Ratings Update

I haven’t posted much when it comes to weekly ratings lately so I’m past due.

CANADA
These Canadian BBM Ratings are sourced from The Remote Control Blog.

MONDAY DECEMBER 26, 2011

TSN WJC Pregame 905,000
TSN Finland/Canada 2,210,000

TUESDAY DECEMBER 27, 2011

Sportsnet Ontario Toronto @ Florida 813,000

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 28, 2011

TSN WJC Pregame 812,000
TSN Czech Republic/Canada 2,484,000
TSN Vancouver @ San Jose 931,000

THURSDAY DECEMBER 29, 2011

TSN WJC Pregame 883,000
TSN Denmark/Canada 1,829,000

FRIDAY DECEMBER 30, 2011

TSN USA/Czech Republic 684,000

SATURDAY DECEMBER 31, 2011

CBC Winter Classic Alumni 416,000
CBC Regional 7 PM (Tor/Wpg, Mtl/Fla) 1,595,000
CBC Vancouver @ Los Angeles 760,000
TSN WJC Pregame 831,000
TSN USA/Canada 2,718,000

UNITED STATES

The Voice of TV has a complete recap of Versus ratings from November 28-December 14. The high for that period was Philadelphia/Buffalo (585k, 12/7) while the low was San Jose/Colorado (193k, 12/13).

Puck The Media has some numbers courtesy of TVSportsratings on Twitter. The debut NBC Sports Network game featuring San Jose @ Vancouver drew a respectable 267,000. Considering that it went up against the Fiesta Bowl and featured a Canadian club, that’s not too bad. It was also a season high for a game that featured the Sharks. Other games from earlier drew similar numbers. Dallas/St. Louis (270k, 12/26) and NY Rangers/Washington (327k, 12/28) had to be slight disappointments since both games were exclusive telecasts.

 

NBC Winter Classic Ratings Down

As expected, the Winter Classic on NBC saw a drop in viewership. From John Ourand of SportsBusiness Daily -

SBD: NBC’s Winter Classic overnight is a 2.4, down from last year’s 2.8 (in primetime on New Year’s Day) and ’10′s 2.6 on New Year’s Day.

The local ratings -

One more Winter Classic ratings tidbit: the game pulled an 11.9 overnight in Philly; and a 4.3 overnight in New York

To add to these numbers, the inaugural game had a 2.6, while the ’09 edition had a 2.9. Why are these numbers not a surprise?

1. The time change helped confuse viewers. I’m sure the diehards showed up but some casual viewers might’ve gone elsewhere and never came back.
2. The game aired on a Monday afternoon. While many people had the day off, just as many were at work unlike on an actual holiday. That was reflected in college football’s ratings as well.
3. This game didn’t air in primetime. That certainly boosted the numbers last year even though there were plenty of NHL games airing against it regionally.
4. There was some stiff competition including a college football overtime thriller on ABC. That game featured Michigan State, which meant that a key NHL market was likely going back and forth between events.
5. This game lacked buzz. I just didn’t feel the buzz as I did prior games. It wouldn’t surprise me if others felt the same way. Yes, I was interested, but it just didn’t captivate me, especially after the Sid/Ovie hype of last year or the Original 6 battle in 2009. Perhaps it was the rather boring venue as Fenway Park, Wrigley bring cache, Citizens Bank Park doesn’t.

While the NHL has to be a little disappointed in these numbers, these are still very good ratings for any hockey game. Looking at the bigger picture, that’s a positive. Here’s the total viewership via Darren Rovell –

3.74 million watch 2012 Winter Classic, up 2% vs last afternoon game (2010). Is the 5th most watched regular season NHL game since ’75

 

A Few Thoughts

Here’s a few thoughts to get 2012 started.

• Overall, the folks at NBC did a decent job with the Winter Classic. Sure, there was Mike Milbury’s verbal gaffe but things went pretty well. They did a nice job showing the warm ups although the audio kept dropping out on some of the mics. Fortunately, those problems were fixed as the telecast went on. There were some great visuals and sometimes the audio was too good as there were plenty of expletives overheard. The new NBC graphics are solid. They certainly reminded me of ESPN.
• Some of the minuses include the so-called “NHL Pregame” that took over the 1 PM slot. Let’s call it what it was – a repeat of NBC Sports: A Storied Journey. That’s a fine documentary but there’s little hockey involved. We were also treated to a promo video hyping the London Olympics, something that doesn’t go with hockey what so ever. This led to a short discussion about the Vancouver games. It seemed awkward, even if it was filler.
• Another minus were some of NBC’s talent. Jeremy Roenick was there, at least for a little bit. I realize he was in town for alumni purposes, among other things, but he was barely utilized on the telecast before heading back to Stamford for the game on NBCSN. And I know they want this to be a big “event” but Bob Costas and Jim Cantore add little to the broadcast. Costas is a fine host but so is Liam McHugh. McHugh works the NHL all year-long, he deserves the TV time. It seems kinda rotten to demote your regular host just because this is labeled a special event. Costas wasn’t even around for the early filler programming, as Mike Emrick helmed the studio. As far as Cantore goes, there isn’t much that he says that anyone couldn’t figure out by looking at the flags or a radar.
• Moving on to the new NBC Sports Network, Cold War on Ice was terrific. CBC had a two-part movie on the Summit Series a few years ago, but they or TSN would be wise to pick this up. Unlike NHL 36 which was a letdown, Cold War was riveting from start to finish. With all the delays and scheduling shuffles, viewers might’ve missed this, but its appointment viewing for any hockey fan. This was a very good way to kick off the new NBCSN even if it was for a very niche audience. And, if you haven’t read it yet, check out Puck Daddy’s eulogy on Versus. It’s a funny summary and shows just how far the network has come from its OLN days.
• Backtracking a little bit, the Versus coverage of the Winter Classic Alumni Game was a little shaky. The unique collaboration was an improvement over last year’s coverage which was tape delayed and completely chopped up. Jim Jackson and Kevin Weekes were their usual selves although there were a few times that Jim seemed lost and Weekes seemed to lean on cliches a little too much. Al Trautwig brought his dramatic flair to the proceedings. The real negative was Steve Coates. While at times he was humorous, he was also a mess. Many times he failed to identify who he was interviewing and just starting joking and chatting with them. That would be fine if we knew who he was talking to. This happened repeatedly, and as a relatively younger viewer, I didn’t always know who these people were. Thank goodness that graphics were usually shown at some point. Coates was just too silly and didn’t cut it.
• While NBCSN got off to an ominous start with the delayed game, things didn’t go much better for NHL Network. A key to NHLN’s new look was their coverage of the World Junior Hockey Championships. It was promoted heavily in promos, including some featuring former Team USA players cheering this year’s team on. With USA bombing, the hype is largely over for this tourney and NHLN will lose some eyeballs. At least their Winter Classic coverage was pretty good.
• And while the WJC were disappointing in the States, TSN is hauling in huge crowds. The first three Hockey Canada games averaged 2.3 million viewers. The tournament continues to get larger each year. With the TV rights expiring in 2014, you have to believe that Hockey Canada will be bringing in some serious dollars, just from broadcasting alone. That doesn’t count any other revenues like rink advertising as Hockey Canada is a partner with the IIHF sharing virtually all of the tourney’s revenue streams.

 

The Updated NBC Winter Classic Schedule

In an ominous sign for this year’s Winter Classic and the launch of the new NBC Sports Network, the game’s start has been delayed. This means a shuffle in NBCSN’s much hyped opening day. From a NBC Press Release -

The 2012 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic between the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers from Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, which was scheduled to air tomorrow at 1 p.m. ET, will now start at 3 p.m. ET on NBC to facilitate optimal game conditions, the NHL announced today. NBC Sports will still begin its live Winter Classic pre-game coverage at 1 p.m. ET with live interviews, features and other content.

The NHL said in a statement that the revised start time is based on tomorrow’s weather forecast and should offer optimal game conditions for players and fans.

NBC’s coverage of the Winter Classic will be hosted by Costas, a 22-time Emmy Award-winner. He will be joined by NBC Sports Group studio analysts Mike Milbury and Jeremy Roenick for coverage on NBC and post-game coverage on NBC Sports Network. NBC’s game coverage will be led by Emmy Award-winner Mike “Doc” Emrick (play-by-play) Eddie Olczyk (analyst), and Pierre McGuire (inside-the-glass reporter).

The NBC Sports Network (currently VERSUS) will still launch at 4 p.m. ET with a special edition of NBC SportsTalk leading into a Winter Classic post-game show at the conclusion of the game.

The new NBC Sports Network will continue with hockey-themed programming at 6 p.m. ET with the premiere of Cold War on Ice: Summit Series ’72 produced by Ross Greenburg. The documentary focuses on the hockey series played in 1972 between a team of Canadian NHL all-stars and the Soviet Union national team during the height of the Cold War.

Cold War on Ice will be followed by NHL Live at 7:30 p.m. ET and the Vancouver Canucks hosting the San Jose Sharks at 8 p.m. ET. NHL Live post-game and NHL Overtime will end the NBC Sports Network’s first day.

 

Milbury Case Dismissed

Via The Boston Herald –

Ex-Bruin Mike Milbury will not face any charges and his case over an alleged confrontation in Brookline with a boy following a peewee hockey game earlier this month has been thrown out.

Milbury’s legal team announced this afternoon that a clerk magistrate at Brookline District Court has ruled there is not enough evidence to move ahead in the case.

Milbury addressed the media right after saying the incident was just “an unfortunate misunderstanding.”

When asked when he will be back on the air as a hockey analyst, Milbury said he was saving his voice for “Christmas caroling.”

His attorney, Mark Berthiaume, said the magistrate ruled there was no probable cause to take the next step in court.

“Mike and his family are are happy to move on,” said Berthiaume. “Mike will be returning to work on the air very, very soon.”

The parents of the alleged victim have left court refusing to speak to the press. Their attorney, John Burke, said the parents are “disappointed” in the ruling.

“They are concerned about the message this sends because they believe that their son was assaulted,” he added.

Milbury is expected to be back in usual spots on TV as a result of this decision.

 

Mike Milbury Accused Of Assaulting Child

This is an interesting story, assuming it is all accurate. There’s not much info out there about it yet, so it’s hard to say what happened. From WCVB -

A former Boston Bruin and current TV analyst has been charged with assault and battery on a child.

Michael Milbury, who currently works as a hockey analyst for Versus NHL, was accused of assaulted a 12-year-old youth hockey player at the Dexter School Ice Rink in Brookline last week.
Milbury is an assistant coach of a local hockey team, and the alleged victim is a player from an opposing team.

Milbury played 12 seasons for the Bruins and was head coach for one season.

More details from the Boston Herald -

The incident allegedly occurred at the end of the Winter Classic between the Boch Blazers for whom Milbury coaches and his son plays forward vs. the Boston Junior Black Hawks. It is alleged that after Milbury’s son and a player for the Black Hawks got into a scrape on the ice, Milbury charged out onto the rink and verbally berated and grabbed and shook the 12-year-old opposing player.

 

News & Notes

Here’s a few news items.

NHL INTERNATIONAL TV DOLLARS

First off, let’s start with a quote from David Shoalts’ latest column -

NHL chief operating office John Collins will have good news to report about the league’s business in Europe and Asia. After a slow start, the television rights to the league’s overseas markets are now sold, with a deal in Russia the latest to fall into place.

In a confidential memo to the governors two years ago, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said the league took in $14-million (all figures U.S.) in European television rights, which it split 50-50 with Comcast, which then owned Versus, the league’s main U.S. carrier. Bettman also outlined a strategy of building the league’s presence on multiple platforms to show international advertisers it has a substantial audience in European, Asian and Middle Eastern markets.

Last summer, the deal with ESPN America, which covered Europe and the Middle East, expired and Bettman decided to negotiate deals individually in each country. He took some heat for the slow start but Collins is expected to tell the governors the NHL will now earn more than double the previous deal, some $30-million, from its overseas broadcast revenue on different platforms.

Whether this number is true or not, who knows but the NHL has already been spinning its new                   international TV deals as huge victories. The fans might feel otherwise but its all rosy in New York. If these dollar figures are correct, don’t expect the NHL to go back to its old way of selling international rights. All that matters to them is dollars and cents, at least when it comes to this issue.

NYR RATINGS

Regional ratings continue to get leaked out. The New York Rangers are the latest and again, it shows some gains. From Sports Media Watch -

Through 20 games, Rangers games have averaged a 0.80 rating on MSG Network in the New York market, up 7% from the comparable point last year (0.75).

Tuesday’s game between the Penguins and Rangers earned a 1.60 rating, a season-high.

Those aren’t great numbers, but more importantly, the numbers are up. As long as the Rangers can continue their strong play, the team should see some very high ratings, especially come playoff time.

BITS

• The New York Times is featuring a terrific series on Derek Boogaard. The series will have three parts in total. It’s some of the best hockey writing of the year. Props to the Times for all their hard work on this story. It’s a must read for anyone whether you’re a sports fan or not.
• Condolences to Detroit Red Wings play by play man Ken Daniels. His father passed away at the age of 96 on Friday. A familiar face to Wings fans filled in on Sunday – Dave Strader. Strader got his NHL start with the Wings before moving to ESPN. Matt Shepard will be on the air Tuesday. Shepard calls college hockey for Fox Sports Detroit along with his main duties as the voice of Michigan Wolverines basketball.
• For those looking for previews of HBO’s 24/7 and the schedule, you can find them here. The schedule isn’t complete yet but HBO: 24/7 Flyers/Rangers Road to the Winter Classic will premiere every Wednesday, beginning on December 14. Liev Schreiber will narrate the series once again.
• And speaking of the Winter Classic, Puck The Media has the details on this year’s NBC ad campaign. One of the ads feature Will Arnett and Luc Robitaille, among others singing “The Hockey Song.” It’s a clever campaign and lets hope it gets plenty of airtime during the NFL on NBC.

 

Thoughts On Ratings & Other Stuff

Time for some random thoughts on a Monday afternoon -

• First up, there’s some ratings news. And for the second time in a week, the NHL and NBC have some egg on their face. The much ballyhooed Discover Thanksgiving Showdown drew a 1.0. That’s pretty much on par with what the NHL on NBC averages every single week during the regular season. I can’t say I’m surprised. As I wrote a few weeks ago, this is was a regular game with a fancy name. NBC and the league could’ve saved their hyper promotion and fancy Macy’s float and gotten the same rating. 1.0 is pretty much the norm for hockey ratings and there’s not much of a ceiling above that no matter what type of gimmicks you add. Unless you put the game outside, ratings aren’t going to get much better.
• Just to finish up on U.S. ratings, many people are trying to blame last Monday’s disappointing ratings on people not knowing the game was on. That excuse doesn’t fly with me as Versus was scheduled to air a game on that night anyhow. If Sid’s return drew so poorly, what would’ve the Boston/Montreal game drawn? After all, that game was not going to air in the Boston market, similar to the Penguins/Isles non-exclusive matchup. It just seems to me that NHL ratings have largely plateaued and outside of the playoffs and regional coverage, things aren’t going to grow very much short-term.
• Going back to the Thanksgiving game, I thought NBC had a good idea on its hands with the players introducing themselves. It was a little sloppy, would’ve been much better with everyone doing it, not just one member of the line, but I’d like to see it some more. Some minuses were that they hyped Tim Thomas to death and he wasn’t playing. Another one was Mike Emrick. I normally enjoy Doc but he seemed rusty. I wonder if it’s because he hasn’t worked much the last few weeks. his “1-0 Boston” after the Wings scored was one thing, but he seemed to ramble and just didn’t seem very sharp to me.
• Moving on to Canada, I thought Elliotte Friedman’s Inside Hockey segment on Dr. Ted Carrick was very interesting. But it needed to be more balanced. It sounded too much like an infomercial for Carrick and his education institute. Carrick’s work is considered pretty controversial and that should-be mentioned. Many of Carrick’s peers have questioned his credentials and the science behind him. I realize it was a short feature, but I don’t think it was made clear in the segment that not everybody in the medical field supports Carrick and what he’s doing. There’s conflicting data out there and someone should-be on there to challenge Carrick’s unusual beliefs.
• Watching The Hotstove the last few weeks has really made me miss the old Satellite Hotstove. It was truly regional and was loaded with scoops. How Friedman didn’t punch out Glenn Healy a few weeks ago is still a mystery. Many of the breaking news and scoops from that segment have given way to more analyzing and bickering.
• On that note, I’ve really enjoyed watching Scott Morrison on Sportsnet. It continues to baffle me how CBC totally wasted his talent during most of his time with HNIC. He knows his stuff and should’ve been a regular Hotstove panelist. He’s been a nice addition to the Sportsnet team and has given them some much-needed credibility.
• And finally, if you haven’t read Rick Westhead’s story on the Maple Leafs and their future broadcast plans, go do it now. It’s hardly a secret that MLSE wants to launch a new RSN even though Leafs TV has largely failed to take off. What’s MLSE and Real Sports going to show outside of the Leafs and Raptors? I’m not sure there’s enough programming there. It makes a ton of sense but the summer will be a very sad time on that network. It’ll take some serious cash to make it work and it will be interesting to see if MLSE thinks its worth giving up all the promotion they can get from Bell and Rogers, not to mention their lucrative rights fees.

 

NBC Promotes The Thanksgiving Showdown

From an NBC Press Release –

NEW YORK (November 22, 2011)— A new tradition will begin this year when NBC Sports drops the puck on its NHL coverage earlier than ever with the inaugural 2011 Discover NHL Thanksgiving ShowdownTM on Friday, November 25, at 1 p.m. ET between the defending Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins and the Detroit Red Wings.

This will mark the earliest NHL regular-season broadcast on network television in more than 20 years and the only time these two teams will meet during the regular season. The Friday-after-Thanksgiving matinee is a local Bruins tradition that began in 1990.

“The NHL and NBC have a great partnership and we are always looking for new events to help showcase this sport,” said Sam Flood, Executive Producer for NBC Sports and VERSUS. “As a Boston native, I’m excited to take what has turned into a great local tradition – a Bruins game on the Friday after Thanksgiving – and introduce it to national audience by airing it on NBC, and simultaneously starting our broadcast coverage earlier than ever.”

In an effort to provide an even better viewing experience for fans, the inaugural NHL Thanksgiving Showdown will feature a microphone on one of the referees (Kelly Sutherland) to capture on-ice audio for the first time in a regular-season game on NBC.

The team of Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick (play-by-play), Eddie Olczyk (analyst) and Pierre McGuire (‘Inside the Glass’ analyst) will call the action in Boston. NBC will surround its game coverage with pre-game, intermission and post-game reports live from the arena with studio host Liam McHugh and analyst Mike Milbury.

EMRICK ON THE GAME: “It’s a combination of a terrific present and a glorious past. The Bruins are the defending Stanley Cup champions, and they just ran the table in a five-game home stand for the first time in 25 years. Detroit started the season winning the first five, and put together another streak of four straight wins. The styles contrast. These are the two oldest U.S.-based NHL franchises and two of the most prominent U.S. franchises in winning Stanley Cups. They have been playing each other for 85 years.”

MCGUIRE ON THE GAME: “This game pits two original six teams who have lifted the Cup recently. Both teams have to show urgency for points and because of that need, this has the makings of an early season playoff game.”

 

Does Steve Yzerman Think Darren Pang Is Biased?

Everyone knows the controversy about Tampa Bay and their “1-3-1″ defense. And virtually everyone knows by now, that it drove the Philadelphia Flyers and the broadcasters on Versus batty. It led Mike Milbury to walk off the set in a bit of a protest. So, Steve Yzerman decided that it was all done because Versus has a bias, as reported by The Bolts Report -

“Versus is owned by Comcast, Comcast owns the Flyers, Keith Jones is a broadcaster with the Flyers and is hardly impartial,’’ Yzerman said. “I think that anybody that looks at that objectively should be saying, “Did Tampa do the right thing or Did Philadelphia do the right thing’’ and you can make an argument both ways.’’

Sure, there’s a conflict of interest there. But, the hockey world is loaded with conflicts. I’ve mentioned that many times before. It is why I believe Versus should not have their broadcasters working for any other teams. Ed Olczyk is a walking and talking conflict when it comes to calling Chicago games. Even if he were to walk away from his regional work, those conflicts are still there. From knowing people in the front office, to sharing agents, having friends on teams, etc., the league’s commentators are never going to be fully independent. It’s never going to happen because it’s impossible.

But there’s one area where I see Yzerman as a hypocrite on this subject. One of Stevie’s best friends is Darren Pang. Their friendship goes back to when they were teenagers. This is the same Darren Pang that has called games that Yzerman has played in and the same Pang that calls games involving Tampa. Should Pang recuse himself or have a disclaimer? Does Yzerman think this is fair? How impartial can Pang be when he’s calling games that directly effect his best friend? Heck, how many viewers even know that Pang and Yzerman are best friends? It’s not like Pang or Yzerman have brought it up regularly and it rarely comes up during any television broadcast.

My guess is that Yzerman would defend Pang and find anyone questioning Pang’s integrity as being off base. This case isn’t much different. Yes, the Flyers/Comcast connection doesn’t look good on paper but I think that’s about it. I don’t think there’s any blatant rooting going on in the Versus studio for them. I don’t remember many people questioning if ESPN was biased when Disney owned the Anaheim Mighty Ducks. It was never really brought up although Anaheim did get its share of games on the air, considering they were underachievers at that time. I think the Versus relationship with the Flyers is quite similar. If Darren Pang can call games involving Steve Yzerman, than Yzerman should have no issue with Keith Jones stating his opinion on Flyer games.

Milbury walks off the Versus set in protest - 

Darren Pang hosts Steve Yzerman’s retirement ceremony -