NBC Sports Network Gets Best NHL Regular-Season Rating With Flyers-Penguins

NBC Sports Network averaged 901,000 viewers for Wednesday’s Flyers-Penguins matchup, marking the net’s second-best audience on record for an NHL game, while the game's 0.6 U.S. rating marks the net's highest-rated game on record. The telecast earned a 14.5 local rating in Pittsburgh and a 4.8 local rating in Philadelphia, also marking record highs for an NHL game on NBCSN. Four of the net’s top five most-viewed games have now been Wednesday night telecasts from this season. Meanwhile, NBC scored a 1.2 rating and 1.8 million viewers for Kings-Blackhawks last Sunday, which was the late window in the net’s “Hockey Day in America.” Those figures are up 33% and 31%, respectively, from a 0.9 rating and 1.4 million viewers for Bruins-Wild in the same window last year. The early window, which featured Penguins-Sabres, earned a 1.1 rating and 1.7 million viewers, down from a 1.3 rating and 1.9 million viewers for regional coverage last year. Looking locally, Comcast SportsNet Chicago earned a 7.4 rating for Canucks-Blackhawks on Tuesday, marking the net’s best regular-season rating ever. The previous record was for Blackhawks-Red Wings on Jan. 27 (6.3 rating).

MOST-VIEWED NHL REGULAR-SEASON GAMES ON NBC SPORTS NETWORK
DATE	MATCHUP	VIEWERS (000)
1/23/13	Bruins-Rangers	956
2/20/13	Flyers-Penguins	901
10/6/11	Flyers-Bruins	874
1/30/13	Blackhawks-Wild	827
2/6/13	Bruins-Canadiens	771