Stamford, CONN. (May 26, 2008)—VERSUS, the exclusive cable television home of the NHL, garnered a 1.8 national HH rating and 2,315,824 total viewers (P2+) for its Game 1 telecast of the 2008 Stanley Cup Final on Saturday, May 24, when the Detroit Red Wings shut out the Pittsburgh Penguins, 4-0, at Joe Louis Arena. This was the highest-rated and most-watched game in the Stanley Cup Final round on cable since 2002.
The 1.8 HH rating is the highest national rating ever for an NHL game on VERSUS, beating the previous high set on May 11, when the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 2 of the 2008 Eastern Conference Final. The 1.8 HH rating is the second best rating ever in the entire history of the network (VS/OLN), behind only Lance Armstrong’s final ride in the 2005 Tour de France (7/24/05, 2.1 HH rating). The Red Wings’ victory in Game 1 of the 2008 Stanley Cup Final was also the most watched telecast in the history of the network among Men 25-54 (VS/OLN). The 1.8 HH rating is up 157 percent from last year’s Game 1 rating (.7) and up 100 percent from Game 1 of the 2006 Stanley Cup Final (.9).
Locally, the Detroit market received an 8.4 HH rating, making VERSUS the #1 rated cable network for the time period. The Pittsburgh market garnered a 19.0 HH rating which propelled VERSUS to the #1 rated television network for the time period.
VERSUS entered the 2008 Stanley Cup Final with tremendous momentum based on ratings and viewership gains in the regular season and through each round of the playoffs. During the Conference Final round, in which VERSUS aired nine exclusive games, the network witnessed dramatic increases in household ratings (up 71%), total viewership (up 77%) and viewership among Men 18-34 (up 152%), Men 18-49 (up 109%) and Men 25-54 (up 79%), making it the best-rated, most watched Conference Finals since 2002.
*All 5/24/08 figures are based on preliminary Nielsen Media research.
VERSUS celebrates real competition in all its forms across all platforms (VERSUS.com, VERSUS on Demand and VERSUS HD). Now in more than 73 million homes, the network is the national cable home of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Stanley Cup Playoffs as well as best-in-class events such as The Tour de France, Davis Cup Tennis, the Professional Bull Riders (PBR), World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) and Professional Boxing. The network also offers collegiate sports featuring nationally-ranked teams from top conferences such as the Pac-10, Big 12 and Mountain West. VERSUS features the best field sports programming on television and is a destination for sports fans, athletes and sportsmen to find exclusive, competitive events that audiences can’t find elsewhere. VERSUS, a wholly owned company of Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA, CMCSK), is distributed via cable systems and satellite operators throughout the United States.
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Remember, many Detroit viewers had the CBC as well, so that may be the reason Versus drew only an 8.0 in Detroit. Also, you know, the Pistons. Also, they were the home team, so some of the potential viewing audience is slowed there as well.
