NBCSN’s NHL Opening Night doubleheader gave the network its best ratings for the event. The Philadelphia Flyers-Boston Bruins game averaged 956,000 viewers for the game and garnered a 0.57 rating. that makes it the most-watched NHL opening night game on cable and the highest-rated regular season game ever on NBCSN.
Locally, Boston, Providence Philadelphia, Minneapolis-St. Paul and Buffalo were the top five markets for the season opener on NBCSN.
The nightcap between San Jose and Los Angeles in which the Kings raised their Stanley Cup Championship banner, drew 446,000 viewers which was the most for an NHL late game on NBCSN.
San Francisco/Oakland, Boston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis-St. Paul and Philly were the top five local markets for the late night game. And to see Boston second is quite impressive. The conventional wisdom is that Boston is provincial and won’t watch games not involving its local teams, but we see that while many people went to bed, some stayed up late.
Here’s the NBCSN press release.
NHL OPENING NIGHT DRAWS RECORD VIEWERSHIP FOR NBCSN
Best NHL Opening Night Doubleheader on Record
Flyers-Bruins is Most-Watched NHL Opening Night Game on Record & Highest-Rated NHL Regular-Season Game Ever on NBCSN; Also Posts Digital Consumption Records
Sharks-Kings is Most-Watched NHL Regular-Season Late Game Ever on NBCSN, Excluding 2014 Dodger Stadium Outdoor GameSTAMFORD, Conn. – October 9, 2014 – Last night’s NHL opening night doubleheader on NBCSN was the best on record, according to The Nielsen Company, generating record ratings and viewership, as well as digital consumption.
Wednesday Night Rivalry’s Philadelphia Flyers-Boston Bruins matchup (7:27-10:06 p.m. ET) delivered 956,000 viewers and a 0.57 household rating, making it the most-watched opening night game on cable on record (data available since 1993) and the highest-rated NHL regular-season game ever on NBCSN. The game also set live streaming records for uniques and minutes consumed.
The second game of the doubleheader, featuring the San Jose Sharks against the defending Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings (10:06 p.m. ET – 1:14 a.m. ET), averaged 446,000 viewers, the most ever on NBCSN for an NHL regular-season “late” game (puck drop after 9 p.m. ET), excluding last season’s Ducks-Kings outdoor game at Dodger Stadium.
Combined, the doubleheader averaged a 0.43 household rating and 679,000 viewers, making it the best NHL opening night doubleheader on record (data available since 1993), and up 19% and 13%, respectively, vs. the most-recent opening night doubleheader to begin the 2011-12 season (0.36 HH rating; 601,000 viewers).
FLYERS-BRUINS
The Flyers-Bruins’ 0.57 household rating surpassed the 0.55 rating for the first-ever Wednesday Night Rivalry game between the Flyers and Penguins (2/20/13). The rating was up 12% over last year’s season opener (Was-Chi; 0.51).
In addition to the record rating, last night’s Wednesday Night Rivalry matchup, in which the Bruins defeated the Flyers 2-1, averaged 956,000 viewers, making it the most-watched opening night game on cable on record (data available since 1993), and tying it for the most-watched regular-season game ever on NBCSN. The previous opening night record was set last year (Was-Chi; 935,000 viewers), while the game it tied for the most-watched in NBCSN history was Boston-New York Rangers (1/23/13).
Last night’s game peaked at 1.206 million viewers from 8-8:15 p.m. ET.
Locally, Philadelphia delivered a 4.68 rating, the second-best regular-season Flyers game ever on NBCSN in the market. NBCSN was the No. 1 cable network in Philadelphia during the game, while it was the No. 1 network overall in Boston, which led all markets with a 7.80 rating.
Top 5 markets for Flyers-Bruins:
- Boston (7.80)
- Providence (5.10)
- Philadelphia (4.68)
- Minneapolis-St. Paul (1.30)
- Buffalo (1.19)
Flyers-Bruins also set records for NBC Sports Live Extra, the NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices and tablets. The game delivered 41,000 uniques and 1.6 million minutes, the best-ever in both categories for an authenticated regular-season game.
SHARKS-KINGS
The San Jose Sharks defeated the defending Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings 4-0 in the second game of last night’s doubleheader. The game delivered a 0.31 household rating and 446,000 viewers, up 41% and 30%, respectfully, vs. a comparable late game to begin the 2011 season (Van-Pit; 10/6; 0.22; 342,000).
The 1.13 rating was the second-best regular-season Kings game ever on NBCSN in L.A. NBCSN was the No. 2 cable network in the market during the game, while it was the No. 1 cable network in SF/Oak/San Jose during the contest.
Top 5 markets for Sharks-Kings:
- SF/Oak/SJ (1.40)
- Boston (1.34)
- Los Angeles (1.13)
- Minneapolis-St. Paul (0.94)
- Philadelphia (0.93)
That will do it.
