STAMFORD, Conn. – April 12, 2016 – Led by strong Wednesday Night Rivalry and Sunday Night Hockey viewership, the 2015-16 NHL regular season on NBCSN averaged 378,000 viewers to rank as the most-watched full regular season in network history, and the most-watched on cable since the 1993-94 season, according to data provided by The Nielsen Company.
Viewership of the 2015-16 NHL regular season on NBCSN (94 games) was up 8% vs. the 2014-15 campaign (349,000; 91 games), and NBCSN’s previous record, set during the 2013-14 season (351,000). This year was the most-watched full NHL regular season* on cable since the 1993-94 season (ESPN/ESPN2; 474,000; 33 games).
Record NHL regular-season viewership on NBCSN was propelled by Wednesday Night Rivalry and Sunday Night Hockey. NBCSN’s 24 exclusive Wednesday Night Rivalrytelecasts averaged 608,000 viewers, up 8% vs. 2014-15 (565,000; 24 games), while NBCSN’s 13 Sunday Night Hockey matchups averaged 491,000 viewers, up 28% vs the 2014-15 Sunday game average (384,000; 13 games).
NBCSN’s 10 most-watched games this season were either Wednesday Night Rivalry or Sunday Night Hockey games, and Wednesday Night Rivalry produced three of the 10 most-watched NHL games in network history this year.
Led by presentations of the NHL Winter Classic and NHL Stadium Series, the NHL on NBC (11 games) averaged 1.545 million viewers, up 6% vs. last season (1.457; 13 games). Across all 105 NHL regular-season games on NBC and NBCSN, the 2015-16 campaign averaged 503,000 viewers, up 2% vs. the 2014-15 average (491,000; 104 games).
BUFFALO LEADS ALL LOCAL MARKETS FOR NHL COVERAGE ON NBC AND NBCSN
Buffalo led all local markets with a 1.23 household rating across NHL games airing on NBC and NBCSN, followed by Boston (1.13). Pittsburgh led all local markets on NBCSN this season with a 0.98 rating, followed by St. Louis with a 0.87 rating.
| 2015-16 NHL on NBC & NBCSN |
| Rank | Market | HH Rtg |
|
1 |
Buffalo |
1.23 |
|
2 |
Boston |
1.13 |
|
3 |
Pittsburgh |
1.05 |
|
4 |
Minn.-St. Paul |
0.92 |
|
5 |
St. Louis |
0.78 |
|
5 |
Providence |
0.78 |
| 2015-16 NHL on NBCSN |
| Rank | Market | HH Rtg |
|
1 |
Pittsburgh |
0.98 |
|
2 |
St. Louis |
0.87 |
|
3 |
Buffalo |
0.75 |
|
4 |
Chicago |
0.66 |
|
5 |
Minn.-St. Paul |
0.60 |
*2013 NHL regular-season was shortened due to lockout
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