The following numbers all come from Kevin Downey of Media Life Magazine, regarding VERSUS in this week’s cable rankings:
- Pens/Caps was #2 among all cable networks in its timeslot, with 1.5 Million Viewers and a 1.3 rating.
- VERSUS was #25 among all cable networks for the week in primetime with 591,000 viewers each night.
- VERSUS was #9 among all cable networks for the week in primetime among Adults 18-49 (a huge demographic) with 517,000 viewers per night.
So VERSUS is starting to gain some ground. Mr. Downey has more:
But the NHL has quietly been generating more interest from viewers the past few years, notably the past few weeks as the NHL and the low-rated Versus jack up promotional efforts for hockey and as more hockey fans are coming to realize that most NHL games are on Versus.
But most significant to the increased viewership is intense matchups between teams like the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals, which are duking it out in game seven of the Eastern Conference semifinals tonight.
Versus has been posting sizable year-over-year ratings increases for NHL semifinal games.
Its audience for these games is up 31 percent from last year, to an average 806,000 viewers, based on 19 games over 12 days, compared to 616,000 viewers for 15 games over 11 days last year.
Its household rating for the same time period is up 33 percent, to a 0.8 rating.
Versus is also up in its core male audience.
Among men 18-34, semifinal games are up 19 percent. Versus is posting a 29 percent increase among men 18-49 and 38 percent among men 25-54.
If VERSUS keeps getting this kind of support from viewers, they’ll be in at least 90 million homes in 5 years. Cable companies will not be able to keep them off basic cable tiers. The demand will be too high.
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