The “Gr8 Chase” of Alexander Ovechkin delivered a record-setting audience for TNT Sports.
Sunday’s Washington Capitals-New York Islanders game in which Ovechkin passed Wayne Gretzky for the NHL’s all-time goals record averaged 905,000 viewers across TNT and truTV.
The historic game was the most-watched non-Winter Classic regular season game ever on TNT Sports.
According to TNT Sports PR, 1.3 million viewers were tuned in for the moment that Ovechkin broke the record.
It should be noted, Sunday’s game was non-exclusive, meaning that the Capitals and Islanders were able to air local broadcasts of the game on their regional sports networks. One would imagine that Monumental Sports Network, the local television home of the Capitals, drew a sizeable audience as well. Local viewership for Sunday’s game was not immediately available, but could provide a decent boost to the overall audience number.
Ovechkin’s record-setting game wasn’t played in the most ideal television window. The game, which started at 12:30 p.m. ET, was not at a favorable time for West Coast viewers. It also faced competition from two golf tournaments, and pregame coverage for the NCAA Women’s Basketball championship game.
Sunday’s broadcast caps a nice run of successful television events for hockey. The 4 Nations Face-Off drew massive television audiences for the sport in February, and now, Alex Ovechkin’s record sets the league up nicely for the postseason. Whether the NHL can capitalize on the added attention will be the question of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.