Aided by a new format and weeks of debate surrounding eventual MVP John Scott, the NHL All-Star Game scored its best performance in 12 years.
The 2016 NHL All-Star Game earned a 0.9 final rating and 1.6 million viewers on NBCSN Sunday night, per Nielsen fast-nationals — up 29% in ratings and 34% in viewership from last year (0.7, 1.2M) and the highest rated and most-watched edition of the game since moving to NBCSN (previously VERSUS and OLN) in 2006.
The previous highs were 1.5 million viewers in 2011 and a 0.8 rating in both 2011 and 2012. Overall, ratings and viewership were the highest for the NHL All-Star Game since 2004 — the last time it aired on ABC (1.8, 2.7M).
Excluding postseason, Sunday’s game ranks as the most-watched NHL event ever on NBCSN. Viewership peaked at 1.9 million from 6:30-6:45 PM ET, as Scott and the Pacific Division faced the Central Division in the second of three mini-games.
Buffalo and Pittsburgh were Sunday’s top markets with a 3.7 rating each, followed by Chicago (3.3), St. Louis and Detroit (2.9 in each).
(Sun. numbers from NBC Sports)
