The NHL on NBC drew a season low overnight rating for Penguins-Capitals on Super Bowl Sunday, but it shows how hot NBC started the season, as it would have been tied for a season high a year ago.
NHL TV ratings 2013: Penguins vs. Capitals up from last Super Bowl meeting, draws solid rating
Pens-Caps hits NBC season low, but still up from most games last year, as well as the last Pittsburgh-Washington game on Super Bowl Sunday.
Greg Fiume
The game, which wasn’t close after about halfway through, drew a 1.2 overnight rating, the lowest for NBC this season. However, it was up 20 percent from the last time these two teams met on Super Bowl Sunday (Feb. 6, 2011: 1.0) and up nine percent from last year’s Pens-Caps game on the network (Jan. 22, 2012: 1.1). Aside from the Winter Classic, only two NBC broadcasts last season were capable of hitting a 1.2, and none did any higher than that.
Local ratings are unavailable (we’ll update this post as we get them) but the game was likely driven by a Pittsburgh market that’s drawn some insane ratings numbers to begin the season. It’ll be interesting to see what the Washington market produces,
To date, The NHL on NBC has averaged a 1.5 overnight rating through three telecasts. Through three indoor (non-Winter Classic) telecasts last season, NBC was averaging a 1.0 overnight.
NHL on NBC overnights for the 2013 season
Jan. 19 - Regional Coverage (Pittsburgh vs. Philadelphia or Chicago vs. Los Angeles): 2.0
Jan. 20 - Philadelphia vs. Buffalo: 1.4
Feb. 3 - Pittsburgh vs. Washington: 1.2
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