The NHL estimates that Sunday’s U.S.-Canada men’s hockey gold medal game could have reached 35 million viewers with a more favorable start time. NBC’s figure for the 8am ET game was 18.6 million viewers (20.7 with the USA Network replay later in the day). While that was good enough to be the most-watched sporting event ever in the U.S. with a pre-9am ET start time, the levels of homes (and bars/restaurants) using TVs goes up dramatically in the afternoon.
“That, obviously, would’ve been well above any record,” said Keith Wachtel, the NHL’s president of business, regarding the 35 million estimate for an Olympic hockey game. Wachtel, appearing on this week’s SBJ Sports Media Podcast, noted the NBC game peaking at 26 million is still a “really, really impressive number.”
The record stands at 34.2 million that ABC got for the “Miracle on Ice” game in 1980 between the U.S. and Russia in the semifinals at Lake Placid (even though it was on tape delay). The live gold medal game on ABC in 1980 between the U.S. and Finland drew 32.8 million. NBC’s record for a hockey game is 27.6 million 2010 for the Canada-U.S. overtime gold medal game, which had a 3:15pm ET start.
While the NHL would have preferred a different start time, Wachtel acknowledged that remains an IOC/NBC decision outside of NHL control. While the men’s ice hockey final was the last event of the Games, just hours before the closing ceremony, Wachtel said a Saturday night final vs. a Sunday afternoon might have been preferable. “They have broadcasters all over the world and they can’t just determine what they want to do based on North American viewership,” he said.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman also told SBJ this week that he’s already thinking about how the league can work with the IOC, IIHF and NBC to make the hockey competition even more impactful for both the NHL and the sport as a whole. In particular, the league is eyeing increased access to Olympic highlights and more ideal scheduling for big games in 2030.
