or


[03/01/10 - 11:56 AM]
Most Watched Hockey Game in 30 Years
NBC spins the numbers for Sunday, February 28.

[via press release from NBC]

MOST WATCHED HOCKEY GAME IN 30 YEARS

27.6 Million Watched Canada's 3-2 OT Victory Over the USA in the Gold Medal Hockey Game on Sunday Afternoon, Best Since 1980 Lake Placid Games

The 15.2/30 Household Rating is Also Best Since 1980 Lake Placid Gold Medal Game

Vancouver - March 1, 2010 - Sunday afternoon's USA vs. Canada gold medal hockey game, that NBC's Bob Costas called, "One of the greatest sports events I have ever seen," was the most-watched hockey game in 30 years. Canada's epic 3-2 overtime victory (3:20-6:13 p.m. ET) drew an average viewership of 27.6 million, the most watched hockey broadcast of any kind since the USA vs. Finland 1980 gold medal game in Lake Placid on Feb. 24, 1980 (32.8 million). For historical comparison, the "Miracle on Ice" USA-Russia semifinal game that aired on tape delay on Feb 22, 1980 from the Lake Placid Games drew 34.2 million average viewers.

"We've been fortunate to have a front-row seat to observe a nation of fans that appreciates winter sports, is proud of their winter sport heritage and celebrates success - no matter which country wins - so it was only fitting yesterday when Sidney Crosby scored the goal to give Canadians the gold that meant so much to this country," said Dick Ebersol, Chairman, NBC Universal Sports & Olympics. "'O Canada' will never be the same."

TOPS 2002 SALT LAKE GOLD MEDAL GAME BY 10.5 MILLION VIEWERS: The 27.6 million viewers for Sunday's gold medal game was 10.5 million more (up 61 percent) from the Canada-USA gold medal game from the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics (17.1 million viewers).

The 15.2/30 rating for yesterday's game was four-and-a-half rating points higher than the 10.7/24 for the 2002 gold medal game and was the highest-rated hockey game of any kind since the USA vs. Finland 1980 gold medal game (23.2/61). The "Miracle on Ice" semifinal game between the USA and Russia had a household rating of a 23.9/37.

The audience peaked at 34.8 million viewers (18.6/34 hh rating) from 5:30-6 p.m. ET, when the USA's Zach Parise (New Jersey Devils) sent the game to overtime with the tying goal with just 24.4 seconds left in regulation. Canada's Sydney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins) gave Canada the gold medal, their 14th of the Winter Games (most of any country) when he got the puck past the USA's Ryan Miller (Buffalo Sabres) just over seven minutes into overtime.

Below is a list of the highest-rated and most watched hockey broadcasts of all time broken down by: Household Rating/Share, Average audience (people 2+) and Total Audience:

GAME Avg. Viewers Total Viewers RTG/SH
USA/Russia, 1980 (Miracle on Ice) 34.2 million 51.9 million 23.9/37
USA/Finland, 1980 (gold medal) 32.8 million 55.6 million 23.2/61
USA/Canada, 2010 (gold medal) 27.6 million n/a 15.2/30
USA/Canada, 2002 (gold medal) 17.1 million 38 million 10.7/24
Unified/USA, 1992 (semifinal) 11.7 million 25 million 9.3/32

AUDIENCE FOR GOLD MEDAL GAME SURPASSES TOP EVENTS:

The 27.6 million average viewers for the USA-Canada Gold Medal hockey game surpassed the following during the 2009-2010 seasons:

2010 Grammy Awards 25.9 million
2010 Rose Bowl 24.0 million
2009 World Series 4 22.8 million (Gm. 4 was most watched)
2009 NCAA Basketball Championship 17.6 million
2009 NBA Finals - Game 4 16.0 million (Gm. 4 was most watched)
2010 Daytona 500 16.0 million
2009 Masters Golf - Sunday 14.3 million

NBC's BOB COSTAS ON GOLD MEDAL GAME: "That's one of the greatest sports events I have ever seen."

"A script so classic that if it were a movie, they would send it back because it was unrealistic."

"With all due respect, this can never be repeated. On home soil, for Canada, in the sport that matters most, against the Americans - this can never be repeated. This can never be approached, let alone equaled."

NBC's AL MICHAELS THOUGHTS ON THE GAME: "You could not have written a better script for this country. The goal that will resonate throughout history in Canada."

FROM THE OPENING TEASE OF NBC'S COVERAGE, 17 DAYS AGO: "The host nation is on a mission. No one bears the weight of expectations like the 22-year-old captain of the Stanley Cup champions. O Canada's face of the Games, charged with leading his nation's pursuit of their Holy Grail - the Olympic hockey title."

UNIVERSAL SPORTS TO REPLAY GOLD MEDAL MATCH: For anybody who missed this game or want to watch it again, Universal Sports, the preeminent multiplatform destination for Olympic-related sports programming which is available in 57 million homes, will replay the USA-Canada Olympic gold medal hockey game this Tuesday and Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET with repeats each night at 11 p.m. ET.

OLYMPIC STARS RETURN IN NHL "GAME OF THE WEEK" THIS SUNDAY: This Sunday, March 7, the NHL returns to NBC as the Detroit Red Wings led by silver medalist Brian Rafalski of Team USA travels to Chicago to take on a Chicago Blackhawks team filled with members of both Team USA and the gold medal-winning Team Canada. Among those suiting up for the Blackhawks are Team USA's Patrick Kane and Team Canada's Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith and Bren Seabrook. The NHL "Game of the Week" from the United Center will air this Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

Top 25 Metered Markets for USA-Canada Olympic Gold Medal Hockey Game:
1. Buffalo, 32.6/51
2. Pittsburgh, 31.9/50
3. Detroit, 26.9/47
4. Minneapolis, 26.4/53
5. Milwaukee, 24.5/43
6. Boston, 24.1/46
7. Chicago, 23.5/41
8. Columbus, 22.3/37
9. Denver, 22.2/42
10. Philadelphia, 20.9/35
11. West Palm Beach, 20.3/33
12. Kansas City, 19.5/35
13. St. Louis, 19.4/39
14. Seattle, 19.3/45
15. Cincinnati, 19.2/31
16. New York, 19.0/36
17. Hartford, 18.5/30
18. Providence, 18.4/34
T19. Salt Lake City, 18.3/38
T19. Cleveland, 18.3/32
T21. Washington, D.C., 18.1/33
T21. Baltimore, 18.1/32
23. Ft. Myers, 18.0/34
T24. Austin, 17.1/34
T24. Indianapolis, 17.1/29





  [march 2010]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
 


· SHOWATCH
(series past and present)
· DEVWATCH
(series in development)
· MOVIEWATCH
(tv movies and mini-series)





most recent ratings | view all posts
[02/12/25 - 10:43 AM]
ESPN NBA Viewership Update: Luka Doncic's Lakers Debut Delivers 2.01 Million Viewers
The telecast peaked at 2.55 million viewers and won the day among people and males 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54.

[02/12/25 - 10:23 AM]
Puppy Bowl XXI Reaches 12.8 Million Viewers and Was #1 Non-Sports Cable Telecast on Sunday, February 9
Sunday's programming event became the highest-rated Puppy Bowl ever on Discovery, TBS and truTV and Animal Planet's highest-rated in four years.

[02/12/25 - 09:35 AM]
CBS "FBI" Line Up Wins Tuesday Night with #1 Show "FBI"
"FBI" was the #1 show of the night, beating the #2 show of the night by nearly +1 million viewers.

[02/11/25 - 01:15 PM]
FOX "Super Week" Kicks Off, Breaking Records with "The Floor" as Season's #1 Entertainment Series Telecast and New Survival Competition "Extracted" Off to a Wild Start
For six consecutive seasons, FOX has delivered the highest-rated unscripted entertainment series telecast.

[02/11/25 - 12:00 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of Feb. 3: "Kinda Pregnant" Delivers, "The Night Agent" Holds Strong in Top 10
Fans also basked in the Southern charm of Season 4 of "Sweet Magnolias," which debuted at No. 4 in English TV (4 million views), and flocked to the Australian limited series "Apple Cider Vinegar" (No. 5 in English TV, 3.8 million views).

[02/11/25 - 11:38 AM]
FOX Sports' Presentation of Super Bowl LIX Delivers Most-Watched Super Bowl of All-Time with 127.7 Million Viewers Across All Platforms
Philadelphia's big win in the bayou peaked at 137.7 million viewers in the second quarter (8:00 PM - 8:15 PM ET), per Nielsen Media Research.

[02/11/25 - 11:01 AM]
"The Day of the Jackal" Becomes Peacock's Most-Watched New Original Drama Series
Viewership of the series in its first 75 days has surpassed that of any other original drama series in the same timeframe.

[02/07/25 - 01:13 PM]
ABC Claims Top 5 Shows Among Adults 18-49 in Cross-Platform Broadcast Series Rankings
Driven by stellar streaming viewership on Hulu and Disney+, three ABC titles more than triple their seven-day linear averages, including "High Potential" (+297%), "Abbott Elementary" (+270%) and "Shifting Gears" (+242%).

[02/07/25 - 10:08 AM]
CBS Wins Thursday Night with Top 4 Programs of the Night, Up from Its Thursday Season Average
"Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage" (8:00-8:30 PM) was the #1 program of the night delivering 6.54 million viewers.

[02/07/25 - 09:10 AM]
CBS "Hollywood Squares" Is the Season's #1 New Unscripted Series Reaching Nearly 24 Million Unique Viewers
The show is televisions #1 new unscripted series this season averaging 5.40 million viewers in primetime alone.

[02/05/25 - 09:18 AM]
CBS "FBI" Line Up Wins Tuesday Night
"FBI" was the #1 show of the night with 5.83 million viewers, winning its hour by +1.33 million viewers.

[02/04/25 - 12:00 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of Jan. 27: "Back in Action" Pulls No Punches, "The Night Agent" Hits Its Mark in Top 10
Plus: the Noah Centineo-starring "The Recruit" remained a hit, with Season 2 arriving at No. 2 (5.9 million views) and Season 1 sitting at No. 8 (3.1 million views).

[02/04/25 - 08:48 AM]
"The Flip Off" Delivers HGTV's Highest-Rated Freshman Series Premiere Since September 2022
The series attracting 4.0 million total viewers across linear and streaming when it premiered on Wednesday, January 29, at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

[02/04/25 - 08:33 AM]
"The 67th Annual Grammy Awards" on CBS Nets 15.4 Million Viewers and Raises Nearly $9 Million
Over the course or the entire weekend, the Recording Academy and MusiCares raised over $24 million for charitable activities.

[02/03/25 - 09:33 AM]
ESPN's Excellent Start to 2025: January Marks Highest Monthly Viewership in a Decade
Combining all of ESPN's programming with sports programming on ABC, more minutes were watched by fans than any month since January of 2017 (96 months).