A few press releases I have to clear out of the inbox from last week. This comes from the NBC Sports Group regarding the Conference Quarterfinal round of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs.
According to The Group, it averaged an audience of 929,000 thousand for the entire first round which is the highest average for the Conference Quarterfinals ever. For NBC Sports Network, the average audience was 744,00 which is the highest on cable in 11 years when ESPN had the contract.
A lot of this was helped by having all games available nationally for the first time and knowing where the games would be aired.
NBC also averaged an audience of over 2.5 million for its six games aired. So the NHL Playoffs certainly caught on in the first round.
We’re also seeing some decent numbers for NBC for the Conference Semifinals, but we’ll get to that when the time comes. Here’s The Group’s press release.
CONFERENCE QUARTERFINALS ARE MOST-WATCHED ON RECORD
Games Across NBC, NBC Sports Network & CNBC Average 929,000 Viewers
NBC Averages 2.6 Million Viewers, Best on a Broadcast Network in 14 Years
NBC Sports Network Averages 744,000 Viewers, Best on Cable in 11 Years
Total Audience Up 29% vs. Last YearNEW YORK – April 27, 2012 – On the strength of a record 16 overtime games, 32 one-goal games, and a new television format that televised every first-round game nationally for the first time, the Conference Quarterfinals of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs delivered record-setting viewership. According to Fast National data released today by The Nielsen Company, the 2012 Conference Quarterfinals:
- Averaged 929,000 viewers across NBC, NBC Sports Network and CNBC, making them the most-watched first round on record (cable data not available prior to 1994);
- Averaged 744,000 viewers on NBC Sports Network, making them the most-watched in NBC Sports Network history (formerly VERSUS), up 16% from last year (642,000), and the highest on a cable channel in 11 years (ESPN, 745,000 in 2001);
- Averaged 2.57 million viewers on NBC for six broadcasts, up 39 percent compared to last year (1.85 million, four games), and making them the most-watched on a broadcast network in 14 years, since Fox averaged 2.76 million viewers in 1998 (two games);
- Reached 30.9 million total viewers across NBC, NBC Sports Network and CNBC (excluding last Thursday night’s two Game 7s), up 29% vs. last year (23.9 million).
In addition to the success of the Conference Quarterfinals as a whole, a number of single games also broke records or set milestones. Following are the top-performing games on each channel:
NBC: Capitals-Bruins Game 6 on Sunday, April 22, averaged 3.5 million viewers, making it the most-watched Conference Quarterfinal game since the advent of Nielsen People Meters (1987).
NBC Sports Network: The 1.32 million viewers for Wednesday night’s Capitals-Bruins Game 7 made it the most-watched first-round game on cable in 12 years, since 1.51 million viewers watched San Jose-St. Louis Game 7 in 2000 (ESPN). It was also up 43 percent vs. last year’s comparable game (926,000; Was-Mon, Game 7) and was the most-watched first-round game in NBC Sports Network (formerly VERSUS) history.
CNBC: Coverage of the Conference Quarterfinals on CNBC peaked with 621,000 viewers for Coyotes-Blackhawks Game 6 on Monday, April 23. There is no comparison to last year as this is the first year that all NHL playoff games are being televised nationally.
Game 7s: Last Thursday night’s two Game 7s delivered strong viewership for NBC Sports Network. The Senators-Rangers game, in which the Rangers won, 2-1, in regulation, went head-to-head with the NFL Draft on two networks and was watched by 984,000 viewers on the NBC Sports Network, up 6% vs. last year’s comparable game (926,000, Bos-Was, Game 7).
The Devils-Panthers contest that saw the Devils advance, 3-2, in double overtime, began on NHL Network and then was simulcast on NBC Sports Network once the Senators-Rangers game had concluded. Devils-Panthers averaged 867,000 viewers for the portions of the game that aired on NBC Sports Network with no joined-in-progress comparison to last year.
NBCSports.com: NHL Extra, which live streams games broadcast on NBC, is up 233% in visits, 208% in unique users, and 276% in live starts over last year. Visitors are also staying on the site 288% longer than last year. During the Conference Quarterfinals, ProHockeyTalk experienced record traffic with 445,000 unique viewers, 526,000 visits, and 1.5 million views.
More stuff is on the way.
