Sports Media News

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE UNVEILS 2010-11 NATIONAL TELEVISION SCHEDULE
League Partners Building Upon Three Years Of Ratings And Viewership Growth

NEW YORK (August 25, 2010) – The National Hockey League (NHL) announced today the television schedules for national partners NBC Sports, VERSUS, CBC, TSN, TSN2, RDS, RIS and NHL Network Canada for the 2010-11 NHL regular-season.

In the U.S., NBC Sports and VERSUS return for a sixth consecutive season as national television partners.  In Canada, CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada begins its 58^th regular-season of NHL^® broadcasts while TSN, whose relationship with the NHL dates back to 1987, continues as the national English-language cable partner.  RDS, the French-language telecast partner of the NHL, has been televising NHL games since its inception in 1989 and enters its eighth consecutive season presenting every Montreal Canadiens game.

For the 2009-10 NHL regular-season, television ratings and viewership continued a three-year upward trend for all partners.  Additionally, the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs reached milestones:

• Most-watched NHL game in the U.S. in 36 years on NBC (Stanley Cup Final Game 6)

• The highest audience for an all-U.S. Final in Canadian television history on CBC

• The most-watched first two rounds on U.S. cable in history on VERSUS

• The most-watched NHL game in TSN history

• The largest audience in the history of RDS

The 2010-11 NHL regular-season opens on Oct. 7 – just 43 days from today – with a five game slate, including a national tripleheader in the U.S. on VERSUS and a national doubleheader on CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada and a national game on TSN.  That day, the Minnesota Wild and Carolina Hurricanes will play the first of two regular-season games against each other at Hartwall Areena in Helsinki, Finland, as part of 2010 Compuware NHL Premiere™ and NHL Face-Off™.  That game will be seen nationally in the U.S. on VERSUS and on TSN in Canada at Noon ET.

Also on opening night, the Pittsburgh Penguins will debut their new home, the CONSOL Energy Center, against their intrastate rival and defending Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia Flyers at 7 p.m. ET as the middle game of VERSUS’ tripleheader.  In the nightcap, at 10 p.m. ET, the Chicago Blackhawks begin their defense of the Stanley Cup^® by travelling to Colorado to face the Avalanche.

NHL Face-Off, a hockey and entertainment festival in Toronto providing fans the opportunity to salute the start of the season, precedes the first game of the Hockey Night in Canada doubleheader – the Montreal Canadiens at Toronto Maple Leafs at 7 p.m. ET.  This game also will be available on RDS.  The “Battle of Alberta” takes center stage for the second game on CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada, at 10 p.m. ET, with the Calgary Flames visiting the Edmonton Oilers.

This will be the fourth straight year the NHL will begin the regular-season with games contested overseas.  The Blue Jackets and Sharks will square off for two games at the Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden, on Friday, Oct. 8 and Saturday, Oct. 9.  Meanwhile, the Bruins and Coyotes will play each other at O2 Arena in Prague, Czech Republic, on Saturday, Oct. 9 and Sunday, Oct. 10.  In total, TSN and VERSUS will each telecast four NHL games and NHL Network Canada will broadcast one NHL game from Europe to kick off the regular season.
The annual Hall of Fame Game will be played on Saturday, Nov. 6, when the Maple Leafs host the Buffalo Sabres.  CBC’s Hockey Night In Canada will once again provide full coverage of all of the festivities that evening.  The Hall of Fame inductions are Monday, Nov. 8.

On Jan. 1, NBC Sports in the U.S. and CBC and RDS in Canada again will televise the 2011 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic^® — the event Forbes magazine calls “the best new sporting event” of the last decade.  Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins will battle Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals at Heinz Field, home of the Steelers, at 1 p.m. ET.  The NHL’s fiercest rivalry will be re-ignited in this special wintery setting.

The NHL’s mid-season spectacular returns when the Carolina Hurricanes and the city of Raleigh host the 2011 National Hockey League All-Star Celebration on Saturday, January 29 and Sunday, January 30.  The Honda NHL SuperSkills® and the 58th NHL All-Star Game will take place in North Carolina for the first time.  The action from both nights will be covered live by VERSUS, CBC and RDS.

The celebration of hockey continues when Whitehorse, Yukon, hosts Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada on Saturday, Feb. 12.  The network plans over 13 hours of coverage for the 11th edition of the event, including a NHL tripleheader featuring all six Canadian-based teams: Ottawa at Edmonton at 2 p.m. ET, Toronto at Montreal at 7 p.m. ET and Calgary at Vancouver at 10 p.m. ET.

Returning to the NHL calendar this season is the 2011 NHL Heritage Classic™, the regular-season outdoor game to be played Sunday, Feb. 20 by the Montreal Canadiens and Calgary Flames at Calgary’s McMahon Stadium. CBC and RDS will carry the game in Canada and VERSUS will telecast the outdoor match in the U.S.. The event marks the first regular-season NHL game contested outdoors in Canada since the Edmonton Oilers hosted the Canadiens at Commonwealth Stadium on Nov. 22, 2003.

As part of Hockey Weekend Across America in 2011, NBC Sports and the NHL will salute the roots of the sport with Hockey Day in America on Sunday, Feb. 20. Launched by USA Hockey in 2008, Hockey Weekend Across America is a nationwide initiative to celebrate the game and those involved at all levels and to expose hockey to new audiences. NBC Sports will celebrate the day-long event with regional NHL coverage. More details about Hockey Day in America will be released at a later date.

After NBC Sports launches its NHL coverage Jan. 1 with the 2011 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic, the NBC NHL “Game of the Week” drops the puck on Jan. 23 at 12:30 p.m. ET.  The NHL and NBC will again collaborate on flexible scheduling for NBC’s regular-season dates, providing fans the most exciting match-up available.  At least 13 days prior to the scheduled date, a game will be selected to broadcast on NBC.  All NBC “Game of the Week” games will be broadcast on Sundays and presented in High Definition.  NBC will again broadcast games in the postseason, including Games 1, 2 and 5 through 7 of the Stanley Cup Final in primetime.

VERSUS will televise 78 games during the 2010-11 regular season, 13 more than last season, including 53 exclusive regular season games and 25 bonus games.  In addition to live coverage of the All-Star weekend and the 2011 NHL Heritage Classic, VERSUS will cap off the final week of regular season action with a game each night (Monday-Friday) leading into the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs.   VERSUS once again will air wall-to-wall action throughout each round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, culminating with Games 3 and 4 of the Stanley Cup Final.

CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada schedule includes a total of 29 all-Canadian match-ups and the game’s biggest stars, with a total of 87 games during the 2010-11 season, including preseason. Viewers will again be able to watch the CBC game of their choice with live and on-demand streaming of all games, special features and much more, available at CBCSports.ca.

This year’s combined 124-game NHL on TSN national broadcast package is part of TSN and TSN2’s multi-year broadcast and digital rights agreement with the NHL.  A total of 76 regular season games will air on TSN, with 70 games featuring at least one Canadian team.  TSN retains exclusivity of Wednesday Night Hockey, during which there are no other national or local NHL telecasts.   TSN2’s regular season schedule features 48 live NHL games.

Once again this season, RDS will telecast all 82 Montreal Canadiens games, including the 2011 NHL Heritage Classic.  The network also will televise a package of games featuring other NHL teams, including the 2011 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic on New Year’s Day.  RDS will also be presenting full coverage of the NHL All-Star weekend. On RIS Info Sports, viewers will be offered an additional 42 regular-season NHL games.

NHL Network^TM this season will televise up to 75 live games for its American audience and 31 live NHL games for its Canadian viewers.  In addition, NHL Network’s signature show, NHL On The Fly™, returns across North America nightly providing highlights and analysis of every NHL game.

For Canadian viewers, NHL Network drops the puck on the live 2010-11 NHL regular-season schedule Oct. 10 when the Boston Bruins and Phoenix Coyotes go head-to-head in Prague, CZE as part of the 2010 Compuware NHL Premiere in a special 10 a.m. ET matinee.  The action continues the next day when captain the Penguins visit the New Jersey Devils at 1 p.m. ET.  The next night, the Atlanta Thrashers travel to the West Coast to face the Los Angeles Kings for a 10:30 p.m. ET start.

More information on the dates and times of the NHL Network U.S. 2010-11 schedule will be released in the near future.

About the NHL
The National Hockey League, founded in 1917, is the second-oldest of the four major professional team sports leagues in North America.  Today, the NHL consists of 30 Member Clubs, each reflecting the League’s international makeup, with players from more than 20 countries represented on team rosters. According to a Simmons Market Research study, NHL fans are younger, more educated, more affluent, and access content through digital means more than any other major professional sport. The NHL entertains more than 250 million fans each season in-arena and through its partners in national television (VERSUS, NBC, TSN, CBC, RDS, RIS, ESPN America, ASN and NHL Network™) and radio (NHL Radio™, Sirius XM Satellite Radio and XM Canada).  Through the NHL Foundation, the League’s charitable arm, the NHL raises money and awareness for Hockey Fights Cancer™ and NHL Youth Development, and supports the charitable efforts of NHL players. For more information on the NHL, log on to NHL.com.
#### (8/25/10)

2010 STANLEY CUP FINAL TO BEGIN SATURDAY

VERSUS VIEWERSHIP FOR FIRST TWO ROUNDS HIGHEST ON RECORD

TSN Sets Record for Flyers-Bruins Game 7

NEW YORK (May 18, 2010) – VERSUS’ coverage of the first two rounds of 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs was the most-watched first two rounds on cable on record with an average of  775,000 viewers for the 54 telecasts (Stanley Cup Playoff cable viewership became available by Nielsen for the 1994 playoffs). The average viewership (1.041 million) for VERSUS’ coverage of the Conference Semifinal round was also the highest on record, surpassing all prior playoff seasons dating back to at least 1994.

The 1.0 HH rating and average viewership (1.041 million) for the second round were up 25 percent and 28 percent, respectively, over last year’s Conference Semifinal (.8 HH rating and 816,000 viewers). Throughout the duration of the Conference Semifinal, VERSUS ranked as a top 10 cable network in primetime viewership (8-11 p.m.) among Adults 18-49 and 25-54 and was one of the top five most-watched cable networks among Men 18-49 and 25-54.

VERSUS’ second-round successes came on the heels of the highest-rated and most-watched Conference Quarterfinal round on cable since 2001 and the most-watched among Men 25-54 on cable since 2000. The first round averaged a .7 HH rating and 595,000 viewers, up 75 percent and 35 percent, respectively, as compared to last year’s Conference Quarterfinal (.4 HH rating and 442,000 viewers), and led to VERSUS earning its most-watched April in primetime in network history.

TSN’s audience (2.1 million viewers) for the Philadelphia Flyers-Boston Bruins historic Game 7 was the highest audience ever recorded for an NHL game on TSN not involving a Canadian team. It was also the most-watched program on Canadian television on Friday in all key advertising demographics. Audience levels peaked at 3.95 million viewers in the third period.

Overall, TSN’s coverage of the second round of the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs attracted an average audience of 1.1 million viewers, 61 percent higher than the last year (681,000).

TV MILESTONES IN THE 2010 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS

• Game 1 of the Blackhawks-Sharks series on NBC earned an 11.2 rating in Chicago, beating the Cubs, White Sox and Boston-Orlando broadcasts combined.
• The Flyers Game 7 victory over the Bruins on Friday night was the most watched Flyers game in Comcast SportsNet history with an 11.7 rating and 345,000 households, topping the previous record set two days earlier.
• CBC’s coverage of Game 7 between the Montreal Canadiens and Pittsburgh Penguins drew an average audience of 4.24 million viewers, ranking as the sixth largest Stanley Cup Playoff audience in CBC history.
• On French language RDS, the Canadiens-Penguins Game 7 was the most-viewed NHL telecast in the network’s history with 2.69 million viewers.
• The game also scored on FSN Pittsburgh averaging a 26.4 HH rating, the highest-rated game ever on the network. At one point 43 percent of all households in the Pittsburgh DMA were tuned into FSN.
• There were three major Boston-area sports events televised on May 7 and Game 4 of the Bruins-Flyers series scored the best numbers, earning an 8.3 local Nielsen rating (328,000 viewers) on Versus in the Boston metered market besting the Yankees-Red Sox matchup on NESN, which earned a 6.3 local rating (223,000 viewers) to finish in second, while Game Three of the Cavaliers-Celtics NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals earned a 4.1 local rating (142,000 viewers) on ESPN.
• On Thursday April 22, the Blackhawks, with 278,000 viewers in Chicago, prevailed over some tough local competition: Bulls (255,000 viewers, playoff game against Cleveland and LeBron James), NFL Draft (138,000) and the Chicago Cubs vs. NY Mets (137,000 viewers).
• Combined, NBC and VERSUS averaged 742,000 viewers per telecast, the most for the first round since ABC/ESPN/ESPN2 averaged 750,000 viewers in 2000 and a 24-percent increase over last year.
• VERSUS’ average viewership of 595,000 for the first round of the playoffs was the best for the NHL on U.S. cable in nine years (ESPN/ESPN 2, 608,000 in 2001).
• Game 2 of the Detroit/San Jose series averaged 1.772 million viewers, making it VERSUS’ most-watched Conference Semifinal game in network history and the most-watched second-round game on cable in a decade (Colorado/Detroit, May 1, 2000 on ESPN, 1.926 million).
• The Washington-Montreal Game 7 was the highest rated (1.2 HH rating) and most watched (1.2 million viewers) Conference Quarterfinal game ever on VERSUS, and the most watched Conference Quarterfinal game on U.S. cable since Minnesota-Colorado in 2003 on ESPN.
• TSN’s audience of 2.8 million for the Washington-Montreal Game 7 was the highest audience ever recorded for an NHL game on TSN and was the most-watched program on Canadian television Wednesday night in all key demographics.
• The Montreal-Washington series ranks as the most-watched playoff series ever on TSN (any round) with an average audience of 1.8 million viewers over seven games.

DIGITAL STRATEGY PAYS DIVIDENDS

The NHL is engaging and connecting with more fans than ever on its digital platforms and the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs has continued that trend. Some highlights:

• For the first 34 days of the playoffs, video starts on NHL.com are up 153 percent over last year
• Unique visitors to NHL.com are up 31 percent
• Page views on NHL.com are up 50 percent
• Mobile page views are up 185 percent
• April was the most trafficked month in the history of NHL.com in terms of unique visitors surpassing 17 million

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE NHL’S RECORD-BREAKING BUSINESS SUCCESS IN 2009-10

• Corporate sponsorship was up 20 percent
• New League partners this season include Geico, Starwood Hotels, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, LG Electronics and Hershey’s Canada
• Ad spending on NHL® media increased by 37 percent over last season
• NHL.com ad revenue is up 50 percent over last year
• Revenue from big event platforms, led by the Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic®, are up 22 percent over last season
• Unique visitors to NHL.com surpassed last year’s record by 32 percent
• NHL Game Center Live™ subscriptions were up 25 percent
• NHL Network subscribers have increased by 104 percent
• Sales at SHOP.NHL.com were up 12 percent from last year’s record
• Viewership for NBC’s Game of the Week telecasts were up 13 percent
• Ratings for exclusive telecasts on Versus were up 20 percent
• NHL Mobile™ reached 1.6 million page views, an increase of 233 percent over last season

Source: Nielsen Media Research US and Nielsen Media Research Canada / BBM

### (5/18/10)

ON-ICE DRAMA FOR STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS DRIVES HUGE GAINS IN FAN ENGAGEMENT

U.S. TV Sees Best First-Round Viewership in 10 Years

NHL.com Sets Monthly Traffic Record

NHL Leads VERSUS to Best Primetime April Performance in History

“…this first round might be one of the most entertaining first rounds in NHL history.” – USA Today

“The sport is enjoying a resurgence.” — Mediaweek

VERSUS’ first-round coverage averaged a .7 HH rating, up 75 percent compared to last year’s Conference Quarterfinals (.4).

In addition, VERSUS earned the best first-round cable viewership in the key Men 18-49 demo since 2001 (ESPN/ESPN2) and the best in the Men 25-54 demo since 2000 (ESPN/ESPN2). The Men 18-34, Men 18-49 and Men 25-54 demo ratings all were record highs for VERSUS for the Conference Quarterfinal round.

This overall success is highlighted by the Montreal-Washington Game 7, which garnered a 1.2 household rating and averaged 1,151,000 viewers, making it VERSUS’ highest-rated and most-watched first-round game in network history.

NHL ON NBC VIEWERSHIP UP 18%
Viewership for NBC Sports’ four Conference Quarterfinal broadcasts (1.72 million viewers) was up 18 percent compared to 2009 (1.46 million) and the highest since 2006. The household rating of a 1.1 for the four games also is the best since 2006 and up 10 percent over last year (1.0). Last Sunday’s Phoenix-Detroit game (1.1) was up 57 percent vs. last year’s Washington-New York Rangers game (0.7).

COMBINED U.S. VIEWERSHIP HIGHEST IN A DECADE
Combined NBC and VERSUS averaged 742,000 viewers per telecast, the most since ABC/ESPN/ESPN2 averaged 750,000 viewers in 2000 and a 24 percent increase over last year.  The combined average viewership was the highest among females since 2000, the highest among Men 18-49 since 2001 and the most among Men 25-54 since 2000.

TSN VIEWERSHIP UP 89%
In the first round of the playoffs, TSN averaged 1.07 million viewers, 89 percent higher than its average audience in the first round of the playoffs last season 567,000.

CBC VIEWERSHIP UP 50%
CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada had the program’s highest overall average audience for Round One since 2004. Audiences to Round One in 2010 averaged 1.422 million. In 2009, Round One on CBC had an average audience of 951,000.

NHL ON RDS UP 12%
RDS averaged 1.34 million viewers for the Montreal-Washington series, 12 percent higher than Canadiens playoff games on RDS last season.

FIRST ROUND TV MILESTONES
The Washington-Montreal Game 7 was the highest-rated (1.2 HH rating) and most-watched (1.2 million viewers) NHL Conference Quarterfinals game ever on VERSUS and the most-watched NHL Conference Quarterfinals game on U.S. cable since Minnesota-Colorado in 2003 on ESPN.
TSN’s audience of 2.8 million for the Washington-Montreal Game 7 was the highest audience ever recorded for an NHL game on TSN and was the most-watched program on Canadian television Wednesday night in all key demographics.
The Montreal-Washington series ranks as the most-watched playoff series ever on TSN (any rounds) with an average audience of 1.8 million viewers over seven games.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE REGIONAL SPORTS NETWORKS
The ratings across four Comcast SportsNets [Chicago, Mid-Atlantic (Capitals), Philadelphia and California (Sharks)] were up 30 percent over last season.

DIGITAL STRATEGY PAYS DIVIDENDS
The NHL is engaging and connecting with more fans than ever on its digital platforms and the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs has continued that trend. Some highlights from the Conference Quarterfinals:

• April was the most-trafficked month in the history of NHL.com in terms of unique visitors, surpassing 17 million

• Video starts on NHL.com increased by 170 percent over the Conference Quarterfinal Round last  year

• Unique visitors to NHL.com were up 43 percent

• Page views on NHL.com were up 53 percent

• Mobile page views were up 200 percent

SUPPORT THE TEAM
In-venue merchandise sales volume for the first round of the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs increased by 14 percent compared to the first round in 2009.

FULL HOUSES
Averaging 18,670 fans per game, these NHL Playoffs are playing to 101.4 percent capacity.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING ABOUT THE NHL & THE PLAYOFFS
“The National Hockey League has firmed up its relationship with the ad community and viewing audience.” – Variety

“The sport is enjoying a resurgence.” – Mediaweek

“…this first round might be one of the most entertaining first rounds in NHL history.” – USA Today

“Enthralling” – NY Times