04/08/2019 at 10:35am EDT
STAMFORD, Conn. – April 8, 2019 – NBC Sports’ coverage of the 2018-19 NHL regular season – which included a record 112 games as well as a record number of doubleheaders and games featuring Canadian and Western Conference teams – delivered viewership increases across all platforms, according to Nielsen. Combined viewership across NBC, NBCSN, NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 424,000 viewers, up 2% vs. the 2017-18 regular-season (105 games, 417,000).
“This was our most diverse schedule yet, with a record number of doubleheaders featuring Western Conference teams and more Canadian teams in primetime than ever before,” said Sam Flood, Executive Producer & President, Production, NBC Sports and NBCSN. “Our goal was to celebrate the league’s expanding fan base and to showcase its exciting young stars. Frankly, we weren’t sure what the response would be, but we were committed to the league’s long-term benefit. So to have a viewership increase in year one is a huge win. And now we’re on to the greatest tournament in sports…the Stanley Cup Playoffs.”
Following are highlights:
NBC
Punctuated by the NHL Winter Classic and Stadium Series, NHL regular season coverage on NBC averaged a TAD of 1.316 million viewers across 12 games, up +2% from 2017-18 (12 games, 1.289 million).
The 2019 NHL Winter Classic between the Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks from Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana, on Jan. 1 averaged a TAD of 2.972 million viewers, making it the most-watched Winter Classic in four years and up 20% vs. the 2018 game (2.482 million).
The overtime Stadium Series game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers from Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa., in primetime on Feb. 23 averaged a TAD of 1.969 million viewers, up 76% vs. the comparable game in 2018 (1.117 million) and making it the most-watched non-Winter Classic regular-season game in five years.
The 2019 NHL All-Star Game from San Jose on Jan. 26 averaged a TAD of 1.087 million viewers, making it the third-most watched NHL All-Star Game in 15 years.
NBCSN
Across 100 games, the NHL regular season on NBCSN averaged a TAD of 313,000 viewers, up +4% vs. the 2017-18 regular season (93 games, 302,000). NBCSN’s coverage was highlighted by its Sunday night exclusive games, which averaged a TAD of 491,000, up +12% from last year (437,000).
The Boston Bruins-Pittsburgh Penguins game on March 10 averaged a TAD of 736,000 viewers, making it NBCSN’s most-watched NHL game since the season opener of the 2017-18 season (St. Louis-Pittsburgh, 905,000). It is also the most-watched Sunday night regular season game in three years.
DIGITAL
NBC Sports’ streaming coverage of the 2018-19 NHL regular season delivered all-time records in live minutes (248.8 million) and Average Minute Audience (AMA) (10,700 viewers). The live minutes and AMA were up 54% and 36%, respectively, vs. last season.
The Chicago Blackhawks-Pittsburgh Penguins game on Jan. 6 ranks as the most streamed NHL regular-season game ever, with 96,700 unique devices, 5.5 million live minutes, and an AMA of 35,000 viewers.
The 2019 Stadium Series game was the most-streamed Stadium Series game on record, delivering 62,000 unique devices, 4.3 million live minutes, and an AMA of 22,400 viewers.
LOCAL
Pittsburgh led all local markets with a 1.30 household rating for games on NBC and NBCSN. It also led all markets for NBC games with a 3.55 rating and finished second behind Buffalo (1.08) for games on NBCSN (1.02).
Seven local and neighboring NHL markets set household ratings records for games on NBCSN this season: Baltimore (2.70), Buffalo (13.76), Las Vegas (7.23), Nashville (3.10), St. Louis (7.67), Tampa (4.07), Washington (3.75).
Following are the Top 10 markets this season:
| NBC/NBCSN | NBC | NBCSN |
|
1 |
Pittsburgh |
1.30 |
1 |
Pittsburgh |
3.55 |
1 |
Buffalo |
1.08 |
|
2 |
Buffalo |
1.18 |
2 |
St. Louis |
2.28 |
2 |
Pittsburgh |
1.02 |
|
3 |
Las Vegas |
0.98 |
3 |
Buffalo |
1.96 |
3 |
Las Vegas |
0.93 |
|
4 |
St. Louis |
0.87 |
4 |
Providence |
1.94 |
4 |
St. Louis |
0.69 |
|
5 |
Minneapolis |
0.67 |
5 |
Minneapolis |
1.60 |
5 |
Tampa |
0.57 |
|
6 |
Tampa |
0.63 |
6 |
Chicago |
1.58 |
6 |
Minneapolis |
0.56 |
|
7 |
Providence |
0.61 |
7 |
Philadelphia |
1.52 |
7 |
Providence |
0.44 |
|
8 |
Chicago |
0.50 |
8 |
Las Vegas |
1.45 |
t8 |
Nashville |
0.37 |
|
9 |
Nashville |
0.48 |
9 |
Washington DC |
1.43 |
t8 |
Chicago |
0.37 |
|
t10 |
Boston |
0.47 |
10 |
Nashville |
1.38 |
10 |
Boston |
0.36 |
|
t10 |
Washington |
0.47 | | | | | | |
NOTE: TAD measures viewership of a program across all platforms, including television and digital.
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