The glow of the Winter Classic is beginning to fade.
Weeks after the second outdoor game in NHL history helped NBC to the best regular season hockey rating in years, the NHL returned to NBC to less than impressive numbers. A matin?e game between the Boston Bruins and New York Rangers drew a 1.1 overnight on Sunday afternoon, even with last year’s debut, which occurred on a Saturday.
Part of the low rating may have to do with the game airing on NFL Championship Sunday. To avoid going head-to-head with one of the NFL games, Bruins/Rangers had an early 12:30 PM start time. Though the game did manage to avoid airing opposite Patriots/Chargers on CBS, which began at 3:00 PM, it was beaten handily by an NFL Championship Chase special at 1:00 PM (4.6/10) and The NFL Today at 2:00 (9.4/20).
Because of the NHL All Star Game this Sunday, NBC will not resume NHL coverage until another football-centric day, Super Bowl Sunday. That afternoon, the Rangers will play the Canadiens opposite pregame coverage on FOX and the NBA on ABC.
