Caps Set 1 More Ratings Record
April 29, 2010 4 Comments
Comcast SportsNet’s coverage of Game 7 of the Capitals Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the Canadiens on Wednesday, April 28, delivered an 8.1 average household rating in the Washington market, making it the highest-rated Capitals game in network history. The Game 7 rating surpassed the previous record by 40 percent, which was a 5.8 earned on Feb. 8, 2010 at Montreal, and eclipsed the all-time playoff high of 5.6, which was set in Game 6 on April 26, by 45 percent.
- In the Washington market, the record-setting 8.1 average household rating represents approximately 189,000 households. When combined with the average household rating in the Baltimore market (3.1), Game 7 earned an average audience of approximately 226,000 households on Comcast SportsNet.
- Comcast SportsNet’s coverage attracted peak viewership during the third period, delivering a 10.6 household rating in Washington and a 4.1 household rating in Baltimore during the final quarter-hour of the game, equating to approximately 297,000 combined households for that time-period.
- In the key Men 25-54 demographic, Comcast SportsNet delivered an average 8.5 rating in the Washington market, which peaked at a 10.7 rating in that category during for the final half-hour of the broadcast. The 8.5 rating is a 20 percent increase on the previous all-time high in that demographic, which was set in Game 6 of this series on Monday, April 26 (7.1).
- During Game 7, Comcast SportsNet was the most-watched television station in the Washington market.
- With the record ratings posted for Game 7, six of the ten highest-rated Capitals games in Comcast SportsNet history have occurred since February 2010, including the top three all-time ratings.
- For Comcast SportsNet’s coverage of the 2010 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, the network earned an average household rating of 5.3 in the Washington market, surpassing the 2009 Eastern Conference Semifinals (4.7) as the most-viewed Capitals playoff series in network history by 13 percent. The 5.3 average rating for the seven-game series represents a 77 percent increase over last year’s first-round series against the NY Rangers (3.0).
- Comcast SportsNet’s coverage of the Capitals first-round series drew an average audience of approximately 123,000 households in the Washington market and approximately 27,000 households in Baltimore, earning a combined average household audience of approximately 150,000 for the series.
CAPITALS 2010 PLAYOFFS ON CSN – EASTERN CONFERENCE QUARTERFINALS
Game WSH HH PEAK M 25-54 A 25-54 BAL HH PEAK
Game 1 5.1 7.4 5.9 4.1 2.1 3.2
Game 2 4.4 6.1 4.7 3.4 2.3 3.2
Game 3 5.1 6.4 5.3 4.3 1.7 2.9
Game 4 5.3 7.0 6.2 4.4 1.8 2.7
Game 5 3.8 6.2 4.1 2.5 1.6 2.4
Game 6 5.6 7.1 7.1 5.1 2.7 3.5
Game 7 8.1 10.6 8.5 6.7 3.1 4.1
AVG. 5.3 – 6.0 4.4 2.2 –
ALL-TIME HIGHEST-RATED CAPITALS GAMES ON CSN (WSH DMA):
1.) 8.1 APRIL 28, 2010 ECQ GAME 7 VS. MTL
2.) 5.8 FEBRUARY 10, 2010 REGULAR SEASON VS. MTL
3.) 5.6 APRIL 26, 2010 ECQ GAME 6 VS. MTL
4.) 5.5 MAY 13, 2009 ECS GAME 7 VS. PIT
5.) 5.3 APRIL 21, 2010 ECQ GAME 4 VS. MTL
5.3 MAY 11, 2009 ECS GAME 6 VS. PIT
5.3 APRIL 22, 2008 ECQ GAME 7 VS. PHI
8.) 5.1 APRIL 19, 2010 ECQ GAME 3 VS. MTL
5.1 APRIL 15, 2010 ECQ GAME 1 VS. MTL
10.) 4.7 MAY 9, 2009 ECS GAME 5 VS. PIT
About Steve Lepore
I actually think the NHL got a great break here. The TV ratings in Canada will be off the charts with Montreal and Vancouver playing. The Bos/Phil series will do better than Wash/Phil in my opinion. Washington is still not a huge hockey market. Boston and Philly will both do double digit local ratings in this round….that’s assuming everyone has Versus
There’s no doubt that the CBC are a happy bunch today. It remains to be seen how the games involving Canadian Teams do on NBC and Versus. I suspect that the NHL’s worst nightmare would be a Habs Vancouver final…not that there’s much chance of that happening.
The best ratings Versus has gotten so far was Pens/Sen and Caps/Habs and that was without exclusive TV rights. Pens/Habs will do pretty well. An all Canadian Final would be bad but hey just put it on Versus if NBC don’t want it. Really not a big deal if I was running the show
I would be willing to bet that the contract stipulates that cannot happen. I can’t see the NHL agreeing to a contract where, if NBC doesn’t like a matchup, they can just shift it to Versus.