With the NHL setting an attendance record for a single game yesterday (71,217) at the outdoor Winter Classic between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Buffalo Sabres at Ralph Wilson Stadium, they have more to crow about today: national television ratings.

The game that was “classic” in more ways than one, pulled in an impressive 2.6 overnight rating and a 5 share on NBC. To place that in perspective, it was the highest television rating for the NHL since a six-game regional telecast on Fox drew a 3.0 overnight rating and a 7 share on Feb. 3, 1996. As reported by The AP:

"We're delighted by the success of this historic event," NBC Sports president Ken Schanzer said. "The Winter Classic exposed hockey to a larger audience and definitely made new fans of the game."

The Winter Classic ratings also surpassed Wayne Gretzky's final game, which was broadcast on Fox on April 18, 1999, and drew a 2.5/6.

The Buffalo and Pittsburgh markets led the ratings, at 38.2/58 and 17.7/30, respectively. But markets such as Sacramento, Calif., St. Louis and Denver also drew strong ratings, even though the game went up against a number of college football bowl games, including an intriguing Capital One Bowl between Florida and Michigan.

A single national ratings point represents one percent of the total number, or 1,128,000 households for the 2006-07 season. Share is the percentage of television sets in use tuned to the program.

Maury Brown is the founder and president of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football ,The Biz of Basketball, and The Biz of Hockey. He is a contributor to Baseball Prospectus, Basketball Prospectus and is an available writer for other media outlets.

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