Despite airing directly opposite the highest rated Pro Bowl in four years, NHL All-Star ratings held up well on NBC.
Sunday’s NHL All-Star Game had a 1.2 rating and 2.0 million viewers on NBC, down a tick in ratings and 10% in viewership from last year (1.3, 2.3M) but up a third and 27% respectively from 2016 on NBCSN (0.9, 1.6M).
Ratings and viewership were the second-highest for the All-Star Game since 2004 (1.8, 2.7M). Last year holds the top spot. Not coincidentally, the last two All-Star games are the only ones since 2004 to air on a broadcast network.
The game faced much tougher competition than last year, airing directly opposite the NFL Pro Bowl on ESPN/ABC (5.3, 8.6M) and the PGA at Torrey Pines (2.6, 4.1M), both of which hit multi-year highs.
The previous night’s NHL SuperSkills competition had a 0.50 (+19%) and 942,000 (+21%). It was the most-watched edition of the event since 2012 (four telecasts).
As one would expect, the NHL All-Star Game ranks behind the other “Big Four” exhibitions. It trailed the aforementioned Pro Bowl, as well as last year’s NBA All-Star Game (4.2, 7.8M) and MLB All-Star Game (5.5, 9.3M). It also trailed last year’s NASCAR All-Star Race (1.6, 2.9M). The game did edge last year’s record-setting MLS All-Star Game, which had 1.9 million across two networks (Univision and FS1).
[Wknd. numbers via ShowBuzz Daily 1.30]
