If this year’s ratings are any indication, the NHL has become a legitimate national TV draw.
Mere days after setting a record for the highest rated, most watched NHL telecast in network history, Versus set a new record on Sunday night. Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Penguins and Flyers drew a 1.8 cable rating with 2.3 million viewers — the most watched event ever on Versus/OLN in total viewers, and the second most watched event on the network in households.
The 2.3 million viewers ties Game 5 of the Penguins/Rangers series the previous Sunday as the most watched non-Stanley Cup Final playoff game in five years.
Kukla’s Korner media writer Steve Lepore reports that the Versus was “the #1 cable network among total viewers, Men 18-34, and Men 18-49 for it?s time period.” That means Penguins/Flyers surpassed the competing Spurs/Hornets NBA Playoff telecast on TNT in those categories.
Through seven Conference Final telecasts, Versus is averaging a 1.2 rating, up 50% from a 0.8 last year.
With a potential Red Wings/Penguins Stanley Cup Final on the horizon, the NHL’s ratings renaissance figures to continue. The only problem for the league and its television partners is how quickly the glamour series have ended; Penguins/Rangers went only five games, and both conference finals could very well end in a sweep.
Updated to correct rating; the game drew a 1.8 cable rating, according to the Sports Business Daily.
