SPORTS WRAP: NHL, NCAA Football Ring In The New Year

Each week, Nielsen analysts offer their take on the biggest sports media headlines.

The NHL is hoping old acquaintances will provide an unforgettable New Year’s Day in its second annual Winter Classic. The Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks – two of the original six hockey teams – will drop the puck outdoors at historic Wrigley Field- home to baseball’s Chicago Cubs.

Last year’s inaugural outdoor game provided a memorable tableaux, with Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby carving through the Buffalo snow to score the winning goal in an overtime shootout in front of the NHL’s largest regular season television audience since Wayne Gretzky’s retirement in 1999.

If the NHL hopes to top last year’s Winter Classic, it certainly has the conditions in its favor. The Red Wings won the Stanley Cup last year in a series that was the leagues highest-rated in five years. This season, the Red Wings average a 3.5 local household rating in Detroit (aka “Hockeytown, USA”) - third among all NHL clubs.

The Blackhawks, meanwhile, are more than doubling their average audience in Chicago over last season with an average 1.2 household rating and 43,000 household viewers.  They’re also leading the league in attendance, thanks in part to their nine-game winning streak riding into Wrigley. And with the forecast calling for a 30% chance of snow in the Windy City Thursday, the scene may well be as visually pleasing as last year’s Classic.

The programming window for the NHL’s Winter Classic is helped in part by the Bowl Championship Series’s decision within the last decade to move three bowl games off New Year’s Day. The National Championship Game, as it has since 2007, airs a full week after the first of the year, with this year’s contest between the Florida Gators and the Oklahoma Sooners kicking off January 8 on FOX.

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SPORTS WRAP: Unwrapping NBA Christmas Day Ratings

NBA fans will have quite a few presents to unwrap on Christmas Day, with none bigger than the Boston Celtics-Los Angeles Lakers matchup on ABC. The teams square off for the first time since last year’s NBA Finals. When the Celtics defeated the Lakers for their 17^th championship in June, the series received an average of 14.9 million viewers, the most for the NBA Finals in five years.

Since ABC obtained NBA broadcasting rights in 2002, the network’s Christmas Day games have averaged a 4.1 rating and 6.9 million viewers nationally. The highest mark came in 2004 when the Lakers and Heat (featuring a much-anticipated reunion between Kobe and Shaq) pulled a 7.3 rating and 13.2 million viewers.

The San Antonio Spurs and Phoenix Suns officially tip off ABC’s broadcast season at 2:40pm ET Christmas Day.  Last year, the NBA on ABC averaged a 2.2 national rating, up 10% from 06-07.

Aside from the two ABC games, the NBA offers a few Christmas stocking stuffers, with the Hornets-Magic at noon on ESPN and two nightcaps (Wizards-Cavs and Mavs-Blazers) on TNT. The NBA’s cable ratings remain steady through the first two months of the season after ESPN and TNT boasted 20% and 10% increases in viewership last year, respectively.

SPORTS WRAP: Cowboys Star in Primetime Ratings, NFL Network Builds Its Audience

NFL games airing in primetime are breaking records this season, and they share one common denominator: the Dallas Cowboys.

First it was the thrilling September 15th matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles on ESPN’s Monday Night Football.  The Cowboys prevailed in a 41-37 shootout watched by 18.6 million viewers, the most ever for a cable program.

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In November, Sports Websites Continue Audience Surge

More than 78 million Americans visited sports websites in November, a 5% increase over the same month last year. 
 
Yahoo! Sports was the top sports site, drawing nearly 23 million unique visitors last month – a 2% jump from a year ago.  In November, the average Yahoo! Sports user spent 20% more time on the site, compared to last year.
 
ESPN.com placed second in Nielsen’s ranking, but showed the greatest increase in unique visitors (+12%).  ESPN’s users also logged on for 20% more sessions last month than in November 2007.
 
NFL Internet Network, FOX Sports on MSN, and CBS Sports rounded out the top five.

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Sports Wrap: NCAA Football Season Review, Heisman Preview

National Ratings [updated 12/12]
Last Saturday’s SEC Championship added another notch to a record-breaking year in sports television. The Florida Gators defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide in front of 15.1 million CBS viewers and 9.3% of the nation’s households, making it the most watched SEC Championship ever and the highest rating for a non-bowl college game since 2006.

Meanwhile, ABC’s Saturday Night Football had its own share of ratings success with six of the top seven rated contests this season. The network averaged 8.2 million viewers and a 5.0 household rating for its eleven primetime broadcasts in 2008, up 29% over last year.

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2008: A Record-Breaking Year Of Sports Viewing

Was 2008 the best sports year ever?  At least in terms of viewer interest, there’s plenty of evidence to support that argument.  Consider these TV sports highlights from 2008:

-The most-watched global event ever (2008 Beijing Summer Olympics: 4.7 billion viewers)

-The most-watched Super Bowl ever (Giants-Patriots, Super Bowl XLII: 97.5 million viewers)

-The most-watched cable broadcast of all time (Cowboys-Eagles, Monday Night Football: 18.6 million viewers)

-The most-watched cable golf event of all time (Tiger vs. Rocco, U.S. Open Playoff: 4.8 million viewers)

-The most-watched cable baseball game ever (Red Sox-Rays, ALCS Game 7: 13.4 million viewers)

-The most-watched NBA Finals in five years (Celtics-Lakers, NBA Championship Series average: 14.9 million viewers)

-The most-watched NHL regular season game in nine years; most-watched finals in five years (Winter Classic: 2.5 million viewers; Stanley Cup, Penguins–Red Wings average: 4.5 million viewers)

-The most-watched Wimbledon final in eight years (Federer-Nadal: 5.2 million viewers)

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SPORTS WRAP: NHL Teams On Ratings Power Play

Analysis of local ratings for the start of the NHL season shows 12 U.S. teams with double-digit percentage increases in viewership compared to the same time period a year ago. The Buffalo Sabres remain the highest-rated NHL team with an 8.9 average household rating in their market –and boast a 14% increase in viewership from 2007 as well.  The Pittsburgh Penguins are in the number two slot, with a 5.7 local rating, a 21% increase over last season.

NHL Local Ratings Box Score
• The Washington Capitals‘ ratings are up 140% compared to a year ago, thanks in part to reigning NHL MVP, Alex Ovechkin, continuing his great play and leading the Caps to first place in the Southeast division.
• The Chicago Blackhawks are televising all of their regular season home games for the first time, and viewers are responding to their exciting young team with a 71% boost in average ratings from last season.
• Not only are the San Jose Sharks on top of their division, they also have an impressive 50% increase over last season’s ratings in the SF-SJ-OAK Market..
• While economic conditions may be slowing Colorado Avalanche attendance, it may be helping the ratings: The Avs’ viewership is up 36% in Denver.
• The New York Rangers and Los Angeles Kings, who skate in the nation’s two largest markets, are also outperforming last season, both with 33% increases in local viewership.
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Webinar Preview: Super Buzz Or Super Blues?

In this video preview of a Dec. 4 Nielsen Online webinar: “Super Buzz or Super Blues? Maximizing Media Returns” Pete Blackshaw, EVP Digital Strategic Services, Nielsen Online, discusses how search, social media engagement, and word of mouth contribute to ROI in the Super Bowl advertising playbook.

Webinar details at Nielsen Online.

SPORTS WRAP: NBA Teams Putting Up Big Local Numbers

Less than a month into watching the NBA season, Nielsen has spotted some noticeable trends, including several teams outscoring last year’s ratings in their local markets. While the San Antonio Spurs are still the highest-rated NBA team with a 6.8 Average Household Rating in their market, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Portland Trailblazers are close behind, thanks to large increases in viewership compared to this time period last season.

NBA Local Ratings Box Score

• The New Orleans Hornets ratings are up 163% compared to a year ago, thanks in large part to last year’s come-from-nowhere victory of their division.
• In Cleveland, fans witnessed the high flying Lebron James lead the Cavs to an eight-game winning streak, which fueled a109% lift in ratings from last season.
• Atlanta and Portland, two teams loaded with young talent, have captured the attention of their markets, with a 97% and 44% increase in their local ratings respectively.
• In Orlando, Dwight Howard and the Magic are atop their division, and are also enjoying a 26% boost in viewership compared to last season.
• The New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers, who benefit from the nation‘s two largest markets, are also outperforming last season, with 17% and 14% increases.

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Primetime Broadcast Ratings, November 19, 2008

CBS’s “Criminal Minds” and “CSI: NY” were the number one and number two-ranked primetime telecasts on broadcast TV for Wednesday, November 19, 2008.

FOX’s “Bones” rounded out the top three with 10.8 million average viewers.

Overall, CBS won the night with an average audience of almost 12.8 million viewers,
while FOX took second place with almost 8.3 million average viewers. NBC and ABC
claimed third and fourth places with roughly 6.1 million and 5.9 million average viewers,
respectively. UNI and the CW followed in fifth and sixth places with average
audiences of roughly 4.4 million and 3.5 million average viewers, respectively.