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Olympics: Pittsburgh's hockey TV ratings No. 1
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VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Is Pittsburgh becoming the United States' real Hockeytown?
Overnight television ratings of the Americans' 5-3 Olympic upset of Canada Sunday night, aired on MSNBC, were higher in Pittsburgh than in any U.S. market, according to an industry source. The 13.0 rating in Pittsburgh was more than double the national average for the game.
Overall, MSNBC drew 8.2 million viewers for the second-highest rated show in the cable network's history. It also was the highest-rated hockey game shown in the U.S. in 37 years.
In Canada, the game was the most-watched sporting event in the nation's history with 10.6 million viewers. Canada's population is 33 million.
The game involved two players from the Penguins, Sidney Crosby of Canada and Brooks Orpik of the United States, which also includes Upper St. Clair native Ryan Malone.
In recent years, the NHL's top markets for viewership of nationally televised hockey games have been Pittsburgh, Detroit, St. Louis and Buffalo, N.Y.
First Published February 23, 2010 12:00 am
