With the rise of NASCAR, hockey may never regain its status as one of the big four major league sports. But after an extended viewership slide following the 2004-’05 lockout, the National Hockey League’s postseason ratings are finally heating up.
Through the first two rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs, cable carrier Versus has averaged 458,000 viewers, up 36 percent from last year’s 338,000 average. That’s for 41 games this year compared with 40 last year.
Second-round games were up the most, with 15 of them averaging 616,000 viewers, 55 percent better than 397,000 last year.
The biggest draw thus far of the playoffs came Sunday for the second game of the Eastern Conference finals between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Philadelphia Flyers, which drew a network-record 2.37 million viewers, its best ever for an NHL telecast.
That’s fairly impressive considering Versus has also carried the first two games of the finals the past two years, and it could mean stronger ratings for the finals this year after a record-low performance on Versus and broadcast carrier NBC.
Why the big ratings upswing this year?
There are a number of reasons, not the least of which is the presence of several of the league’s most dynamic young talents in these playoffs.
The Penguins have Sidney Crosby, last year’s MVP, and Alexander Ovechkin, this year’s likely MVP, led the Washington Capitals to their first playoff appearance in five years.
These playoffs have also featured the revival of some lovable losers, always a popular theme for TV viewers. The Penguins had the league’s worst record from 2002-’06, while the Flyers were the worst team in the NHL last year. Both have strong local followings.
Their improbable Eastern Conference finals meeting, including the rare regional angle of having both teams from one state, has spurred lots of media attention. Even ESPN's "SportsCenter," which has been criticized for burying the NHL playoffs in its broadcast after the network gave up rights to the league following the 2004 season, has actually led with the NHL playoffs a couple times.
The NHL may even have benefited from the writers’ strike. Versus’ regular-season NHL ratings were up, perhaps in part due to the reruns and unscripted series on broadcast that pushed up cable ratings generally.
Just as the writers’ strike had begun, the league received loads of positive publicity during the regular season after a successful one-time outdoor game, the first held in the U.S. in years, which may have driven viewers to Versus.
***
Meanwhile, in other cable ratings for the week ended May 11:
Top five networks in primetime (18-49s): TNT, USA, TBS, ESPN, Discovery Channel.
Top five networks in primetime (total viewers): TNT, USA, Nick at Nite, ESPN, Fox News Channel.
Top movie (18-49s): USA’s “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (Saturday, 8:27 p.m.) 2.87 million
Top sporting event (total viewers): ESPN’s “NBA Basketball: Hornets/Spurs” (Thursday, 9:54 p.m.) 4.95 million
Shows making the top 10 among 18-34s, 18-49s and 25-54s: USA’s “WWE Entertainment” (Monday, 9 and 10 p.m.); TNT’s “NBA Basketball: Cavaliers/Celtics” (Tuesday, 8:16 p.m.); ESPN’s “NBA Basketball: Hornets/Spurs” (Thursday, 9:54 p.m.); TNT’s “NBA Basketball: Spurs/Hornets” (Monday 9:50 p.m.); TNT’s “NBA Basketball: Jazz/Lakers” (Wednesday, 10:45 p.m.).
Show on the rise: Bravo’s “Top Chef,” Wednesday 10 p.m. The reality series grew 25 percent week-to-week among viewers 25-54, from 1.55 million to 1.94 million.
Show on the decline: MTV’s “The Hills,” Monday 10 p.m. While it was still the No. 1 program of the week among viewers 18-34, it slipped 20 percent week-to-week from 2.71 million to 2.16 million.
|
TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Ranked on Household Rating
Week Ending May 11 |
|
Rank |
Primetime |
Total Day |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
TNT
|
2221
|
NICK
|
1552
|
|
2
|
USA
|
2053
|
NAN
*
|
1290
|
|
3
|
ESPN
|
1419
|
USA
|
1102
|
|
4
|
NAN
|
1403
|
TNT
|
1099
|
|
5
|
FOXN
|
1319
|
ADSM*
|
845
|
|
6
|
TBSC
|
1223
|
FOXN
|
783
|
|
7
|
LIF
|
1060
|
TOON
|
756
|
|
8
|
TOON
|
959
|
ESPN
|
723
|
|
9
|
AEN
|
932
|
LIF
|
703
|
|
10
|
CNN
|
928
|
TBSC
|
703
|
|
11
|
DISC
|
901
|
AEN
|
599
|
|
12
|
SPK
|
853
|
DISC
|
552
|
|
13
|
HGTV
|
834
|
CNN
|
542
|
|
14
|
HALL
|
814
|
TRU
|
538
|
|
15
|
TRU
|
808
|
HALL
|
533
|
|
16
|
HIST
|
806
|
HIST
|
519
|
|
17
|
SCIF
|
800
|
SPK
|
493
|
|
18
|
FAM
|
753
|
HGTV
|
489
|
|
19
|
CMDY
|
743
|
FAM
|
485
|
|
20
|
FX
|
728
|
TVLD
|
484
|
|
21
|
TLC
|
687
|
FX
|
472
|
|
22
|
MTV
|
684
|
MTV
|
471
|
|
23
|
AMC
|
616
|
CMDY
|
424
|
|
24
|
TVLD
|
612
|
FOOD
|
423
|
|
25
|
MSNB
|
588
|
AMC
|
389
|
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
|
|
TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE PROGRAMS
Ranked on Households
Week Ending May 11 |
|
Rank
|
Program |
Net
|
(000) |
|
1
|
Cavaliers/Celtics
|
TNT
|
3925
|
|
2
|
Hornets/Spurs
|
ESPN
|
3844
|
|
3
|
Raiders of the Lost
Ark
|
USA
|
3708
|
|
4
|
Jazz/Lakers
|
TNT
|
3411
|
|
5
|
Spurs/Hornets
|
TNT
|
3325
|
|
6
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
3189
|
|
7
|
Indianna Jones &
Temple of
Doom
|
USA
|
3071
|
|
8
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2953
|
|
9
|
Lakers/Jazz
|
ESPN
|
2930
|
|
10
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2887
|
|
11
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2830
|
|
12
|
Raiders of the Lost
Ark
|
USA
|
2759
|
|
13
|
Hornets/Spurs
|
TNT
|
2757
|
|
14
|
Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade
|
USA
|
2743
|
|
15
|
The Hills
|
MTV
|
2729
|
|
16
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2726
|
|
17
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2695
|
|
18
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2694
|
|
19
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2667
|
|
20
|
Pistons/Magic
|
TNT
|
2646
|
|
21
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2632
|
|
22
|
Back At The Barnyard
|
NICK
|
2620
|
|
23
|
Mighty B!
|
NICK
|
2618
|
|
24
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2553
|
|
25
|
Cavaliers/Celtics
|
ESPN
|
2534
|
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-34
Week Ending May 11 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
TNT
|
799
|
ADSM*
|
463
|
|
2
|
USA
|
613
|
NAN
*
|
409
|
|
3
|
TBSC
|
517
|
TNT
|
323
|
|
4
|
ESPN
|
426
|
NICK
|
305
|
|
5
|
MTV
|
420
|
USA
|
300
|
|
6
|
CMDY
|
385
|
TBSC
|
291
|
|
7
|
NAN
|
359
|
