BillsSabresB.C.T. Fan
05-31-2008, 02:50 PM
The NHL is celebrating enormous percentage gains in ratings for the first three games of the finals. It was easily predictable because this is the first non-lockout year since 2003 without a Canadian team in the finals and Game Three of last year’s Anaheim- Ottawa series tied for the lowest-rated program in NBC’s prime-time history. The Canadian audience doesn’t count in U. S. Nielsens.
NBC said the 2.8 overnight rating for Pittsburgh’s win in Game Three was 87 percent higher than Game Three in the Anaheim-Ottawa series. Versus reported a combined 171 percent rating gain for Detroit’s first two victories compared to 200and 111 percent compared to the ’06 final when Carolina beat Edmonton.
The only way to get triple-figure percentage gains like that is to have extremely low past ratings.
NBC’s telecast of Pittsburgh’s 3-2 victory had a 6.2 rating on Channel 2, finishing third to Pittsburgh (33.1) and Detroit (18.2). Western New York also had the highest rating outside the participating markets for Versus coverage of Game One (3.8) and Game Two (3.2). The games had national ratings slightly under 2.0.
While Western New York has high hockey ratings, there can be more viewers in bigger markets where a ratings point equals more households. Pittsburgh’s rating was almost twice Detroit’s, but it only had 19,000 more households — 364,000-345,000 — for Game Three. The 6.2 in Buffalo translates to about 41,000 households.
http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/sabresnhl/story/359229.html
NBC said the 2.8 overnight rating for Pittsburgh’s win in Game Three was 87 percent higher than Game Three in the Anaheim-Ottawa series. Versus reported a combined 171 percent rating gain for Detroit’s first two victories compared to 200and 111 percent compared to the ’06 final when Carolina beat Edmonton.
The only way to get triple-figure percentage gains like that is to have extremely low past ratings.
NBC’s telecast of Pittsburgh’s 3-2 victory had a 6.2 rating on Channel 2, finishing third to Pittsburgh (33.1) and Detroit (18.2). Western New York also had the highest rating outside the participating markets for Versus coverage of Game One (3.8) and Game Two (3.2). The games had national ratings slightly under 2.0.
While Western New York has high hockey ratings, there can be more viewers in bigger markets where a ratings point equals more households. Pittsburgh’s rating was almost twice Detroit’s, but it only had 19,000 more households — 364,000-345,000 — for Game Three. The 6.2 in Buffalo translates to about 41,000 households.
http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/sabresnhl/story/359229.html