Capitals/Rangers Game 2 Draws Biggest Cable Audience This Post-Season

NBC Sports Network saw it’s best numbers of the Stanley Cup Playoffs on the backs of Alexander Ovechkin’s heroics Monday night.

Game 2 between the Capitals and the Rangers drew a whopping 1.53 million viewers, the best number on NBC Sports Network or CNBC this post-season. Only seven games from the entire 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs on VERSUS drew more viewers, and only two games from last year’s Conference Semifinals had more viewers.

Oddly enough, NBCSN is down year-to-year, as one of those two games with more viewers took place on the comparable date last year. Yes, Caps/Rangers is a 10% dip from Game 2 between Boston and Philadelphia in 2011. Still, NBCSN drew an 0.7 Adults 18-49 demo rating, tied for 10th on cable Monday night, and tied for seventh among original programming. With the Caps evening up this series, expect bigger numbers as the post-season moves on.

Top 10 Most-watched Games of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs on Cable

1. Washington vs. NY Rangers, Game 2 (4/30/12): 1.53 million
2. Washington vs. Boston, Game 7 (4/25/12, NBCSN): 1.32 million
3. Philadelphia vs. Pittsburgh, Game 5 (4/20/12, NBCSN): 1.07 million
4. Pittsburgh vs. Philadelphia, Game 4 (4/18/12, NBCSN): 1.03 million
5. Ottawa vs. NY Rangers, Game 7 (4/26/12, NBCSN): 984,000
6. New Jersey vs. Florida, Game 7 (4/26/12, NBCSN): 867,000
7. NY Rangers vs. Ottawa, Game 6 (4/23/12, NBCSN): 861,000
8. Philadelphia vs. Pittsburgh, Game 1 (4/11/12, NBCSN): 847,000
9. Los Angeles vs. Vancouver, Game 5 (4/22/12, NBCSN): 817,000
10. Boston vs. Washington, Game 3 (4/16/12, NBCSN): 804,000

(Source: TVBytheNumbers)

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Predators/Coyotes Outdraws Kings/Blues on Round Two’s First Weekend

I don’t know if anyone puts odds on NHL television ratings, but if you bet the underdog in the battle of the Western Conference Semifinals, you’d walk away with a decent chunk of change.

Game 1 of the Los Angeles/St. Louis series drew 741,000 viewers on NBC Sports Network this Saturday night. That was actually down slightly from Game 1 of the Nashville/Phoenix series, which drew 767,000 viewers on Friday night. Kings/Blues was up 27% from last year’s comparable telecast of Predators/Canucks.

Game 2 of the Nashville/Phoenix series, meanwhile, grew from Game 1. The Sunday night telecast drew 796,000 viewers to NBC Sports Network. This was up 36% from Game 2 between Nashville and Vancouver last year. It was, however, the first night of the second round that saw lower viewer figures, as Predators/Coyotes sunk 42% from last year’s Capitals/Lightning Game 2, which went to overtime and was an exclusive. It is, however, the first conference semifinal game to crack the top ten for the post-season.

(Source: @JohnOurand)

Top 10 Most-watched Games of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs on Cable

1. Washington vs. Boston, Game 7 (4/25/12, NBCSN): 1.32 million
2. Philadelphia vs. Pittsburgh, Game 5 (4/20/12, NBCSN): 1.07 million
3. Pittsburgh vs. Philadelphia, Game 4 (4/18/12, NBCSN): 1.03 million
4. Ottawa vs. NY Rangers, Game 7 (4/26/12, NBCSN): 984,000
5. New Jersey vs. Florida, Game 7 (4/26/12, NBCSN): 867,000
6. NY Rangers vs. Ottawa, Game 6 (4/23/12, NBCSN): 861,000
7. Philadelphia vs. Pittsburgh, Game 1 (4/11/12, NBCSN): 847,000
8. Los Angeles vs. Vancouver, Game 5 (4/22/12, NBCSN): 817,000
9. Boston vs. Washington, Game 3 (4/16/12, NBCSN): 804,000
10. Nashville vs. Phoenix, Game 2 (4/29/12, NBCSN): 796,000

Your Announcers and Open Thread for Night 21 of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs

New Jersey vs. Philadelphia, Game 2 (PHI Leads 1-0), 7:30 p.m. ET

US National TV: NBC Sports Network
Play by Play: Kenny Albert
Inside the Glass: Pierre McGuire

Canada National TV: CBC
Play by Play: Bob Cole
Color: Gary Galley
Reporter: Scott Oake

24/7 Will Return For Season Three

From Wyshynski:

After two seasons that changed the way fans see the National Hockey League and its players, NHL COO John Collins confirmed that there will be a Season 3 for “HBO 24/7: Road To The NHL Winter Classic” featuring the Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

“We’re bringing it back,” Collins told Puck Daddy exclusively on Tuesday, although he said a formal announcement is forthcoming.

There was no guarantee “24/7” would come back for a third season, after a change at the top at HBO Sports. The Associated Press speculated in January that HBO could “decide to keep the show, and possibly expand it from its four-week run, or move in a different direction.”

 

The NHL and NBC Share a Sports Emmy

NEW YORK, NY (May 1, 2012) — The National Hockey League (NHL), in collaboration with NBC Sports, won a Sports Emmy in the category of Outstanding Sports Promotional Announcement – Episodic for the 2011 Stanley Cup Final TV spot, “No Words,” at the 33rd Annual Sports Emmy Awards on Monday night.

The National Hockey League beat out an impressive field of finalists in the category. There were more than 170 nominees in 33 categories, including outstanding live sports special, live series, sports documentary, studio show, promotional announcements, play-by-play personality and studio analyst.

In accepting the award, Brian Jennings, NHL Executive Vice President of Marketing said, “We accept this honor with our colleagues at NBC, who have been incredibly supportive and creative partners. The emotional power of the “No Words” spot resonated not only with hockey fans, but sports fans everywhere. And it’s always a privilege to serve the sport of hockey.”

The “No Words” TV spot, which aired during the 2011 Stanley Cup Final, featured past post-game interviews with players who were rendered speechless after winning the Stanley Cup. Soon after its debut, the spot quickly gained acclaim. NHL players were among the spot’s biggest fans, with a handful of players referencing it during their own post-game interviews.

This marks the NHL’s second Sports Emmy is three years. The NHL and NBC shared honors in the category of “Outstanding Sports Promotional Announcement: Episodic” for promotion of the 2009 NHL Winter Classic.

This year’s awards were presented at the Time Warner Center in New York City.

Preds/Coyotes Game 1 Up Big From 2011

While no one expected the Nashville Predators and Phoenix Coyotes to burn a hole in the atmosphere in terms of ratings, the numbers certainly could have been worse, and were actually an improvement from Nashville’s 2011 playoff numbers.

Game 1, which saw the Coyotes get the first of two consecutive wins over the Predators, drew 767,000 viewers on Friday over at NBC Sports Network. While it falls 1,000 viewers short of hitting the top ten viewership numbers for post-season games, it is up a whopping 58% over last year’s Game 1 between Nashville and Vancouver, which drew 484,000 viewers.

What’s much more impressive, however, is that Predators/Coyotes was up 5% from last year’s comparable Stanley Cup Playoff date on VERSUS, which featured an exclusive game between Washington and Tampa Bay that aired in both home markets, a game that drew 724,000. Nashville/Phoenix also drew better numbers than the late Detroit/San Jose game, which was blacked out locally that night and drew 608,000 viewers.

A lot of people doubted me when I said over on Twitter that round two of the Stanley Cup Playoffs would show growth over last year, but one night in, perhaps the post-season’s biggest question mark of a series is showing gains year-to-year over two of the more high profile series from last year. Hopefully the Preds stay a live and make it a competitive series so things will grow a bit.

(Source: @TVSportsratings)