NBC and NBCSN sets record ratings on NHL's telecasts this season

[David Heller 1]

From www.awfulannouncing.com: I was very curious this NHL season would play out from a TV ratings perspective. There were signs to suggest that the NHL's shortened 2012-13 season had factors that led to unsustainable TV ratings for future years. The season being shortened (from 82 games to 48 games), and an emphasis on in-conference rivalry games isn't something the league can match every year.

 

NBC managed to squeeze out another record season, however, albeit with some caveats. NBCSN had their best "full" season ever covering the league (Then-OLN started covering NHL games in the 2005-06 season), averaging 351,000 viewers per game. That's up six percent from the 2011-12 season.

 

Games on NBC and NBCSN combined to average 532,000 viewers, up 11% from 2011-12 games during the 2012-13 season -- which had the advantage of never facing off with football or postseason baseball --- averaged 392,000 viewers. While the "unsustainable" turned out to be correct, NBC's networks still thrived.

 

The bevy of outdoor games has led NBC to record ratings regardless of season. Since they begin their coverage (for the most part) in January, this makes sense. Through 12 broadcasts, the network is averaging 1.73 million viewers, up 22 percent from 2012-13, and so far topping the network's best ever average of 1.65 million viewers.

 

NBC might have themselves record audiences, however both of the network's final weekend telecasts (Philadelphia-Pittsburgh on Saturday, Detroit-St. Louis on Sunday) Drew fairly dismal ratings. Neither came close to a 1.0 overnight rating, and both were season lows for the network. So we'll see, but for now the network has a record.

 

We're expecting a big postseason from NBC, NBCSN, and CNBC. 15 American markets, most of them big, and a lot of killer match ups. It's good to see, however, that the NHL regular season continues to grow as an audience draw.