Final between the Lightning and Bruins scored 1,562,000 viewers on VERSUS Tuesday night, up 2% from Game 1 (1,541,000 viewers) on Saturday night. It is up 24% from last year’s Game 2, between Montreal and Philadelphia (1.2 million, 5/18/10), and down 9% from 2009′s Game 2 between Carolina and Pittsburgh (1.7 million). The game drew a 14.59 rating in the Boston market.

Through three nights, the NHL Conference Finals on VERSUS are up 5% from this same point in 2010 (1,382,000 viewers in 2011 vs. 1,318,000 viewers in 2010).

Eastern Conference Final viewership on VERSUS

2011
Game 1 (5/14/11): 1.54 million viewers
Game 2 (5/17/11): 1.56 million viewers

2010
Game 1 (5/16/11): 1.5 million viewers
Game 2 (5/18/11): 1.2 million viewers

Top 10 in Viewers For 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs on VERSUS

1. Boston vs. Philadelphia, Game 2 (5/2/11) – 1,699,000 viewers
2. Detroit vs. San Jose, Game 5 (5/8/11) – 1,627,000 viewers
3. Tampa Bay vs. Boston, Game 2 (5/17/11) – 1,562,000 viewers
4. Tampa Bay vs. Boston, Game 1 (5/14/11) – 1,541,000 viewers
5. Tampa Bay vs. Washington, Game 2 (5/1/11) – 1,261,000 viewers
6. Detroit vs. San Jose, Game 7 (5/12/11) – 1,251,000 viewers
7. Philadelphia vs. Boston, Game 3 (5/4/11) - 1,234,000 viewers
8. Vancouver vs. Chicago, Game 6 (4/24/11) – 1,157,000 viewers
9. Chicago vs. Vancouver, Game 7 (4/26/11) – 1,130,000 viewers
10. San Jose vs. Detroit, Game 6 (5/10/11) – 1,021,000 viewers

A Note On Why I’ve Been Absent Most of the Week

You may have noticed that the site hasn’t been at optimum efficiency this week. It’s exam week, for the last time, and then graduation weekend. Not exactly the easiest week to do all of this.

Anyway, things should return to normal next week. I’ll be checking out a copy of Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller’s ESPN tome, Those Guys Have All The Fun, which supposedly features some NHL-related material. We’ll also get an interview with a certain NHL play-by-play man who used to work there. Get ready.

A New Record in Boston For Game 2

From Sports Media Watch:

Just under two weeks after setting a local ratings record on Versus, the Bruins broke that record in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference Final against the Lightning.

The Bruins’ Game 2 win over the Lightning earned a 14.59 rating on Versus in Boston, the market’s highest rating ever for an NHL telecast on the network. The previous record was 11.76 for Flyers/Bruins Game 3 on May 4.

Saturday’s Game 1 of the series earned a 9.87 rating in Boston.

Full Viewership Numbers For Game 1 of Lightning-Bruins

Saturday, May 14

7:30 p.m. Hockey Central – 281,000 viewers
8:00 p.m. Tampa Bay vs. Boston, Game 1 – 1,541,000 viewers
10:30 p.m. Hockey Central – 508,000 viewers

(Source: Son of the Bronx)

Your Announcers and Open Thread For Night 31 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs

Tampa Bay vs. Boston, Game 2, 8:00 p.m. ET

National TV (US): VERSUS
Play by Play: Mike Emrick
Color: Eddie Olczyk
Inside the Glass: Joe Micheletti

National TV (Canada): TSN
Play by Play: Gord Miller
Color: Pierre McGuire

GAME 1 RATINGS: Bruins-Lightning Up A Bit From Habs-Flyers, Sharks-Canucks Down With A Catch

VERSUS’ broadcasts of Game 1′s from the NHL Conference Finals averaged 1.25 million viewers over the weekend.

Game 1 between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins on Saturday night in primetime drew 1.54 million viewers on VERSUS, up 3% from last year’s Game 1 broadcast of Canadiens-Flyers, which was on a Sunday night and drew 1.50 million viewers. The broadcast is down 11% from Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final in 2009, which drew 1.7 million viewers for Pittsburgh and Carolina.

Game 1 between the San Jose Sharks and Vancouver Canucks – which faced off against a blockbuster NBA playoff game on TNT and Yankees-Red Sox on ESPN – drew 1.0 million viewers, down from last year’s Game 1 of the Western Conference Final, but that was between Chicago and San Jose, and televised on NBC. Similarly, Game 1 of the Western Conference Final in 2009 between Detroit and Chicago was also on NBC.

San Jose/Vancouver is down 34% from VERSUS’ first Western Conference Final broadcast of 2010, Game 2 between Chicago and San Jose, which drew 1.5 million viewers. It was down 42% from Game 2 in 2009 – VERSUS’ first Western Final broadcast of that year – in which Detroit and Chicago pulled in 1.7 million viewers.

Overall, through two broadcasts, as previously mentioned, VERSUS is averaging 1.25 million viewers. This is down 8% from the network’s average through two broadcasts last season, though those were both Montreal-Philadelphia games. VERSUS’ coverage of the Conference Final round continues tonight, with Game 2 between Tampa Bay and Boston.

Top 10 in Viewers For 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs on VERSUS

1. Boston vs. Philadelphia, Game 2 (5/2/11) – 1,699,000 viewers
2. Detroit vs. San Jose, Game 5 (5/8/11) – 1,627,000 viewers
3. Tampa Bay vs. Boston, Game 1 (5/14/11) – 1,541,000 viewers
4. Tampa Bay vs. Washington, Game 2 (5/1/11) – 1,261,000 viewers
5. Detroit vs. San Jose, Game 7 (5/12/11) – 1,251,000 viewers
6. Philadelphia vs. Boston, Game 3 (5/4/11) - 1,234,000 viewers
7. Vancouver vs. Chicago, Game 6 (4/24/11) – 1,157,000 viewers
8. Chicago vs. Vancouver, Game 7 (4/26/11) – 1,130,000 viewers
9. San Jose vs. Detroit, Game 6 (5/10/11) – 1,021,000 viewers

Oh, I Can’t Wait For the ESPN Book

From Michael Hiestand of USA Today:

Barnaby, an ex-NHL player, has added to an emerging narrative about ESPN. And it’s one that no corporate brand wants, let alone a Disney brand: Is ESPN running amok?

First, some facts. ESPN has about 6,500 workers, including about 1,000 commentators who regularly appear on-air or are online opinion givers who might go on-air. That workforce is far larger than the staffs of broadcast network divisions, which crank out far less TV tonnage than ESPN.

Also, episodes in which ESPN announcers did something that publicly cost them paychecks, or their jobs, seem disparate. Some involved ex-athletes, such as NBA analyst Jalen Rose recently being cited — and suspended — for suspicion of DUI. NFL analyst Sean Salisbury was suspended in 2006 and didn’t get his contract renewed in 2008. He later told USA TODAY he had publicly shown cellphone photos of his private parts. ESPN in 2006 fired baseball analyst Harold Reynolds, who sued for wrongful termination; the sides settled before trial. ESPN in 2009 fired baseball analyst Steve Phillips, an ex-big-league executive, and a 22-year-old production assistant after complaints about the pair’s tryst.

The NHL To Start Shopping Media Rights In Europe, the Middle East and Africa

NEW YORK (May 16, 2011) – The National Hockey League (NHL) is inviting tenders for its International Media Rights of live NHL games throughout Europe, Middle East and Africa covering the 2011-12 through 2014-15 seasons.

The tender process will be conducted in an open and transparent manner. Evolution Media Capital (EMC) will manage the process in its role as an independent advisor to the NHL.

Beginning on May 17, 2011, interested parties will receive via email the Invitation to Tender Document which includes an outline of the available Rights Package, a description of the Bidding Process as well as the Bid Form. The deadline for the bids is June 8, 2011.

The NHL’s appeal to international broadcasters has never been higher. With 26 percent of its players coming from outside of North America, the League is truly global, drawing millions of fans and viewers from around the world, including in the 142 countries and territories where NHL games are broadcast. Since 2007, the NHL has staged more than 35 exhibition and regular season games in Europe attended by over 400,000 fans.

Demand for NHL video content is very strong among NHL’s international fans. International visitors to NHL.com have grown 32 percent year-over-year. They account for 20 percent of all traffic to the League’s website and consume video on NHL.com at more than twice the rate of North American fans (up 116 percent year-over-year).

Bridesmaids Star, Co-Writer Sells Stanley Cup Heist Comedy to Paramount

This has potential to it. I saw “Bridesmaids” over the weekend, and this woman stole the film entirely. Yet another hockey-themed picture gets sold. Via Deadline:

Mike & Molly star Melissa McCarthy and Annie Mumalo have sold to Paramount Pictures an untitled pitch that will be written as a star vehicle for McCarthy. McCarthy and Mumalo star in the Judd Apatow-produced Bridesmaids, which Mumalo wrote with Kristen Wiig. Lorne Michaels and John Goldwyn produce. The laffer was hatched by McCarthy’s husband, Ben Falcone (also in Bridesmaids). The premise: When your husband is ill and his doctors are out of ideas, piling in the minivan with your pals to steal the Stanley Cup is one way to go. Falcone, Mumalo and McCarthy all came from the Groundlings comedy troupe. McCarthy is repped by CAA and The Schiff Co.