Yup, Chicago Still Loves Its Hockey Way, Way More Than L.A. Does
(CBS) The Blackhawks' thrilling 5-4 double-overtime win against the Kings in Game 5 of the Western Conference Final last night drew a lot of attention in Chicago.
It didn't draw much in Los Angeles.
Televised on NBC Sports Network, the contest drew a 16.3 rating in the Chicago market, according to Comcast Sports Network senior director of communications Jeff Nuich. That amounts to 576,000-plus homes tuned in, Nuich reported. The Los Angeles market drew a 3.0 rating, which equates to about 169,000-plus homes.
[tweet https://twitter.com/JeffNuich/status/472016574241837056 width="340"]
The Blackhawks' audience size is of little surprise, as they led all NHL teams based in the U.S. in regular-season ratings, averaging 153,000 homes per game, according to Forbes.com.
For context, the Blackhawks' series-clinching victory against the Bruins in last summer's Stanley Cup Final drew a 30.2 rating in the Chicago market, which meant an average of 1.057 million households in the area watched the game. That game, of course, was televised on NBC.
For more comparison between Chicago and Los Angeles, Game 6 of Blackhawks-Bruins drew a 5.6 national rating, which was 40 percent higher than Game 6 the year before between the Kings and Devils in 2012.