NHL - US TV Ratings - OOOOF

[MTH]

From January 16th:

Quote

Thursday’s Flyers-Bruins NHL regular season game averaged 684,000 viewers on ESPN, trailing only the Winter Classic (Blues-Wild: 1.36M) and “Thanksgiving Showdown” (Rangers-Bruins: 1.23M) as the most-watched game since opening week. Viewership jumped 214% from Lightning-Wild in a similar window on NBCSN two years ago (218K).

ESPN also drew 658,000 for Wild-Bruins the previous Thursday, up 345% from Predators-Blackhawks on NBCSN two years ago.

Over on TNT, Canadiens-Bruins drew 434,000 (+7% from two years ago) and Maple Leafs-Coyotes just 142,000 this past Wednesday night. The previous Wednesday’s Blues-Penguins game was much stronger at 626,000 (+55%).

Good to hear. 

[MTH]

SI is reporting that this year's Olympics are the lowest watched Olympics in American television history.

https://www.si.com/olympics/2022/02/08/nbc-on-track-lowest-tv-ratings-winter-olympics-beijing

 

[MTH]

January 26th ratings:

Chicago v. Detroit 7:45 PM - Finished 39th for cable shows on Wednesday Night. 0.15 rating. 

Boston v. Colorado 10:26 PM - Finished 44th. 0.14 rating.

Postgame show finished 137th with a 0.03 rating. Think that's 12 total viewers including the camera guy and producer.

https://showbuzzdaily.com/articles/showbuzzdailys-wednesday-1-26-2022-top-150-cable-originals-network-finals.html

Edited February 8, 2022 by MTH

[MTH]

I'm here to declare that I watched the NHL game on TNT last night with my kids. Hurricanes and Panthers.

Few observations:

• Darren Pang is still a whiny ass. He sucks.
• The girl announcer was useless. They even turned her mic down so you couldn't really hear her. I know she's Team USA. That's great. I wish she covered her mouth with one of her medals.
• The play by play and color (Pang) were at a low level. No complaints. But their inane commentary was just noise anyway. I couldn't really hear them well enough to follow what they were saying.
• Hurricanes got black jerseys? They look bush. Like a Pee Wee team.
• They had the girl between benches. Two guys were talking between team benches. The announcers acted like this was the most wild of events ever to occur. They even had replays. Brutal. We were wondering if this was for real. 
• Using the term 'chirping' is so over used. Stop. It's over. You're not a hockey pro because you use 'chirp' and 'chirping'. There are no non-hockey fans watching anyway. Stop trying to teach basic crap all the time.
• The Canes defenseman made two insane saves in the crease.
• One Hurricanes dude got decked with a check. Lost his lid. Then got a penalty for losing his helmet and not retrieving it right away. This is a roller hockey rule. lol. Nice job NHL.
• My kids got bored and asked me to change the channel. We watched Jumanji part 2 until they fell asleep. I watched the Science channel 'Engineering Disasters' for a little before rounding up my kids to go to bed.
• I had a killer fire in the fireplace. Burned some nice cherry and a little White Ash. Dogs love the fireplace.

Edited February 17, 2022 by MTH

[tubby34]

The helmet rule is, get the helmet on right away or skate off the rink right away. He can't continue to be involved in the play.

It's not a roller hockey rule, it's just a rule.

[coopaloop1234]

11 minutes ago, tubby34 said:

The helmet rule is, get the helmet on right away or skate off the rink right away. He can't continue to be involved in the play.

It's not a roller hockey rule, it's just a rule.

It's a dumb rule. They introduce it the year after this beauty of a highlight:

 

It's the same as the no removing helmets for a fight rule. Won't ever get a build up to fight like this:

 

Open ice hits are practically non existent now a days, guys actively turn their backs to oncoming players when they're against the boards, a lot more chicken shit plays without repercussions happen (cough Marchand) because getting into a fight after the fact will cripple your team or lead to suspensions.

Feels like the game is being neutered.

[TheGoalNet]

On 2/8/2022 at 9:54 AM, MTH said:

SI is reporting that this year's Olympics are the lowest watched Olympics in American television history.

https://www.si.com/olympics/2022/02/08/nbc-on-track-lowest-tv-ratings-winter-olympics-beijing

 

Does this track the apps? It says Peacock / primetime. I have like curling on that I found on demand in the background

I have been using Peacock to watch the olympics because it's way easier to find exactly what you are looking for vs turning into NBC or USA

Also, the time change does not help.

I was thinking shame on the IOC, that 3 winter olympics in a row in bad time zones for North America. If the IOC was smart they would 1 olympcs in North america, 1 in europe, and 1 in Asia. Keep that rotation that fans in all contents have a balance.

[coopaloop1234]

39 minutes ago, TheGoalNet said:

Does this track the apps? It says Peacock / primetime. I have like curling on that I found on demand in the background

I have been using Peacock to watch the olympics because it's way easier to find exactly what you are looking for vs turning into NBC or USA

Also, the time change does not help.

I was thinking shame on the IOC, that 3 winter olympics in a row in bad time zones for North America. If the IOC was smart they would 1 olympcs in North america, 1 in europe, and 1 in Asia. Keep that rotation that fans in all contents have a balance.

Here's a live feed of the IOC board considering your proposal:

[MTH]

On 2/17/2022 at 12:43 PM, tubby34 said:

The helmet rule is, get the helmet on right away or skate off the rink right away. He can't continue to be involved in the play.

It's not a roller hockey rule, it's just a rule.

Roller hockey has had the get your gear or get off rule since the 90s. Just sayin'

[MTH]

On 2/17/2022 at 4:21 PM, TheGoalNet said:

Does this track the apps? It says Peacock / primetime. I have like curling on that I found on demand in the background

I'm assuming no. Television ratings are just what's on tv. Basically for advertising.

The next winter Olympics are in Italy. How much will broadcast vs streaming change in the next 4 years? Can't see TV making a comeback. I'm sure NBC knows exactly how many people stream to sell to their advertisers. 

NBC has the Olympics through 2032

[MTH]

Quote

US-Canada women’s gold medal hockey game on NBC averaged 3.54 million viewers. That’s more viewers than any NHL game this season. And second most watched hockey game in United States since 2019.

From Feb. 8th:

Quote

The NASCAR Clash at the Coliseum (4.28m viewers) outrated this weekend’s NHL All-Star Game (1.15m) by +274%.

The Pro Bowl outdrew both. 

Edited April 5, 2022 by MTH

[MTH]

From Sports Media Watch:

Quote

Quiet week for NHL as ABC game nears broadcast TV low

Blackhawks-Flyers drew a mere 0.39 rating and 664,000 viewers on last weekend’s edition of ABC Hockey Saturday, marking the third-lowest NHL rating ever on broadcast television. NBC’s final two NHL regular season windows last year generated ratings of 0.34 and 0.31. In other NHL action, TNT drew a 0.15 and 292,000 for Stars-Wild last Sunday, down 12% in ratings and at least 8% in viewership from the equivalent Devils-Bruins “Hockey Day in America” window on NBCSN last year (0.17, 317K).

TNT also chipped in 290,000 for Capitals-Oilers on Wednesday night, with figures unavailable for the Canadiens-Canucks nightcap.

NHL is taking it in the teeth for tv viewership this year.

[MTH]

I saw that the Flyers played the Rangers this past week on TNT. Came in at #46 on the top 50 original cable shows for that night. 0.11 rating = 361,000 viewers.

They did just beat the rerun of an episode of House of Payne (2020) on BET. 

Pregame show came in #83. 0.08 rating = 269,000 viewers.

Postgame #118, 0.04 = 100,000 viewers.

Nos. 1 and 2 were NBA games. No. 3 for the night was AEW wrestling.

https://showbuzzdaily.com/articles/showbuzzdailys-wednesday-4-13-2022-top-150-cable-originals-network-finals.html

[WillyGrips13]

I couldn’t watch that game, I dislike both teams. I’m an Islander’s fan so I couldn’t root for the Rangers. I’m from New York, so I’m legally obligated to hate all the Philadelphia sports franchises, so I couldn’t root for the Flyers. Perhaps, those two teams have a lot of haters, which is why no one was watching relatively speaking. Then again I play hockey, yet rarely watch it. Maybe when the playoffs start. 

[TheGoalNet]

On 4/5/2022 at 11:13 AM, MTH said:

From Sports Media Watch:

NHL is taking it in the teeth for tv viewership this year.

I am a Flyers fan living in Chicago and I Didn't give 2 shits about that game. Shame on the NHL for televising garbage in a game of the week.

The fact that Florida and Colorado are the best 2 teams in the league doesn't probably help. If NYR goes deep in the playoffs, ratings should be okay?

Scoring is way up and hockey is exciting for casual fans. It's on ESPN. This makes no sense...

[SaveByRichter35]

8 minutes ago, TheGoalNet said:

I am a Flyers fan living in Chicago and I Didn't give 2 shits about that game. Shame on the NHL for televising garbage in a game of the week.

The fact that Florida and Colorado are the best 2 teams in the league doesn't probably help. If NYR goes deep in the playoffs, ratings should be okay?

Scoring is way up and hockey is exciting for casual fans. It's on ESPN. This makes no sense...

The thing I was most excited about with the new TV deal was I thought I would get a plethora of games on ESPN/ESPN2.  That is unfortunately not what we got.  Everything is ESPN+.  Such a shame.  

[TheGoalNet]

14 minutes ago, SaveByRichter35 said:

The thing I was most excited about with the new TV deal was I thought I would get a plethora of games on ESPN/ESPN2.  That is unfortunately not what we got.  Everything is ESPN+.  Such a shame.  

There's some now? Typical to NCSN, I think there 1 game a week on ESPN and 1 on ABC now that football over.

[SaveByRichter35]

9 minutes ago, TheGoalNet said:

There's some now? Typical to NCSN, I think there 1 game a week on ESPN and 1 on ABC now that football over.

Yea I guess you're right, good point.  I also wish it was more similar to the way ESPN broadcasts their college football content.  If a game is on any channel that falls under the ESPN umbrella it is streamed for free on their app.  No ESPN+ sub needed.

[MTH]

I'm too old for the app ESPN or ESPN+. Peace. I still read ESPN Magazine that comes in the mail every month. Wait a minute...

[MTH]

NHL Playoff ratings are up. From Forbes:

Quote

NHL: After more than a decade on NBCU, the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs aired on Disney and Turner Sports. The first round of the playoffs on ESPN, ESPN2, TNT and TBS averaged 768,000 viewers, an increase of 26% from last year’s first round (when some games aired on NBC) and the highest viewership since 2018 (785,000).

Helping to boost ratings was five of the eight opening round series went the full seven games. Front Office Sports reports the five Game 7s delivered a cumulative audience of 28 million across North American networks ESPN, ESPN2, TNT, TBS, CBC, Sportsnet, and TVA Sports. By comparison, last year only one opening round series went the full seven games (Toronto and Montreal).

The opening round series that generated the greatest interest were the New York Rangers versus Pittsburgh. All but one of the seven game series averaged over one million viewers. The seventh game (won in overtime by the Rangers) averaged 2.33 million viewers on TBS, making it the most watched cablecast since 2018 and the most watched first round game on cable since at least 1994. The Rangers are the only original six franchises to advance to the second round of the playoffs.

Another seventh game that generated strong interest was between the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay eliminating Toronto. The deciding game on TNT averaged 1.68 million viewers, making it the second highest opening round game on cable. Toronto, an original six franchise, last won the Stanley Cup in 1967, the longest drought of any NHL team.

Another seven-game series was Carolina versus Boston (another original six franchise). The seventh game (won by Carolina) on ESPN averaged 1.63 million viewers. In the Western Conference, there were two series that went the full seven games, but neither generated as much interest. Edmonton’s Game 7 victory over Los Angeles averaged 1.06 million viewers on ESPN. Game 7 between Calgary and Dallas (won by Calgary) averaged 1.02 million viewers on ESPN2.

As the NBA and NHL playoffs prove, interest in live sports is thriving as interest in entertainment programming on linear broadcast and cable television wane. With the ratings upswing for early round NBA and NHL playoffs and based on the attention sports received during their recent upfront presentations, the importance of live sports cannot be understated.

 

[MTH]

Glad that the NHL playoff ratings are ok. Curious how the final between the Avalanche and the Lightning will do. ABC/ESPN should be a big help. That said, it's mid June. School has ended or ending shortly. Vacations, swimming in the pool and watching ice hockey just don't seem right to me. I wish the NHL would adopt my 'Finish before the end of May' rule.

[MTH]

Rangers were a big draw for the NHL playoff games. Too bad they're gone. They were averaging over 2 Million viewers each game.

ESPN had their best 'May in Years' from this report:

Quote

ESPN has most-watched May in years

ESPN averaged 742,000 total-day viewers in the month of May (April 24-May 28) and 2.17 million in primetime, its highest averages for the month since 2015 and 2018 respectively. In addition to its usual NBA playoff schedule — back in its usual time of year for the first time since 2019 — ESPN was able to fill its non-NBA nights with Stanley Cup playoff coverage for the first time since 2004. In prior years, ESPN’s non-NBA nights in the month of May consisted largely of non-exclusive Major League Baseball games.

In particular, ESPN averaged 5.55 million for 13 NBA playoff games in May (up 204% from last year, when it primarily aired regular season games during the month) and 1.2 million for 27 NHL playoff games. Last year in May, not a single weeknight Major League Baseball game on ESPN cracked the million viewer mark.

[Nielsen estimates from Programming Insider 6.8, 6.9, 6.11; network PR]

If ABC/ESPN boost Hockey back up. I hope they then are able to have a say in the way that the league is ran. Not that they need it, but when you have outside looking in people helping - maybe it can benefit us fans.

[MTH]

More interesting things for NHL on tv. Here's the most viewed finals games in the US (from Wikipedia):

Most watched games in the U.S.
Most watched Stanley Cup finals games (1966–present)

May 18, 1971, Montreal-Chicago – game seven, 12.41 million, 20.6 rating CBS
May 11, 1972, Boston-NY Rangers – game six, 10.93 million, 17.6 rating CBS
May 10, 1973, Montreal-Chicago – game six, 9.41 million, 15.2 rating NBC
June 12, 2019, St. Louis-Boston - game seven, 8.72 million, 4.9 rating NBC
June 15, 2011, Boston-Vancouver – game seven, 8.54 million, 4.8 rating, 8 share NBC
April 30, 1972, NY Rangers-Boston – game one, 8.51 million, 13.7 rating CBS
May 12, 1974, Boston-Philadelphia – game three, 8.30 million, 12.5 rating NBC
June 9, 2010, Chicago-Philadelphia – game six, 8.28 million, 4.7 rating, 6 share, NBC
May 7, 1972, Boston-NY Rangers – game four, 8.26 million, 13.3 rating CBS
June 24, 2013, Chicago-Boston — game six, 8.16 million, 4.7 rating, NBC
June 15, 2015, Chicago-Tampa Bay – game six, 8 million, 4.4 rating, 8 share, NBC

[coopaloop1234]

59 minutes ago, MTH said:

More interesting things for NHL on tv. Here's the most viewed finals games in the US (from Wikipedia):

Most watched games in the U.S.
Most watched Stanley Cup finals games (1966–present)

May 18, 1971, Montreal-Chicago – game seven, 12.41 million, 20.6 rating CBS
May 11, 1972, Boston-NY Rangers – game six, 10.93 million, 17.6 rating CBS
May 10, 1973, Montreal-Chicago – game six, 9.41 million, 15.2 rating NBC
June 12, 2019, St. Louis-Boston - game seven, 8.72 million, 4.9 rating NBC
June 15, 2011, Boston-Vancouver – game seven, 8.54 million, 4.8 rating, 8 share NBC
April 30, 1972, NY Rangers-Boston – game one, 8.51 million, 13.7 rating CBS
May 12, 1974, Boston-Philadelphia – game three, 8.30 million, 12.5 rating NBC
June 9, 2010, Chicago-Philadelphia – game six, 8.28 million, 4.7 rating, 6 share, NBC
May 7, 1972, Boston-NY Rangers – game four, 8.26 million, 13.3 rating CBS
June 24, 2013, Chicago-Boston — game six, 8.16 million, 4.7 rating, NBC
June 15, 2015, Chicago-Tampa Bay – game six, 8 million, 4.4 rating, 8 share, NBC

It's almost like O6 teams are the lifeblood for the NHL in the USA

[MTH]

The 2022 Winter Classic drew 1.4M viewers. I haven't seen anything yet from this year's game. I didn't watch. I did see that it was at Fenway again and all. Feels like they play there every other year now.