GDT #38: 1/2/2017 | 12:00 PM CST | vs Blackhawks | NBC/KMOX

[WaukeeBlues]

Agreed that the cold with snow is the absolute best but still was a great event. I've become kind of numb to the various winter classics over the years but for reasons obvious watched almost all of this one. Looks like it went off without a Hitch ( ) and obviously as the Blues won just makes it all the better.

[gaijin]

Agreed that the cold with snow is the absolute best but still was a great event. I've become kind of numb to the various winter classics over the years but for reasons obvious watched almost all of this one. Looks like it went off without a Hitch ( ) and obviously as the Blues won just makes it all the better.

I see what you did there...

Weather-wise, the only thing that could have been better is if it had been about 10 degrees colder- the mist and light drizzle would have made a nice light snowfall. Enough to see it in the air, but not enough to accumulate on the ice and interfere with the flow of play. As it was, it seemed like a fantastic event throughout.

[wik]

Wish I had been there. Should have driven over from Indy and spent the dollars. (Same could be said for the alumni game on Saturday.) Great seeing the love for my hometown on national television. Nice to see the cooperation and partnership between the two pro teams. During the game itself, I had to turn off the announcers and listen to the KMOX feed which was running 30 seconds behind the video. Maybe the league took notice of the passion of the 46,000+ fans in attendance and will one day award an ASG to STL. It's been years since we hosted one. But then again, that's just another game I'll likely be priced out of.

[Kerfuffle]

Unfortunately the game had the lowest ratings for a Winter Classic. Could be several factors such as:
1) smaller market team in this year's game
2) Hawk fatigue of too many outdoor games (we've had 5 now)
3) competing with the NHL outdoor game that took place on New Year's Day - what was Bettman thinking with that - ugh
4) novelty has worn off

I was hoping this would be a big ratings game cause I too want to see different teams in the Classic. I'd be fine if my Hawks never played another one for a long time cause we are 1-4 in these outdoor games.

[WaukeeBlues]

Unfortunately the game had the lowest ratings for a Winter Classic. Could be several factors such as:
1) smaller market team in this year's game
2) Hawk fatigue of too many outdoor games (we've had 5 now)
3) competing with the NHL outdoor game that took place on New Year's Day - what was Bettman thinking with that - ugh
4) novelty has worn off

I was hoping this would be a big ratings game cause I too want to see different teams in the Classic. I'd be fine if my Hawks never played another one for a long time cause we are 1-4 in these outdoor games.

You can add in there that not only was it not on January 1 but fell on friggen Monday the 2nd.

I was off work but lots of people weren't. January 1 is usually the sports day for big bowl games and the Winter Classic. Have to think pushing it off one day affected the ratings.

And yes, I don't feel nearly the Hawks fervor from my Blackhawks bandwagon friends as I have in years past for the team in general much less them playing yet another outdoor game as you point out.

[cardsfan04]

I hadn't heard that this had the lowest ratings. That sucks. I heard nothing but praise from the national media about it. Mike Milbury even called it the best Winter Classic ever. I'm clearly biased, but I thought it was amazing.

[gaijin]

I hadn't heard that this had the lowest ratings. That sucks. I heard nothing but praise from the national media about it. Mike Milbury even called it the best Winter Classic ever. I'm clearly biased, but I thought it was amazing.

True, but it doesn't tell the whole story- the game was the 10th most-watched regular season game on record, while being only the 2nd Winter Classic to be played on Jan 2nd. And it got roughly 1.5 million more viewers on average than the Centennial Classic, which was on Jan 1st. Also, the most-streamed regular season game in history.

From http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nhl-winter ... 54650.html

We brought you the 2017 Winter Classic overnights earlier, but the final number for the Chicago Blackhawks and the St. Louis Blues was a 1.54 rating and an average of 2.557 million viewers for the Jan. 2 game – the 10th most-watched NHL regular season game on record; but, in the end, it was the smallest audience for a Winter Classic on NBC. The previous low was last season between the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins at 2.8 million viewers, which had a Canadian market as one of the teams.

Keep in mind this is only the second Winter Classic to be played on Jan. 2.

The good news for the NHL is that that game still won its time slot in St. Louis and Chicago. Most interestingly, it set an NHL regular-season record for most unique streams of the game at 84,000.

[glen a richter]

Great game but I'm still not a fan of the outdoor events. The variables associated with an outdoor game that aren't present in the constant environment of any arena make it inherently unfair to hold as a regular season event. Unless they rip the roof off every arena so there's a chance of rain, snow, sun glare, high winds, etc... the outdoor game should be reserved for the all-star event. When the ice is up, you can have a local tourney for the kids, the skills events, Legends of the game the night before under the lights and an early afternoon ASG. Make a long weekend out of it.

[Toasted Oates]

Unfortunately the game had the lowest ratings for a Winter Classic. Could be several factors such as:
1) smaller market team in this year's game
2) Hawk fatigue of too many outdoor games (we've had 5 now)
3) competing with the NHL outdoor game that took place on New Year's Day - what was Bettman thinking with that - ugh
4) novelty has worn off

I was hoping this would be a big ratings game cause I too want to see different teams in the Classic. I'd be fine if my Hawks never played another one for a long time cause we are 1-4 in these outdoor games.

https://twitter.com/NBCSportsPR/status/816297546830200832 https://twitter.com/NBCSportsPR/status/816297671195578370 https://twitter.com/NBCSportsPR/status/816405214198636544 Better luck next time.

[theohall]

I hadn't heard that this had the lowest ratings. That sucks. I heard nothing but praise from the national media about it. Mike Milbury even called it the best Winter Classic ever. I'm clearly biased, but I thought it was amazing.

Per NHL Tonight, had the best television ratings ever for a Blues game. Gretzky's 1st game as a Blues player is now 2nd.

Thanks, TO. Hey, Kerfuffle, don't let your bias get in the way of writing truthful posts or just go ahead and keep acting like today's journalists who write/tweet/talk about what people say without actually verifying the facts....

[Kerfuffle]

I hadn't heard that this had the lowest ratings. That sucks. I heard nothing but praise from the national media about it. Mike Milbury even called it the best Winter Classic ever. I'm clearly biased, but I thought it was amazing.

Per NHL Tonight, had the best television ratings ever for a Blues game. Gretzky's 1st game as a Blues player is now 2nd.

Thanks, TO. Hey, Kerfuffle, don't let your bias get in the way of writing truthful posts or just go ahead and keep acting like today's journalists who write/tweet/talk about what people say without actually verifying the facts....

Nothing I said was untruthful. gaijin posted the same article above that I was referring to - please read it next time before you go on the attack. And here's another one --> http://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2017/01 ... lackhawks/

The NHL’s biggest outdoor game attracted its smallest audience for a third straight year.

The Blackhawks/Blues NHL Winter Classic had a 1.5 rating and 2.6 million viewers on NBC Monday afternoon, per Nielsen fast-nationals — down a tick in ratings and 8% in viewership from Canadiens/Bruins last year (1.6, 2.8M) and down 21% and 26% respectively from Blackhawks/Capitals in 2015 (1.9, 3.5M). The previous Winter Classic to take place on January 2, Rangers/Flyers in 2012, had a 2.1 and 3.7 million.

The Blues’ win ranks as the lowest rated and least-watched Winter Classic yet (nine telecasts), falling below the previous lows set last year. Since hitting a 2.5 rating and 4.4 million in 2014, the first year after a lockout-induced hiatus, ratings and viewership for the event have declined each subsequent year.

Monday’s game delivered the 11th-largest NHL regular season audience since the league returned to NBC in the 2005-06 season, behind the previous eight Winter Classics, a 2014 Penguins/Blackhawks Stadium Series game (2.8M) and a two-game regional window that kicked off the abbreviated 2013 season (2.8M).

Locally, the game had a 15.5 rating in St. Louis — the market’s best ever for the regular season on NBC. In Chicago, it had a 7.4 rating, down 35% from the Blackhawks’ previous Winter Classic appearance two years ago (11.4) and down 37% from the Chicago-hosted Winter Classic in 2009 (11.. Overall, ratings were up across the metered markets, rising from a 1.8 last year to a 1.9.

On New Year’s Day, the Red Wings/Maple Leafs Centennial Classic scored a 0.6 and 1.1 million viewers opposite Week 17 of the NFL season, peaking at 1.6 million during the final quarter-hour.

[cardsfan04]

I think what happened is that the overnight ratings showed a slight uptick over last year's game, but that was unofficial. When the ratings number became official, it was a downtick over last year's game.

Honestly though, I really don't care. The ratings for the game hadn't even crossed my mind until I saw the discussion here. I think the game was awesome and how many people watched the game nationally doesn't change that. I hope we can do it again.

[Kerfuffle]

I think what happened is that the overnight ratings showed a slight uptick over last year's game, but that was unofficial. When the ratings number became official, it was a downtick over last year's game.

Honestly though, I really don't care. The ratings for the game hadn't even crossed my mind until I saw the discussion here. I think the game was awesome and how many people watched the game nationally doesn't change that. I hope we can do it again.

It's important only cause it may impact Bettman's decision with the league on what teams to feature going forward. I think we are all in agreement here that we'd like to see it expand to include lots of other teams.

[cardsfan04]

I think what happened is that the overnight ratings showed a slight uptick over last year's game, but that was unofficial. When the ratings number became official, it was a downtick over last year's game.

Honestly though, I really don't care. The ratings for the game hadn't even crossed my mind until I saw the discussion here. I think the game was awesome and how many people watched the game nationally doesn't change that. I hope we can do it again.

It's important only cause it may impact Bettman's decision with the league on what teams to feature going forward. I think we are all in agreement here that we'd like to see it expand to include lots of other teams.

Yeah, for sure. But, if we're going to look at it in that context, it's extremely relevant that:

-the Monday afternoon Winter Classic blew the NYD Sunday afternoon Centennial Classic out of the water ratings-wise
-Chicago ratings were up 26% over last year's Chicago outdoor game
-NHL execs and national media were overwhelmingly complementary of St. Louis

Sure, they'll look at the ratings. But, they won't look at them in a vacuum. They will look at the context and I think they will look at St. Louis' participation favorably.

[crazyhorse]

I think what happened is that the overnight ratings showed a slight uptick over last year's game, but that was unofficial. When the ratings number became official, it was a downtick over last year's game.

Honestly though, I really don't care. The ratings for the game hadn't even crossed my mind until I saw the discussion here. I think the game was awesome and how many people watched the game nationally doesn't change that. I hope we can do it again.

It's important only cause it may impact Bettman's decision with the league on what teams to feature going forward. I think we are all in agreement here that we'd like to see it expand to include lots of other teams.

Yeah, for sure. But, if we're going to look at it in that context, it's extremely relevant that:

-the Monday afternoon Winter Classic blew the NYD Sunday afternoon Centennial Classic out of the water ratings-wise
-Chicago ratings were up 26% over last year's Chicago outdoor game
-NHL execs and national media were overwhelmingly complementary of St. Louis

Sure, they'll look at the ratings. But, they won't look at them in a vacuum. They will look at the context and I think they will look at St. Louis' participation favorably.

The Monday afternoon thing is major. A lot of family and friends had to work that day!

[Toasted Oates]

Man! Seems I was too eager to flame you, Kerfuffle, so I owe you an apology. Those "tweets" were indeed unofficial.

Agree with the cardsfan on every post, though. We are far from a spoiled fanbase, so it was just nice to see the Blues in a game like that, against that team, and win.

Ratings be damned, that was (for once) a sweet Blues memory.