Opening Night Tripleheader is NBCSN’s Most-Watched Multi-Game Opening Night on Record and Up 29% vs. Last Season’s Opening Night Doubleheader
Penguins-Flyers is NBC Sports’ Most-Streamed Regular-Season Game on Record; Last Night is NBC Sports’ Most-Streamed Opening Night on Record
STAMFORD, Conn. – Jan. 14, 2021 – The first game of the 2020-21 NHL season between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 972,000 viewers last night on NBCSN, making it the network’s most-watched regular-season game on record.
The Opening Night tripleheader on NBCSN, which also included Chicago at Tampa Bay and St. Louis at Colorado, averaged a TAD of 774,000 viewers, making it the network’s most-watched multi-game Opening Night on record and up 29% from last year’s doubleheader (600,000).
Digitally, the 2020-21 Opening Night tripleheader is NBC Sports’ most-streamed Opening Night on record with 17.3 million minutes and 285,000 unique devices, up 75% and 72%, respectively, vs. last year’s Opening Night doubleheader.
“We’re thrilled with these Opening Night tripleheader viewership results and that the league was willing to take a chance on our recommendation to start the season with Penguins-Flyers in the late afternoon,” said Sam Flood, executive producer, NBC Sports. “We can now add the most-watched Opening Night cable game on record to our impressive list of NHL viewership milestones, which includes the most-watched regular-season on record and the most-watched NHL game on record, among others.”
Average viewership for the Flyers’ 6-3 win over the Penguins (5:15-8:06 p.m. ET) surpassed NBCSN’s previous Opening Night record set in 2014 for Flyers-Bruins (966,000) and also making it the most-watched Opening Night cable game on record. Last night’s game peaked with 1.264 million viewers from 7:30-7:45 p.m. ET and averaged a 0.48 HH rating.
Penguins-Flyers is also NBC Sports’ most-streamed NHL regular-season game on record, totaling 7 million minutes and 152,000 unique devices.
Following are the Top Five markets for Penguins-Flyers on NBCSN (out of 44 markets):
| Rank | Market | Rating |
| 1 | Pittsburgh | 9.35 |
| 2 | Philadelphia | 4.72 |
| 3 | Las Vegas | 1.33 |
| 4 | Tampa-St. Petersburg | 1.25 |
| 5 | Charlotte | 0.88 |
The defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning revealed their banner and then defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 5-1. The game (8:06-10:54 p.m. ET) averaged a TAD of 880,000 viewers and a 0.46 HH rating.
In the final game of the night, the St. Louis Blues defeated the Colorado Avalanche 4-1. The game (10:54 p.m. – 1:14 a.m. ET), which was blacked out locally in Denver, averaged 403,000 viewers and a 0.23 HH rating.
Following are the Top Five markets for all three Opening Night games on NBCSN (out of 44 markets):
| Rank | Market | Rating |
| 1 | Pittsburgh | 3.90 |
| 2 | St. Louis | 2.28 |
| 3 | Tampa-St. Petersburg | 2.02 |
| 4 | Philadelphia | 1.90 |
| 5 | Las Vegas | 1.58 |
--NBC SPORTS GROUP--