Its great to see the NHL getting more viewers. I think the Winter Classic is the coolest sporting event of the year hands down, even better than the Super Bowl in my opinion. I have been a long time advocate of more and better hockey coverage, and it appears that this trend is on the upward swing.

Great job NHL, keep the Winter Classic alive and keep it interesting. Next year it would be great to see some Canadian teams, maybe the Leafs and Habs?

GO WINGS!!!

Ryan
http://www.livewell360.com

Posted by Ryan from Detroit on 01/02/09 at 01:56 PM ET

I’d love an all-Canadian matchup as well but the point of the WC is to connect to a larger United States audience so they’re going to keep with the formula as it is:  two US-based teams with large fanbases in the US in a compelling atmosphere.

After all, this Gary.Blow Me.Ass we’re talking about here.

Posted by SYF from Las Vegas, NV on 01/02/09 at 02:00 PM ET

They should make one of the three Hockey Day in Canada games an outside one.

Posted by Paul from Motown Area on 01/02/09 at 02:02 PM ET

They should make one of the three Hockey Day in Canada games an outside one.

Posted by Paul from Motown Area on 01/02/09 at 02:02 PM ET

Frickin’ brilliant, Paul!

Posted by SYF from Las Vegas, NV on 01/02/09 at 02:04 PM ET

Thats good to hear. You can’t expect the ratings to go up every year, but the fact that they did go up makes it clear they can continue doing this for a while without people getting sick of it.

Posted by Kevin from Pittsburgh on 01/02/09 at 02:14 PM ET

Nice to see they went up but with the teams involved that was a given. I would have expected the ratings to be even higher with Chi and Detroit. Although they do have some good competition on Jan 1 from all the football. Eventually they are going to run out of places to play an outdoor game. One game a year is fine but be honest...hockey is not meant to be watched at Wrigley Field from a distance of 50-60 yards in artic conditions. If Chicago played all their games there they wouldn’t draw 500 people. The quality of play is also significantly deminished....Oh..and the Blackhawks are way overrated. First round elimination most likely.....

Posted by kevin from boston on 01/02/09 at 02:24 PM ET

Montreal v. Boston at Fenway?

The view from the Green Monster seats would rock.

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 01/02/09 at 02:27 PM ET

Lets also consider that this year their were less college bowl games on New Years day. In fact last year they had 6 bowl games 2 of which were on the same time as the winter classic. This year their were only 5 bowl games on New Years day, and only 1 game Iowa vs South Carolina even went head to head for more then 2 periods with the WC. An Iowa vs SC game is not going to really hurt the NHL ratings, so it’s kind of natural that the ratings went up somewhat. I doubt it had anything too do with the Blackhawks playing in the game, or the game being at Wrigley Field.

Still the NHL would do much better in ratings imo, if they made it a more east vs west type matchup, because I think you would attrach a much wider national audience. It would be interesting to see the regional numbers on the Neilsen Ratings.

Posted by Roy from detroit on 01/02/09 at 02:38 PM ET

Lets also consider that this year their were less college bowl games on New Years day. In fact last year they had 6 bowl games 2 of which were on the same time as the winter classic. This year their were only 5 bowl games on New Years day, and only 1 game Iowa vs South Carolina even went head to head for more then 2 periods with the WC. An Iowa vs SC game is not going to really hurt the NHL ratings, so it’s kind of natural that the ratings went up somewhat. I doubt it had anything too do with the Blackhawks playing in the game, or the game being at Wrigley Field.

You said that only 1 NCAA bowl game went against the WC. There were actually 3 games not 1 games that went against the WC. 2 bowl Games started at the exact same time as the WC and in the middle of another bowl game.

2009
-------
Outback Jan. 1
11 a.m.  Tampa, FL Iowa 31, South Carolina 10 ESPN

Capital One Jan. 1
1 p.m.  Orlando, FL Georgia 24, Michigan State 12 ABC

Konica Minolta Gator Jan. 1
1 p.m.  Jacksonville, FL Nebraska 26, Clemson 21 CBS

Posted by Bill from Pittsburgh on 01/02/09 at 02:55 PM ET

Paul - excellent idea, but, will you be moving up Hockey Day in Canada to earlier in the season? Not sure what the average February temperature is in Edmonton but I’m thinking it would make the first outdoor game seem balmy by comparison.

Posted by mc keeper on 01/02/09 at 03:58 PM ET

They should make one of the three Hockey Day in Canada games an outside one.

Paul, Gary and his marketing department hate Canadians. You of all people should know that. He’s more interested in the families living in such hockey hot bed areas as Key Largo, FL, Birmingham, AL, Odessa, TX, Albuquerque, NM and small mountain towns in Sweden. Next up is Mexico City, the gateway to the growing Latino community. You know its coming, its just a matter of when.

Posted by UMFan from Colorado on 01/02/09 at 05:12 PM ET

There’s no reason for Bettman to like Canada. A typical NHL game in Canada gets 3 million viewers. Hockey is Canada’s national pastime and that number is never going to change. In the US a broadcast can get the same amount of viewers and hockey is a niche sport here. He can actually make an argument that you can “grow” the sport in the US. Canada is what it is...unless they can double their population in a year or two

Posted by kevin from boston on 01/02/09 at 06:40 PM ET