from David Shoalts of the Globe and Mail,

Rogers Communications Inc. is off to a slow start in the quest to win its $5.2-billion gamble on NHL hockey.

After eight weeks, the ratings results for NHL games on Rogers’ various networks plus the CBC are mixed compared to last year – up slightly for the Eastern games on Saturday nights, down significantly for the Western games on Saturday, up nicely on Wednesdays and disappointing on Sundays.

According to the ratings compiled by Numeris, the primary audience measurement company in Canada, the average audience for Hockey Night In Canada’s Eastern games on Saturday nights through Nov. 22 was 2,184,000 people. That is an increase of 17,000 viewers from the same period in 2013, which is 1 per cent. The average audience for the later Western games on Saturdays was 860,000, down 17 per cent from 1,032,000 last year.

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