Some Versus Viewers Shut Out At End Of Stars-Canucks Game

Some Versus Affils Inadvertently Switch To Infomercial During Stars-Canucks Playoff Game

Game One of the Stars-Canucks first-round Stanley Cup playoff series on Versus, which ended in the fourth-overtime at about 3:30am ET, was “switched to an infomercial during the last overtime” in some markets, according to the AP. Versus spokesperson Katie Bradshaw: “The game did run in its entirety on the Versus network feed. ... We are currently working with our affiliates in the affected markets to find out what caused the problem and to make sure that this doesn’t happen again during the playoffs” (AP, 4/12).

MORE ON VERSUS: In L.A., Larry Stewart writes Versus will pick up the local feed of Game Two of the Wild-Ducks series tonight, joining it in progress following Game Two of Stars-Canucks. Game Two and Game Four will air on KDOC-Ind because there is “no room for those games on FSN Prime Ticket or FSN West.” Game Three will be on Prime Ticket. But if the Ducks advance, “a good number of Ducks fans won’t be able to watch their team,” since Versus reaches only 59% of the cable HHs in L.A. (L.A. TIMES, 4/13)....Time Warner has reached a deal to carry an HD channel featuring Comcast-owned Versus and Golf Channel, but a spokesperson said it will not be added until later this year, when the NHL playoffs are over (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 4/13).

THE CROSBY SHOW: In Toronto, William Houston writes Penguins C Sidney Crosby “failed to improve the audience” on the CBC for its first playoff game of the season on Wednesday. Penguins-Senators Game One drew 1.23 million viewers, compared with 1.38 million last year, although the ’06 opener drew from a split telecast. The second game, Stars-Canucks, pulled 1.126 million viewers, compared to last year’s 1.381 million. Meanwhile, TSN drew 380,000 for Sharks-Predators Game One, up from 205,000 from the opener last year, while Wild-Ducks drew 287,000 (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 4/13). In Pittsburgh, Bob Smizik reports the Penguins have the “best ratings” of the 20 NHL franchises that have their games broadcast on FSN. The team’s ratings are also “higher than any of the 24 NBA teams FSN carries,” as well as those of the Knicks and Nets. The only NHL team that “might have higher ratings” than the Penguins is the Sabres (POST-GAZETTE, 4/13). USA TODAY’s Michael Hiestand reports NBC will have a camera focused on Crosby during Penguins-Senators on Saturday, and studio analysts will comment on third period footage from the “Crosby-cam” on NBCsports.com. NBC Sports Coordinating Producer Sam Flood said the net’s pregame show will cover “Crosby mania” in Canada. The net averages a 1.1 rating for games with Crosby and 0.8 without him. Versus drew a 0.19 cable rating with Crosby, compared to a 0.13 overall NHL average (USA TODAY, 4/13). Penguins-Senators will air to 84% of the U.S.; the rest of the country will see Rangers-Thrashers Game Two (NEWSDAY, 4/13).

Minnesota TV Station Earns 7.9 Nielsen Rating For First Game Of Wild-Ducks Series

MORE NUMBERS: St. Paul-based KSTC-Ind earned a 7.9/18 (132,594 HHs) for Game One of Wild-Ducks. The team’s highest regular-season rating on the station this season was a 3.9/6. The Twins opener drew a 15.5 (STAR TRIBUNE, 4/13)....NHL.com experienced record traffic with 1,724,406 user sessions and more than 15 million page impressions on Sunday, April 8, the last day of the regular season, increases of 51.4% and 40.4%, respectively, compared to the last day of the ’05-06 regular season. The traffic also topped the numbers experienced during the trade deadline, which is historically one of the busiest days (NHL).

NEW YORK, NEW YORK, NEW YORK: In N.Y., Pat Reichart notes Game Four of Thrashers-Rangers, Devils-Lightning and Sabres-Islanders series will overlap Wednesday and writes, “We think it may have been possible for Commissioner Gary Bettman to assemble a schedule in which the Rangers, Islanders and Devils would not have to play as many as five first-round games on the same day –- denying fans a chance to sample each team in a full game, not to mention minimizing the TV ratings for each” (N.Y. POST, 4/13).