NHL Regular-Season Viewership Rebounds On NBC, NBCSN; Wednesday Windows Strong

NBC and NBCSN both saw audience gains for NHL regular-season broadcasts in '15-16. NBC averaged 1.55 million viewers for its 11 telecasts. That figure is up from 1.46 million viewers last season, but down from 1.68 million viewers in '13-14. The gain for NBC comes despite the net having its smallest audience yet for a Winter Classic. Canadiens-Bruins on New Year's Day drew only 2.78 million viewers, down from 3.47 million viewers for Blackhawks-Capitals last season. Meanwhile, NBCSN saw regular-season gains for the first time since the lockout season of '12-13. The net's 378,000 viewers for 94 games was up 8% from 349,000 viewers last season, and up from 351,000 viewers in '13-14. The 378,000 viewers is the cable net's best full regular-season figure yet, but is below the 392,000 viewers the net had during the shortened '12-13 campaign. It also is the NHL's best full season average on cable since ESPN and ESPN2 averaged 474,000 viewers in '93-94. "Wednesday Night Rivalry" games saw an 8% uptick for NBCSN. The 24 exclusive games averaged 608,000 viewers, up from 565,000 last season. Buffalo led all markets for NBC and NBCSN telecasts with a 1.2 local rating, followed by Boston with a 1.1 rating. On NBCSN alone, Pittsburgh led all markets with a 1.0 local rating, while St. Louis ranked second with a 0.9 rating.

NOTES: * = Lockout shortened season (no Winter Classic). ** = First season with Winter Classic.