For the first time in five years, the NHL Winter Classic scored an increase in ratings.
Tuesday’s Blackhawks-Bruins NHL Winter Classic from Notre Dame Stadium earned a 1.6 rating and 2.97 million viewers on NBC, including streaming, up 14% in ratings and 20% in viewership from last year (Rangers-Sabres from Citi Field: 1.4, 2.48M) and up 7% and 16% respectively from 2017 (Blackhawks-Blues from Busch Stadium: 1.5, 2.56M). The 2017 audience is TV-only.
The Bruins’ win ranks as the most-watched Winter Classic in four years (2015: Blackhawks-Capitals: 3.47M). It was the first to post an increase in ratings or viewership since 2014, snapping a streak of four straight declines.
Boston led all markets with a 7.9 rating, followed by Providence (6.5). Chicago ranked third at a 5.8, down 22% from the Blackhawks’ previous Winter Classic appearance in 2017 (7.4) and down 49% from their 2015 appearance (11.4).
Buffalo, Las Vegas and Hartford-New Haven were the top neutral markets, tying at a 3.4.
Even with the multi-year high, Winter Classic ratings have not returned to form. This year’s game ranks eighth out of the 11 played, trailing each matchup from 2008-15. In the ‘boom years’ of the Winter Classic, the game topped a 2.0 rating and 3.5 million viewers each year from 2008-14 (not counting the 2013 game that was canceled by NHL owners).
In other action, Wednesday’s Penguins-Rangers game scored 472,000 on NBCSN — down 7% from last year (Blackhawks-Rangers: 509K) and down 8% from 2016 (Rangers-Flyers: 514K). The Sharks-Avalanche nightcap had 241,000.
[Numbers from NBC Sports Group Press Box 1.2; Nielsen via ShowBuzz Daily 1.3]
