it's looking like the ratings for the gold medal games were huge, as one might expect.
confirmed.
"Sunday afternoon?s USA vs. Canada gold medal hockey game, that NBC?s Bob Costas called, ?One of the greatest sports events I have ever seen,? was the most-watched hockey game in 30 years. Canada?s epic 3-2 overtime victory (3:20-6:13 p.m. ET) drew an average viewership of 27.6 million, the most watched hockey broadcast of any kind since the USA vs. Finland 1980 gold medal game in Lake Placid on Feb. 24, 1980 (32.8 million)."
(source) (not too surprising: top metered markets = Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Detroit)
"To put the numbers in perspective, Sunday's game drew a higher overnight rating than every World Series game since 2004 (including every game of Yankees/Phillies last year), every NBA Finals telecast since 1998, and every NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four game since at least '98."
(source) "Sunday?s gold-medal Olympic men?s hockey game became the most-watched TV broadcast in Canadian history, with an average audience of 16.6 million viewers.
The peak viewership was estimated at 22 million people ? or two-thirds of Canada?s population ? who watched when Sidney Crosby scored in overtime as Canada beat the United States 3-2.
Nearly half the Canadian population watched the entire game on average, while 80 per cent of Canadians watched some part of the game (26.5 million)."
(source)
