Bruins Game 7 Sets Ratings Record For NESN

I’ve been out all morning and just got back into the office. I have a couple of housekeeping items to finish and I’ll get to the usual Friday posts later.

First, the result may have not been what Bruins fans wanted last night, losing in overtime to the Carolina Hurricanes, but the game had some great viewership. NESN’s last Bruins game of the season did extremely well.

NESN EARNS RECORD 14.2 HOUSEHOLD RATING FOR BRUINS GAME 7


BOSTON, MA – NESN, New England’s most watched sports network, earned a 14.2 household rating in the Boston DMA for game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinal against the Carolina Hurricanes.This is by far the highest Bruins game rating in NESN’s 25 year history, beating the previous top rating (11.2 for the 2004 Eastern Conference Quarterfinal Game 7) by a full three rating points.


The 14.2 rating means that an average of 340,800 households in the Boston television market were watching NESN’s 3 ½ hours of coverage. The ratings peaked during overtime with an 18.6 household rating between 11 PM and 11:15 PM, which equals a total of 446,400 households.


NESN’s game 7 ratings in the key demographic categories also established new network records, including a 15.9 for Men 25-54, a 12.4 for Adults 25-54 and an 8.8 for Women 25-54. NESN’s household rating and almost every demo rating was #1 in the Boston DMA on Thursday night beating every other program in the market including season finales on all the major broadcast networks.


“The Bruins had a remarkable run this season and Bruins fans have proven without a doubt that Boston is one of the best hockey towns in the country,” said NESN president Sean McGrail. “We want to thank Bruins fans for making this hockey season the most watched in our 25 years of covering the black and gold.”

During the 2009 playoffs, NESN carried a total of 9 games and established new network post-season records for live game coverage (9.6), pre-game (2.7) and post-game programming (2.7). This season’s playoffs also generated five of the top 7 Bruins telecasts in network history.

One can say the Bruins are back in the New England sports pysche following the playoff run the team had this season. It took a while, but the B’s can look at the results in attendance and the ratings and feel good about the prospects for next season.

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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