USA Beats Canada....The Olympic Ratings Are In
I won't keep this long, but last night was one of the best hockey games I've seen in a long time. It's not just because of the "upset" in a preliminary round match up, but the energy drew me in. A combo of
USA and
Canada fans matching chants for their respective teams while watching what is basically an NHL all star game that matters more than just home field.
It was about national pride and not playoff positioning. Both teams showed that this was the game both of them respectively circled on their calenders. This was the game that mattered and there was no tomorrow (even if there is).
It was fun, but the bigger debate was who was watching and did the sport of hockey show up in the only numbers that matter in business.
Ratings.....and the verdict is......
Per
Ed Sherman of
Crain's Chicago Business:
"Locally, the game did an 8.5 rating on MSNBC; 1 local
ratings point is worth more than 35,000 homes. Meanwhile, NBC did a
14.6 rating during the same period of its prime-time Olympics coverage.
That means there were 213,500 more households tuned in to NBC.
Also, by
airing the Olympics on both networks, NBC/MSNBC did a combined 23.1
rating in Chicago. That's huge, bordering on what the Bears pull in for
a game."
So as it might seem that the
NHL and hockey loses out to ice dancing for one Sunday night, the game itself was truly outstanding and a very enjoyable watch.
However for anyone to believe that great ratings nationally for one hockey game mean anything,
you're sadly mistaken. The sport itself will remain at the
bottom of the four major sports and probably for a long time to come.
-RoCk
Rock Mamola is the Associate Producer of The Mully And Hanley Morning Show and co-host of The Joe O And Rock Show on WSCR 670AM The Score.
You can follow The Mully And Hanley Morning Show at twitter.com/mullyhanley
You can follow The Joe O And Rock Show at twitter.com/joeoandrockshow
3 Comments
patrick said:
i didn't mind the game being on MSNBC, i am still trying to get into hockey after never liking it when i was growing up. however, when i tried to watch the game last night on directv the weather caused issues with MSNBC coming in but NBC was fine. that was frustrating. NBC does research and clearly they know what will bring ratings in prime time.
jdudhead said:
Not being able to watch the game in HD was the only thing that bothered me. Such a shame because hockey, more than any of the big four sports in the US, benifits most from the technology. Kinda ironic that such a huge game was the first hockey game I have seen that wasn't in HD in years. Also, I'm sure there would have been a ratings inversion if the hockey game was on NBC and ice dancing on MSNBC, never underestimate the power of the elderly (who often don't stray past the networks) to sway telivision ratings. Hence, awful crime dramas are the most watched programs in America while I somehow don't know anyone who watches them. Regardless, great game last night and I'm glad plenty of people got to see it.
jdudhead said:
Also worth noting that the NHL and NBA are actually getting quite close. The NBA still destoys the NHL in ratings (which is ultimately what matters as it's the best revenue generator) but the NHL actually topped the NBA in attendance last year for the first time and it appears as though it will again this year. This is particularly significant because there are fewer seats for hockey games than NBA games. This is the case because there is more parity in the NHL and the fact that canadians teams sell out every game even if they suck. I doubt the NHL will reach the revenue of the NBA anytime soon but they are making huge progress even despite the economy and the fact that they have teams in ridiculous locations, definitely something to keep an eye on though. The NHL and NBA are definitely in a different class than the MLB and NFL but times can change quickly. 15 years ago the MLB would have killed to have the attendance percentage and relative revenue of the NBA or NHL.
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