Winter Classic wins ratings war in Chicago

by James Mirtle on Jan 6, 2009 1:19 PM CST Comment 14 comments

Courtesy of the local NBC affiliate in Chicago:

Winterclassic_medium

I'll leave it to others to interpret what, exactly, these numbers mean, but NBC certainly seems excited (!) about it.

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This was my first thought upon seeing that chart, and just in case anyone else was wondering, too:
Winter Classic—11.8
All the bowl games—29.4.

by RyanV on Jan 6, 2009 1:32 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Six Winter Classics – 70.8
All of the bowl games – 29.4

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by PPP on Jan 6, 2009 1:37 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Wow. Football is more popular than hockey… what a shock!

The big pitch here though is to sponsors. Some guys might watch 2-4 Bowl games at once in small screens, but most people only watch one event at a time (primarily). If you’re looking for a big audience, the Winter Classic looks like it’ll be the one with the most eyes on it. And for the non-gate-revenue starved NHL, this is a major coup.

Hockey blogging can't get any flatter.

by saskhab on Jan 6, 2009 1:55 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

My points were basically: “all the bowl games” is an ambiguous phrase and can mean “all combined”; football is still more popular than hockey in the US, yes; and the fact that the Classic beat out the most popular bowl game is more a result of the number of bowl games than anything else (it would have lost if the Rose Bowl had been the only game, and would have won by more if there had been 30 bowl games). But your point about sponsors is true and well-taken.

by RyanV on Jan 7, 2009 1:53 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

NBC5?

Forgive if this seems obvious, but this is likely the rating for just that single affiliate in Chicago …

by ChicoMaki on Jan 6, 2009 2:01 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Um, yes. Says that above the picture.

Pittsburgh Black And Gold -- So new, it still smells like paint!

by JustinM on Jan 6, 2009 2:08 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Yes'm

I know what it says, I know the affiliate is the source; however, it doesn’t state outright any information about the demographic, about where the numbers come from specifically, that was my point. Simply wanted to draw attention to the fact that all the graph shows is that numerous Chicago fans—whatever that may mean—watched the game on television. That is to say, it says next to nothing.

by ChicoMaki on Jan 6, 2009 7:27 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Isn’t that the main NBC affiliate for Chicago? If so, those are the ratings for that particular market.

by James Mirtle on Jan 6, 2009 10:05 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

It sounds like CM’s trying to say, “well, of course it won in Chicago.”

by Doogie2K on Jan 7, 2009 5:34 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I’m sure those are just the local ratings, but it is still remarkable that the WC beat out every one of the bowl games in the #3 US market. The NHL deserves credit for getting something right, as the WC seems well positioned to become a New Year’s Day showcase for the league.

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by Dirk Hoag on Jan 6, 2009 2:11 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Worth noting that that #3 market was hosting the event, though. What were the numbers in NY? LA? Anywhere else in the top 10?

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by J.P. on Jan 6, 2009 2:13 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

The New Year’s Day event on NBC earned a 2.9 overnight rating and a 6.0 share, the best overnight NHL regular-season rating in nearly 13 years. The Red Wings defeated the Blackhawks 6-4.
-CP

Don’t want to dig for the bowl games but I half suspect they might stay consistent across the 55 largest markets.

by Mogen_david on Jan 6, 2009 3:20 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

great numbers, but would any of those bowl games appealed to the Chicago TV market? I don’t think Northwestern, Notre Dame or Illinois were playing in those bowls.

by odessasteps on Jan 6, 2009 3:59 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

you are correct...

NU, ND and the Illini had all finished their bowl games before the Winter Classic…it was such a novelty here in Chicago, that almost every sports fan I know were watching the game, whether they were a Blackhawks fan or not.

by tbell61 on Jan 6, 2009 4:46 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs