For Second Straight Year, Bruins Set Ratings Record

NESN announced this morning that the Boston Bruins set a new record by averaging a 4.7 rating in the Boston DMA. This is a 52% increase over the 2010/11 season which had been the previous record season with a 3.1 average.

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NESN’s Bruins ratings have increased an astounding 115% over the last two seasons.

“The impact that the Boston Bruins are having here in New England is undeniable, as the team’s popularity continues to rise and all of NESN’s Bruins programs continue to set new ratings records,” said Sean McGrail, NESN President and CEO. “The excitement around the Bruins will only get more intense as the Bruins get ready to take on the Capitals in the first round of the playoffs to defend their 2011 Stanley Cup Championship.”

NESN’s Bruins ratings showed an incredible level of consistency throughout the season, as 23 of the network’s 25 top-rated Bruins regular season games of all-time were played during the 2011/12 season, including the six highest rated hockey games in NESN history. The consistent support shown by Bruins fans was also illustrated by the fact that only six of NESN’s 71 Bruins games failed to garner at least a 3.1 household rating (last season’s record-setting average rating).

Bruins Fans Watch More Than Just NESN’s Game Coverage

All of NESN’s Bruins-related studio programs also experienced substantial ratings gains this season. W.B. Mason Bruins Face-Off LIVE (1.1 HH, up 96%) and Ace Ticket Bruins Overtime LIVE (1.9 HH, up 55%) both earned their best-ever regular season average household rating. Big Bad Bruins LIVE presented by DCU (+177%) and The Instigators LIVE presented by Cadillac Village of Norwood (+10%) both improved after making the switch from tape delay to a live program format.