NBC had a slight uptick in ratings for its first indoor NHL telecast of the season, at least compared to last year’s indoor opener.
The January 23 Flyers/Blackhawks NHL game on NBC earned a 0.8 final rating and 1.207 million viewers, up 14% in ratings and 21% in viewership from the network’s first non-Winter Classic game last year (CHI/DET: 0.7, 996K).
Last year’s Blackhawks/Red Wings game aired one week earlier in the year and faced direct competition from an NFL Divisional Round game on FOX.
Compared to the game on the comparable date last year, Flyers/Blackhawks was down 20% and 29%, respectively (PIT/PHI: 1.0, 1.704M).
Like this year’s matchup, last year’s Penguins/Flyers game aired on NFL Championship Sunday, but did not face off directly with any games.
(Ratings/viewership info for PHI/CHI from Media Life Magazine)
