Lowest rated Winter Classic in 5-year history
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Lowest rated Winter Classic in 5-year history
After NHL commissioner Gary Bettman called Monday’s Winter Classic “perfect,” the NHL and NBC had to be a little disappointed with the return on national television ratings.
According to the overnight ratings, the 2012 Winter Classic at Citizens Bank Park was the lowest rated game in the five-year history of the event.
The one caveat, of course, is that this was the only Winter Classic to not be held on New Year’s Day, as the NHL chose to focus on its legal holiday equivalent to not go head-to-head with the NFL on Jan. 1. That focus didn’t exactly pan out.
Here is how it stacks up, according to Sports Business Daily:
2012 - Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park - 3 o’clock start: 2.4 overnight rating (Jan. 2)
2011 - Pittsburgh’s Heinz Field - 7 o’clock start: 2.8 overnight rating
2010 - Boston’s Fenway Park - 1 o’clock start: 2.6 overnight rating
2009 - Chicago’s Wrigley Field - 1 o’clock start (Eastern time): 2.9 overnight rating
2008 - Buffalo’s Ralph Wilson Stadium - 1 o’clock start: 2.6 overnight rating
Comparatively, the Outback Bowl on ABC drew a 5.0 rating and the Rose Bowl on ESPN captured a 9.0 audience last night.
To put it in perspective, those Winter Classic ratings are roughly double what a normal, nationally-televised regular season game would produce.
Local ratings - and ratings in non-hockey markets - have not yet been released.
For the latest updates, follow Frank Seravalli on Twitter: @DNFlyers
Comments (34)
Not everyone was off on Monday. Should have been at a later time.— Sidewinder7- I guess you can say that every time Philly gets in on the Winter Classic, the ratings decrease from the previous year.— trungy
- I think that it was Tuesday, not Monday probably didn't help. That and the start time change probably kept people from watching.
— NYluvsPhylers - Two words: Patti Labelle— guyguy4
- mon afternoon was a bad idea for the game. people had to work. also college football would have a higher rating bc more people will bet on those games so that generates more interest.— MIKEI
- Interesting...what were the ratings for the Alumni game versus the real game....I bet more tuned in to see the greats than the current team.....— nuggett
- both times the flyers were in the winter classic Penn State was playing in a bowl game at the time. Make whatever jokes you want, but people around here are still going to watch Penn State.— theeman1
- Go back to playing indoors. The novelty has worn off. Besides, the Flyers can't win these outdoor games.— schnitzelboy
- Having it on Monday was the stupidest thing ever. Half the country didn't have off, something the millionaire corporate NHL shills clearly didn't realize.
Note to Bettmen: this is supposed to be the NHL's marquee event. Most agree it's one of the greatest sporting idea and events since the creation of the superbowl. The tradition is NEW YEARS DAY, and everyone knows that. Changing the date because you fear football ratings shows a serious lack of confidence in your product, not to mention that all you really care about are ratings, not the tradition or "celebration of hockey" that made fans love the WC.— dollarland 
Comment removed.- Comment removed.
- Good, never want to watch another Winter Classic with the Flyers in it. I hate starting the year in a bad mood.— cdobsox
Agreed. A lot of people were working. Since it was not on New Year's Day, then it should have been played even later in the day.— jp8899- Television and radio ratings are just a small sample multiplied by a larger factor to get a projected rating, which is bogus to begin with. Having the Winter Classic played on a day when most people were working should have been factored in. These ratings make no mention of the available measured viewing audience in relation to the actual "ratings".— jphilly77
- On the other hand, more people tuned in to watch the 3 Stooges Marathon a day earlier on Antenna TV. And Curley didn't claim his leg was hurt and watched the rest of the shows from the bench.— Wilhelm Von Humboldt
- The ratings are lower than our goals against average.— burholme
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Hey it's hockey. When are people going to stop trying to act ss if anyone other than their cultish fans really cares. I don't know which one I'm more sick of. The ridiculous over the top hype for this thing or the even more over hyped and who cares Iowa caucuces.— JLH - Flyers didn't win because they had a goalie that let in a bad goal (or two) and do NOT have the talent (a sniper...probably of a European background) to make up for it. Same old thing for 30+ years....— bvl390
- It's hokey.....what the puck!!!!— STEPHEN1988
- Bettman should go back to the NBA and leave the NHL alone..— USAFirst1
- Comment removed.
- The Three Stooges marathon was great. Kinda reminded me of a City Council meeting on steroids.— jimmymack
- Well that is a terrible gauge. As many of you stated, it was a work day for some.— LAFlyer
- If Dave Schultz would have played, the ratings would have been higher.— oakmontleo
- The novelty is wearing off. The game should have been on Jan 1 at night. A day game would have been good but of course the ice would have been an issue. They also need to have more West or South teams in the game. Imagine if the LA Kings played in Philly outdoors in the cold. People out west would be more interested.— Phillies2008WSChamps
- The novelty is wearing off. The game should have been on Jan 1 at night. A day game would have been good but of course the ice would have been an issue. They also need to have more West or South teams in the game. Imagine if the LA Kings played in Philly outdoors in the cold. People out west would be more interested.— Phillies2008WSChamps
- Small drop off for having it on a day more people worked. How about an important article about sun glare or tape vs grease.— NYPHILLYPHAN
- Winter Classic = Winter Bust. Let's put people 500 yds. from a 2 1/2 inch disc and see if anyone can tell where it is while highly paid, highly skilled players try in earnest, but futility, to make plays on the most inferior ice surface in pro hockey. All the commentators talk about during these fiascoes is the "challenges" the players have to deal with compared to a regular arena. And the point of this exercise is what, to prove hockey can't be effectively played on a baseball/football field?— icarus
- Leave it to the Philadelphia media to turn something good into a downer. I read it was the 5th most watched game in NHL history so how come we can't be happy with that? Oh yeah, Philadelphia sports writers always look for the downside to everything. I bet since it was played on the 2nd- when most people returned to work- had a lot to do with the ratings rather than the teams that played. The NHL should think about itself instead of worrying about competing with the NFL. They could have played later that night and still pulled in decent ratings.— Kanayd
- The lowers rating, but still comparable to all the other Winter Classics.— road515
- I don't know what kind of jobs most of these posters have but I had off Monday & there was NO rush hr at all. Nobody wants to see the likes of Hartnell, Callahan, Rupp, or a washed-up Jagr. They want to see the stars. These teams have no cache.— grant44
- The ratings were still respectable when compared to the other 4 Classics. Also, I agree with other posters who said it should have been on Jan. 1 instead, but I'm guessing that was probably more of an NBC decision more than an NHL decision. Also having it on Jan. 2 meant that I could go eat my traditional Jan. 1 Olive Garden dinner and not have to miss any of the game!— Pelle31
Here's a novel idea, how about dropping the all-star game and putting the winter classic in February when it could score some ratings if corporate is worried about NFL(Week 17 mind you) and the gambling of countless bowl games. What is going on in February that wouldn't attract the casual viewer of the game. NFL playoffs are done, College basketball isn't in march madness mode yet, nascar (which is not the rating giant of old) is just starting, and the nba is gearing up for there all-star game as well. Lastly, try to expand the marketing of the nhl. If not what was the point of expanding the league. I love the flyers, but maybe they should have held off a few more years. NY Rangers v Devils is a good rivalry. Maybe Rangers v Toronto (original six). The nhl doesn't do a great job of marketing the potential stars of each team. Anyway LETS GO FLYERS!— sw-sportsfan- Lots of people had to work.— astarr
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Frank Seravalli
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