OMG! That means 17.6% of the whole population watched that game on NBC. Oh my! 

Posted by Vague numbers on 03/01/10 at 09:52 AM ET

A little clarification Vague numbers, it means of the people who had their TV on, 17.6% watched the game.

Posted by Paul from Motown Area on 03/01/10 at 09:56 AM ET

OMG! That means 17.6% of the whole population watched that game on NBC. Oh my!

no, it means 17.6 of the audience currently watching tv were watching that..

i think..

and since it was out of prime time…

the numbers awesome, but it’s not like 17% of 300 odd million

Posted by Pharazon from England on 03/01/10 at 09:56 AM ET

The most commonly cited Nielsen results are reported in two measurements: ratings points and share, usually reported as: “ratings points/share”. As of September 1, 2009, there are an estimated 114.9 million television households in the United States. A single national ratings point represents one percent of the total number, or 114,900,000 households for the 2009–10 season.

By my math that means 20.222…. million people watched the Gold Medal game.

I’d be curious to know what the share was.

Posted by Primis on 03/01/10 at 09:58 AM ET

Can’t wait to see CTV’s numbers.

Posted by Doug from London ON on 03/01/10 at 09:59 AM ET

Or scratch that, 20.222.. million television HOUSEHOLDS.

Posted by Primis on 03/01/10 at 10:03 AM ET

Or scratch that, 20.222.. million television HOUSEHOLDS.

average 2.4 persons per hh…

thats 50million people…

no way can that be right…

Posted by Pharazon from England on 03/01/10 at 10:09 AM ET

Yesterday’s rating was 45% higher than Salt Lake City.

Posted by Paul from Motown Area on 03/01/10 at 10:17 AM ET

average 2.4 persons per hh…

thats 50million people…

no way can that be right…

Posted by Pharazon from England on 03/01/10 at 10:09 AM ET

I did some searching and that is indeed the number that is being reported by multiple sources.

So yes, it is probably right.  I don’t know about the 2.4 per household average necessarily.  50 million out of a nation of 304 million people doesn’t seem unreasonable though for something that was this big and this hyped, and on a weekend.

Immediately after the winning goal I left the house and drove into town to catch my wife and kids for supper (they’d left when OT started).  I can tell you that it was somewhat dead out for a Sunday evening, and the restaurant was almost empty when I got there, despite it being right smack in the middle of dinner time.

Posted by Primis on 03/01/10 at 10:23 AM ET

Buffalo had a 32.0 rating for the game.

Posted by Paul from Motown Area on 03/01/10 at 10:24 AM ET

Paul -

Tony from The Confluence (via his Twitter) has reported a 31 rating in Pittsburgh with a peak of 40.

Posted by Primis on 03/01/10 at 10:31 AM ET

Either way, that number is outstanding for hockey fans. 

I’m hoping that a good portion of this interest carries over to the regular season and into the playoffs.

Maybe then, the NHL will have enough bargaining power to get away from NBC…

Posted by J.J. from Kansas on 03/01/10 at 10:38 AM ET

Sunday’s game drew a higher overnight rating than every World Series game since 2004, and every NBA Finals telecast since 1998, and every NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four game since at least ‘98….

Posted by Tony from Virginia Beach, VA on 03/01/10 at 10:43 AM ET

apart from the NFL it’s the 2nd highest ratings sporting event of the year behind the BCS title game

Posted by Pharazon from England on 03/01/10 at 10:43 AM ET

Maybe then, the NHL will have enough bargaining power to get away from NBC…
Posted by J.J. from Kansas on 03/01/10 at 10:38 AM ET

PRETTY PLEASE.

Posted by MOWingsfan19 on 03/01/10 at 11:00 AM ET

Hockey 2nd behind the NFL? I think thats a position most people would be pretty happy with. Now please, either make VS into a real sports network (like get it on every TV and have less fishing/hunting shows) or get the NHL onto ESPN.

Posted by Kstewy16 on 03/01/10 at 11:19 AM ET

Now please, either make VS into a real sports network (like get it on every TV and have less fishing/hunting shows) or get the NHL onto ESPN.

How about TBS/TNT along with ESPN? Why do we have to be tied to one channel? More exposure this way.  Yeah get out of VS and Comcast they are horrible. They are screwing DirecTV customers out of hockey.

Go Wings!!!

Posted by Mike from Metro Detroit on 03/01/10 at 12:06 PM ET

17.6% of 114.9 m = 20, 222, 400 tvs. if you average that to 3 people per television thats approximately 60m people. add to that the fact that millions of bars played this game which equals about 10 people per tv and im sure you have at least 20-30 million people. subtract children ages 4 and below which im sure is abotu 5-10% of the population. you’re talking about approximately 100 - 140 m people watching the game meaning approximately 40% + of the population.

Posted by Shawn on 03/01/10 at 12:38 PM ET

Puck the Media has more detailed information, including indvidual markets.

Posted by Paul from Motown Area on 03/01/10 at 02:59 PM ET