Overnights for NHL Winter Classic Prove To Be A Winner

Blogging from as Asian buffet. I’m truly a sick man.

Looks like we have a hit on our hands.

According to TV By The Numbers, the Winter Classic won the night in the coveted 18-49 demo with 4.56 million total viewers. CBS and Fox had more viewers, but among younger demos, NBC was the winner with a 1.8 rating and a 5 share.

With the game being postponed just the day before and scheduled for primetime, there’s no doubt that the ratings were helped by having just one college football bowl game opposite (the boring Fiesta Bowl) rather than four had the Winter Classic been played as scheduled at 1 p.m Eastern.

Greg Wyshynski at Yahoo’s Puck Daddy says NBC definitely has a hit in a primetime Winter Clasdic.

So we may see the Winter Classic played under the lights in the future. Consider this, CNBC’s Darren Rovell noted that the Winter Classic and UFC were trending worldwide on Twitter while the Fiesta Bowl was not.

Adults 18-49 Rating/Share: NBC: 1.8/5; Fox: 1.6/5; CBS: 1.2/3; ABC: 0.9/3
Total Viewers (million) NBC: 4.56; Fox: 4.77; CBS: 6.14; ABC: 3.14

So some decent numbers and a good win for NBC and the NHL all around.

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

About Ken Fang

Ken has been covering the sports media in earnest at his own site, Fang's Bites since May 2007 and at Awful Announcing since March 2013. He provides a unique perspective having been an award-winning radio news reporter in Providence and having worked in local television. Fang celebrates the three Boston Red Sox World Championships in the 21st Century, but continues to be a long-suffering Cleveland Browns fan.

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