Versus Near 50% Viewership Increase For First 10 NHL Playoff Games

Versus averaged 434,382 viewers per telecast for its first 10 games of the '09 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, up 49.5% over an average of 290,551 viewers for the same period last season, according to Jeff Klein of the N.Y. TIMES (4/23). In Miami, George Richards wrote it "appears Versus is going to try and show as much" of the NHL Playoffs as it can. The net "didn't do that on Tuesday when the schedule was really jam packed," so "good for them for trying to fix it." Richards wrote of Versus' coverage, "I agree they cover the [playoffs] better than ESPN did back in the day (I do appreciate the bonus games broadcast by TSN/CBC)." But he added, "We, as a sports viewing public, are spoiled these days. We expect coverage of other games when the games you decide to show go to break or are over" (MIAMIHERALD.com, 4/23). Meanwhile, in Albany, Pete Dougherty writes fans "may have missed" the Bruins-Canadiens Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series "since Versus showed only one game, and that was on a Saturday night." Versus overall "hasn't done a great job giving fans all the hockey they can handle." Dougherty: "I still wish ESPN owned a piece" (Albany TIMES UNION, 4/24).

Lightning Strike Causes Blackout During Penguins-Flyers Game

FRUSTRATED, INCORPORATED: In California, John Maffei notes Ducks fans in San Diego "have been frustrated by an NHL blackout rule that blocks games on Versus when those games are carried" on FS Prime Ticket. The rule is "in place to protect the Ducks' home market," but 95% of San Diego currently does not receive FS Prime Ticket. Maffei: "It's clear that NHL officials have no idea that FSN-Prime doesn't come in in San Diego." Maffei notes Versus officials "guaranteed that the rest of the Ducks-Sharks series will be seen on Versus" (NORTH COUNTY TIMES, 4/24).

PENALTY BOX: YAHOO SPORTS' Greg Wyshynski noted movie director Kevin Smith Wednesday announced he was moving his NHL.com blog "to his online diary site." Smith, who had been blogging about the Devils during the playoffs as part of the league's celebrity blogger roster, in his blog entry wrote that he "would be swapping out 'potentially offensive terminology' with the 'kinder, gentler, more family-friendly and NHL-approved term 'Gretzky' instead." For example, Smith wrote, "Devils in 5. (Wayne) you if you don't believe me." An NHL source confirmed that the "parting of the ways concerned Smith's boundary-testing content in his first post." Smith: "Even though I was able to find a way around swearing in the blog, the NHL site is -- understandably -- a lot less liberal than my website" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 4/23).

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