It has been widely speculated that the Sabres will host the "Ice Bowl" on New Year's Day at Ralph Wilson Stadium which will be televised on NBC. Multiple sources including the local NBC affiliate, WGR550, and the Buffalo News have indicated that the game will be a go so long as a few logistical issues get worked out in the near future. NBC released its "flex schedule" for the upcoming season this afternoon which allows it to choose between different games depending on how the particular match up looks at the time. The choices on January 1st? Pittsburgh @ Buffalo or the Penguins visiting the Sabres. It's the only day on the schedule without another option, so it's looking like the outdoor game is a done deal.
It will be interesting to see the rating as half the city will be in attendance. That said, it will be a major event for Buffalo and will likely still pull a big number.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Saturday, June 9, 2007
Cup Clincher Pulls Big Rating
The Ducks Stanley Cup clinching victory over the Ottawa Senators drew a big rating in Buffalo. From Alan Pergament:
The game drew a 2.5 rating nationally. The LA market peaked at an impressive (relatively) 10.4 figure. The overall average was a 6.0 (12 share) which, after taking the West Coast time zone issues into account, isn't that bad. Buffalo was in all likelihood the highest rated American market for all 5 games.
Buffalo might be the only market in America that gets higher ratings for the Stanley Cup finals than the NBA Finals on ABC despite the hype brought about by James’ legendary performance. The ratings in Buffalo for the Stanley Cup finals were five to 10 times the national ratings. Anaheim’s seriesclinching victory had an 11.7 rating here, about five times the national overnight rating.
The game drew a 2.5 rating nationally. The LA market peaked at an impressive (relatively) 10.4 figure. The overall average was a 6.0 (12 share) which, after taking the West Coast time zone issues into account, isn't that bad. Buffalo was in all likelihood the highest rated American market for all 5 games.
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Lowest Rated Show Ever
Bettman probably won't be pleased with this. Game 3 managed to tie a West Wing rerun for the worst rating for a prime-time show ever on NBC.
Of course, that ignores the fact that Canada has a vested interest in the series and the NHL does get the shaft in terms of having 20% of its markets ignored. Cities with teams are almost always more interested in league games. (See: the NBA's popularity in Buffalo) The game drew 2,553,000 viewers on CBC and an additional 646,000 viewers on RDS (Quebec). Canada likes to do things differently (zed, centre, favourite, metric system, twooneys) and puts their figures in terms of total viewers and not households. Some quick math tells me that if Canadians counted towards American ratings Game 3 would have garnered a 3.31 rating, which is still pretty pathetic.
As bad as it sounds, NBC is still making money on the contract. Then again the contract states NBC doesn't pay anything unless they make money. The bottom line is the NHL will never draw a huge rights fee that buoys the other major pro sports leagues unless something drastically changes.
Of course, that ignores the fact that Canada has a vested interest in the series and the NHL does get the shaft in terms of having 20% of its markets ignored. Cities with teams are almost always more interested in league games. (See: the NBA's popularity in Buffalo) The game drew 2,553,000 viewers on CBC and an additional 646,000 viewers on RDS (Quebec). Canada likes to do things differently (zed, centre, favourite, metric system, twooneys) and puts their figures in terms of total viewers and not households. Some quick math tells me that if Canadians counted towards American ratings Game 3 would have garnered a 3.31 rating, which is still pretty pathetic.
As bad as it sounds, NBC is still making money on the contract. Then again the contract states NBC doesn't pay anything unless they make money. The bottom line is the NHL will never draw a huge rights fee that buoys the other major pro sports leagues unless something drastically changes.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Stanley Cup Finals Game 1
One would think that the LA area, it's low level of NHL interest notwithstanding, would have the highest ratings for the Stanley Cup Finals considering Anaheim is the lone American market remaining. One would be wrong. Buffalo was the top rated US market by a fairly large margin. Selected cities from the .72 national figure:
Buffalo: 3.9
Denver: 2.2
Pittsburgh: 2.0
Los Angeles: 1.7
Chicago: 0.7
Boston: 0.6
New York: 0.3
Yeah, that's pretty bad all around. Let's hope the NBC games crack a 2.0. Ok, a 1.0.
Buffalo: 3.9
Denver: 2.2
Pittsburgh: 2.0
Los Angeles: 1.7
Chicago: 0.7
Boston: 0.6
New York: 0.3
Yeah, that's pretty bad all around. Let's hope the NBC games crack a 2.0. Ok, a 1.0.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Ottawa Series: Games 3-5
A disappointing series on the ice was also disappointing in the ratings and the two are obviously related. Alan Pergament reports on the final three games of the Sabres season:
The Versus coverage is dominating CBC’s coverage in the ratings even though Amherst resident Harry Neale is a CBC analyst and Versus carries the game on a three- to five-second delay. The Sabres’ victory Wednesday had a 20.8 rating on Versus and a 4.5 on CBC for a combined 25.3. The Sabres’ loss Monday had a 17.4 rating on Versus and a 4.5 on CBC for a combined 21.9.
The Sabres final playoff game had a combined rating of 28.4 on NBC (26.8) and CBC (1.8). One Sabres game on NBC had a 30 rating, but generally, the national playoff games averaged in the low to mid-20s here.
Combined final totals for the ECF (US National broadcast in parentheses, all games on CBC additionally):
Game 1 (VS): 23.8
Game 2 (VS): 27.6
Game 3 (VS): 21.9
Game 4 (VS): 25.3
Game 5 (NBC): 28.4
Obviously, those are great numbers relatively speaking, but there wasn't an increase from the round 2 figures. In fact, the two highest rated Sabres games this season were Games 3 and 6 of the NY Ranger series.
The Versus coverage is dominating CBC’s coverage in the ratings even though Amherst resident Harry Neale is a CBC analyst and Versus carries the game on a three- to five-second delay. The Sabres’ victory Wednesday had a 20.8 rating on Versus and a 4.5 on CBC for a combined 25.3. The Sabres’ loss Monday had a 17.4 rating on Versus and a 4.5 on CBC for a combined 21.9.
The Sabres final playoff game had a combined rating of 28.4 on NBC (26.8) and CBC (1.8). One Sabres game on NBC had a 30 rating, but generally, the national playoff games averaged in the low to mid-20s here.
Combined final totals for the ECF (US National broadcast in parentheses, all games on CBC additionally):
Game 1 (VS): 23.8
Game 2 (VS): 27.6
Game 3 (VS): 21.9
Game 4 (VS): 25.3
Game 5 (NBC): 28.4
Obviously, those are great numbers relatively speaking, but there wasn't an increase from the round 2 figures. In fact, the two highest rated Sabres games this season were Games 3 and 6 of the NY Ranger series.
Friday, May 18, 2007
Ottawa/Buffalo: Games 1 and 2
All of the games in the 3rd round are nationally televised and Versus had Games 1 and 2. Both games garnered respectable figures, but the strong Thursday night network lineup hurt the game 1 number:
That broke down to a 19.9 for Versus and a 3.9 for CBC. Game 2 was slightly higher:
Good numbers, but not as high as the Rangers series.
Ottawa’s 5-2 victory in the first game of the series Thursday sure put a dent into the Thursday night ratings for local prime time favorites, “Grey’s Anatomy” and “CSI.” “CSI” scored a 14.8, and “Grey’s” had a 13.2 rating. They both typically get ratings in the 18-20 range. Of course, ABC repeats “Grey’s” on Fridays, and both shows are heavily DVRed. The Sabre game had a combined 23.8 rating on Versus and CBC.
That broke down to a 19.9 for Versus and a 3.9 for CBC. Game 2 was slightly higher:
After all, the game had a combined 27.6 rating on Versus (21.3) and CBC’s “Hockey Night in Canada” (6.3), so there were a lot of potential viewers available for extensive postgame coverage.
Good numbers, but not as high as the Rangers series.
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Sabres Close Out Round 2 With a Bang
Alan Pergament reports on the rating for the series clincher against the Rangers on NBC:
Game 1 (VS): 25.3
Game 2 (MSG): 11.0
Game 3 (NBC): 29.8
Game 4 (VS): 24.8
Game 5 (MSG): 9.5
Game 6 (NBC): 32.6
Luckily (at least from a ratings standpoint), MSG is done for the year so there won't be any more underreporting issues.
The Sabres’ clinching victory on Sunday afternoon scored a 32.6 rating and 60 share on WGRZ-TV, which was 2.6 points higher than the Sabres overtime loss in Game Three of the series from Madison Square Garden.
The 60 share is eye-opening. Al Trautwig, the Rangers postgame host on MSG, told Sabres General Manager Darcy Regier Sunday afternoon that the Sabres get a 40 share for TV games, which he called incredible for hockey. A 60 share is beyond incredible for hockey. The first NBC game in the series got shares in the 50s and 60s in Buffalo. The 60 share means that 60 percent of the sets in use in Buffalo on Sunday afternoon were watching the game.
Speaking of incredible, the Sabres’ miracle finish Friday only averaged a 9.5 rating on MSG. That’s about 30 percent of what Channel 2 had for Game Six, which gives MSG further ammunition for the theory that its ratings are severely underreported.
The final ratings for round two are as follows:
Game 1 (VS): 25.3
Game 2 (MSG): 11.0
Game 3 (NBC): 29.8
Game 4 (VS): 24.8
Game 5 (MSG): 9.5
Game 6 (NBC): 32.6
Luckily (at least from a ratings standpoint), MSG is done for the year so there won't be any more underreporting issues.
Time Warner Cable Adds VS HD
Buffalo Business First reports that Time Warner will be temporarily adding Versus in HD to local digital packages:
Assuming they don't continue to accidentally blackout half of the games, this is great for Sabres fans.
Time Warner Cable said Tuesday it will temporarily add Versus HD to its digital lineup just as the Buffalo Sabres ready for another round in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Subscribers in the Buffalo market will find Versus HD programming on channel 708 starting May 10 through the conclusion of the National Hockey League post season. Versus will remain available on Channel 71 to standard package customers after the temporary viewing ends.
Versus, the cable TV rightsholder for the NHL in the U.S., will broadcast games one, two, three, four, six and seven of the Eastern Conference finals between the Sabres and Ottawa Senators as well as the Western Conference finals between the Detroit Red Wings and Anaheim Ducks. NBC will televise the fifth game in each series.
The Sabres-Senators best-of-seven series begins Thursday night at HSBC Arena. Cable viewers in the Buffalo market will also be able to see the entire series on the CBC from Canada.
Assuming they don't continue to accidentally blackout half of the games, this is great for Sabres fans.
Friday, May 4, 2007
Game 4: Another Huge Rating
Another nationally televised game means another gigantic rating for the Buffalo Sabres. The controversial loss drew a 24.8 local rating on Versus which is nearly 160,000 households. Rangers fans weren't nearly as interested as the game only earned a 1.5 rating in New York City. A rating in the mid-20's is almost being taken for granted, but this quote from the President of Versus Gavin Harvey in The New York Times shows how significant it really is:
Just to put the final nail in the coffin of the 'underreported' debate:
Game 1 (VS): 25.3
Game 2 (MSG): 11.0
Game 3 (NBC): 29.8
Game 4 (VS): 24.8
The Buffalo fans are a force of nature. We crushed ‘American Idol’ up there.
Just to put the final nail in the coffin of the 'underreported' debate:
Game 1 (VS): 25.3
Game 2 (MSG): 11.0
Game 3 (NBC): 29.8
Game 4 (VS): 24.8
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
MSG Being Underreported?
I've been fairly convinced that MSG's ratings totals haven't been accurate for some time now, dating back to the Ottawa re-match game in February. It didn't make any sense to me that almost twice as many Buffalonians wanted to watch a random game on Versus than the most hyped contest of the season. My theory picked up steam as the late-season numbers came in, was strengthened by the low ratings for the Islanders series, and essentially proved by the rating for game 2 (11.0 combined) of the Rangers series.
Alan Pergament of The Buffalo News has said the following in the past few weeks:
"The Versus rating appears to confirm what local researchers have suggested — that the Sabres ratings on MSG have been badly underreported."
"One local researcher also believes MSG’s ratings have been artificially low all season."
"The discrepancy should further bolster the argument that the audience for Sabres on MSG this season has been severely underreported."
Now I doubt I'm the local researcher in question as this is merely a hobby for me, so there is a pretty strong chance that someone else (with real sources) is coming to the same conclusion. Here's some analysis:
The Pittsburgh vs. Buffalo comparison. This is a good starting point because both of the match-ups between the clubs were on Versus as was the NHL All-Star Game.
Both cities reportedly averaged a 5.2 rating (Buffalo's rating increases to a 7.0 after factoring in nationally televised games). I have no reason to believe that Buffalo fans are more apt to tune into nationally televised games than Pittsburgh fans. Since both clubs supposedly had equal ratings for their local games (on MSG and FSN Pittsburgh respectively), one would assume that the March 13th and April 3rd meetings on Versus would have very similar local ratings. They didn't.
3/13 (PIT): 6.0 (up 15% from FSN average)
3/13 (BUF): 12.0 (up 130% from MSG average)
4/3 (PIT): 6.1 (up 17% from FSN average)
4/3 (BUF): 12.2 (up 135% from MSG average)
All-Star Game (PIT): 2.8
All-Star Game (BUF): 9.8 (7.1 VS + 2.7 CBC)
It makes sense to have a slight increase for nationally televised games. Pittsburgh/Buffalo is an exciting match-up between two of the Eastern Conference's top teams. It doesn't makes sense to see a rating more than twice of what MSG regularly gets. An argument could be made that the Sabres had such a high rating for the All-Star game because they had a league high 3 starters, but VS loves Sidney Crosby and talks about him at every chance (it's not nicknamed Versids for nothing) so I doubt it had much of an impact.
It becomes most obvious when evaluating the payoff ratings.
A meaningless regular season game gets a 16.4 rating, but the first round averages slightly over than 10?
Game 1 (VS) of the 2nd round gets a 25.3 and Game 3 (NBC) gets a 29.8, but Game 2 (MSG) gets an 11.0? There's only one explanation. MSG's ratings figures are significantly flawed.
Alan Pergament of The Buffalo News has said the following in the past few weeks:
"The Versus rating appears to confirm what local researchers have suggested — that the Sabres ratings on MSG have been badly underreported."
"One local researcher also believes MSG’s ratings have been artificially low all season."
"The discrepancy should further bolster the argument that the audience for Sabres on MSG this season has been severely underreported."
Now I doubt I'm the local researcher in question as this is merely a hobby for me, so there is a pretty strong chance that someone else (with real sources) is coming to the same conclusion. Here's some analysis:
The Pittsburgh vs. Buffalo comparison. This is a good starting point because both of the match-ups between the clubs were on Versus as was the NHL All-Star Game.
Both cities reportedly averaged a 5.2 rating (Buffalo's rating increases to a 7.0 after factoring in nationally televised games). I have no reason to believe that Buffalo fans are more apt to tune into nationally televised games than Pittsburgh fans. Since both clubs supposedly had equal ratings for their local games (on MSG and FSN Pittsburgh respectively), one would assume that the March 13th and April 3rd meetings on Versus would have very similar local ratings. They didn't.
3/13 (PIT): 6.0 (up 15% from FSN average)
3/13 (BUF): 12.0 (up 130% from MSG average)
4/3 (PIT): 6.1 (up 17% from FSN average)
4/3 (BUF): 12.2 (up 135% from MSG average)
All-Star Game (PIT): 2.8
All-Star Game (BUF): 9.8 (7.1 VS + 2.7 CBC)
It makes sense to have a slight increase for nationally televised games. Pittsburgh/Buffalo is an exciting match-up between two of the Eastern Conference's top teams. It doesn't makes sense to see a rating more than twice of what MSG regularly gets. An argument could be made that the Sabres had such a high rating for the All-Star game because they had a league high 3 starters, but VS loves Sidney Crosby and talks about him at every chance (it's not nicknamed Versids for nothing) so I doubt it had much of an impact.
It becomes most obvious when evaluating the payoff ratings.
A meaningless regular season game gets a 16.4 rating, but the first round averages slightly over than 10?
Game 1 (VS) of the 2nd round gets a 25.3 and Game 3 (NBC) gets a 29.8, but Game 2 (MSG) gets an 11.0? There's only one explanation. MSG's ratings figures are significantly flawed.
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Game 3 Draws Big Rating in Buffalo
As was noted yesterday, the game peaked over 40.0 in double OT, but the overall rating is impressive as well. NBC got a 29.8 rating (almost 200,000 households) in Buffalo. The game didn't garner much attention in NY (1.8 rating) and was beaten in the NYC area by NASCAR and a not so epic golf tournament.
Apparently the Barbaro folks were none too pleased with the Rangers/Sabres game usurping the documentary on the legendary gluestick. Combine the outrage of horse lovers everywhere and the dismal national ratings for the NHL in America and you have to wonder if NBC will make the decision to move playoff overtimes to Versus or one of NBC's cable channels in the future.
Apparently the Barbaro folks were none too pleased with the Rangers/Sabres game usurping the documentary on the legendary gluestick. Combine the outrage of horse lovers everywhere and the dismal national ratings for the NHL in America and you have to wonder if NBC will make the decision to move playoff overtimes to Versus or one of NBC's cable channels in the future.
Monday, April 30, 2007
6:00 PM, Game 3 Hit's 40 in Buffalo
Mike and the Mad Dog reported on WFAN radio that at 6:00 PM Game 3 of the Rangers/Sabres series on NBC hit a 40.0 local rating in Buffalo while doing a 4.0 in the NYC area. Nationally, the game drew a 1.3 rating and 3 share.
Full ratings details to come later.
Full ratings details to come later.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Regular Season Average & Playoff Ratings
Alan Pergament of the Buffalo News reports on what can only be described as gigantic ratings for the round 2 opener against the NY Rangers on VS. Also of note, the final game of the Islanders series and the final regular season average:
Pergament also addresses the theory that ratings on MSG are being underreported. I've been saying this since February, but the 25.2 VS rating compared to the 9.3 MSG rating seems to finalize that debate.
The game had a 25.2 rating, which is about 2 1/2 times what the Sabres’ first-round series with the New York Islanders averaged on MSG even though it was competing with a two-hour edition of “American Idol” (15.9).
The Sabres’ clinching victory over the Islanders on April 20 had only a 9.3 rating, which was lower than the average of the previous four games. The Sabres averaged a 7.0 rating during the regular season, up about 35 percent from the 5.2 they averaged a year ago.
Pergament also addresses the theory that ratings on MSG are being underreported. I've been saying this since February, but the 25.2 VS rating compared to the 9.3 MSG rating seems to finalize that debate.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Round 2 TV Schedule
The Sabres officially announced the Round two schedule this afternoon:
Versus and NBC will have exclusive rights to Games 1, 3, 4, and 6. Versus wants to capitalize on the huge draw that is a Sabres/Rangers match-up so they made sure to exercise their right to two games of exclusivity on games that will definitely be played. They'll surely be regretting that decision if the series goes to 7 games.
CBC will, in all likelihood, cover the series if Vancouver loses to Dallas in tonight's Game 7. If Vancouver advances, TSN will broadcast Round 2 in Canada.
For American fans outside of the local market, all games will be nationally televised.
Wednesday, April 25 -- 7:00 p.m.-- Buffalo -- Versus
Friday, April 27 -- 7:00 p.m.-- Buffalo -- MSG
Sunday, April 29 -- 2:00 p.m. -- New York -- NBC
Tuesday, May 1 -- 7:00 p.m. -- New York -- Versus
* Friday, May 4 -- 7:00 p.m. -- Buffalo -- MSG
* Sunday, May 6 -- 2:00 p.m. -- New York -- NBC
* Tuesday, May 8 -- 7:00 p.m. -- Buffalo -- MSG
* If necessary
Versus and NBC will have exclusive rights to Games 1, 3, 4, and 6. Versus wants to capitalize on the huge draw that is a Sabres/Rangers match-up so they made sure to exercise their right to two games of exclusivity on games that will definitely be played. They'll surely be regretting that decision if the series goes to 7 games.
CBC will, in all likelihood, cover the series if Vancouver loses to Dallas in tonight's Game 7. If Vancouver advances, TSN will broadcast Round 2 in Canada.
For American fans outside of the local market, all games will be nationally televised.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Ratings for Round 1 Low
Low is a relative term, but the average rating for the first four playoff games has to be considered a disappointment if the figures are accurate. From Alan Pergament's weekly column:
Obviously, the question that comes to mind is 'why are playoff games getting lower ratings than regular season games?' and the answer may be an inaccuracy in ratings for games aired on MSG. I speculated that something was strange with the MSG ratings in my last post. Pergament may agree:
It doesn't make sense for Buffalo to have double the ratings Pittsburgh does for Sabre/Penguins matchups on VS, triple the rating for the All-Star game, and identical ratings for regular season local games. VS has the option to pick up two games exclusively in the second round and you can bet that the potential Sabres/Rangers series would be their top choice. I fully expect ratings for these games to be in the upper 20's.
Perhaps fan overconfidence has led to the surprisingly low ratings for the first four games of the series on MSG, the only channel carrying them. They averaged about a 10.5 rating. That’s about half of what “American Idol” gets and significantly lower than many popular network series.
Obviously, the question that comes to mind is 'why are playoff games getting lower ratings than regular season games?' and the answer may be an inaccuracy in ratings for games aired on MSG. I speculated that something was strange with the MSG ratings in my last post. Pergament may agree:
Of course, the 10.5 rating would be impressive in most cities and the rating doesn’t take into account all the fans who are watching in sports bars. One local researcher also believes MSG’s ratings have been artificially low all season.
It doesn't make sense for Buffalo to have double the ratings Pittsburgh does for Sabre/Penguins matchups on VS, triple the rating for the All-Star game, and identical ratings for regular season local games. VS has the option to pick up two games exclusively in the second round and you can bet that the potential Sabres/Rangers series would be their top choice. I fully expect ratings for these games to be in the upper 20's.
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