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If the TV rating for the Buffalo Sabres’ 1-0 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs is any indication, Sabre Fever already is very high.
The game had an 18.9 rating on MSG, which was 50 percent higher than the Sabres’ 2-1 victory over the Boston Bruins (12.2) in a first-round playoff game in 2010.
Of course, the Sabres game was the top-rated program on all of TV locally Thursday night by a wide margin.
The second-place show Thursday was Fox’s “American Idol,” which had an 11.8 rating, which is low for that popular program.
By comparison, the 18.9 rating was much higher than four of the six games against the Bruins in last year’s playoffs.
The only two games that were higher last year were Game 2 (20.5), which was carried by NBC, and the final Sabres loss in the series in game six (19.7).
As high as Sabres Fever is during this year’s playoffs, it is nowhere near what Bills fever usually is during the regular season. Bills regular season games typically get ratings in the high 20s, as well as the 30s and even the 40s on occasion.
And that’s despite the fact that the Bills haven’t made the playoffs since Tyler Myers (see above) was in middle school.
Alan Pergament was the television critic for The Buffalo News for 28 years. He currently is an adjunct professor at Buffalo State College and Medaille College, teaching courses in communications. He also writes a monthly column on the media for Buffalo Spree magazine.
The Bills are also on broadcast TV (CBS most of the time), play in a regular weekly time slot (Sunday, 1 p.m. as opposed to multiple erratic times per week) and, perhaps most immediately impactful, can actually be seen on Dish Network.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see some 30 shares if the Sabres play on NBC. It’s happened before.
All true. But more viewers are available in prime time. DISH impact isn’t likely very large. And an 18.9 rating means the share is over 30. You must be referring to a 30 rating on NBC, which has happened. The Sabres-Bruins playoff game on NBC last year had a 20.5 rating on Channel 2, still well below a Bills regular season game.
Nothing personal, but I miss your point. I am only comparing the local rating for Bills game, which makes viewing in other NFL markets simultaneously meaningless. I don’t dispute that fans here love the Sabres. They are just more of them that love the Bills, whether they are pathetic or not.