That game had the highest American television ratings of any hockey game in 33 years. The success of the
2009 NHL Winter Classic has solidified "the Classic" as an annual event from then on. The Winter Classic was officially made a permanent part of the NHL schedule through at least January 1, 2021, as part of the league's television contract with the NBC Sports Group. The Winter Classic is also broadcast in Canada by the league's TV partner there too.
Unlike the annual Winter Classic and Stadium Series games, Heritage Classic games have been held infrequently.
To celebrate the league's centennial anniversary in 2017, two special outdoor games were held: The
NHL Centennial Classic on January 1, 2017, to kick off the year; and then the
NHL 100 Classic played on December 16.
There was no separate American live telecast of the
2003 Heritage Classic.
ESPN/
ABC, the American rights-holder at the time, was already committed to broadcasting
college football on its channels during that day. American viewers who wanted to watch the game live could view the Canadian CBC broadcast on
NHL Center Ice.[12]
In
2008, some
NBC affiliates decided instead to air the game on secondary channels often used for
weather service. Therefore, in some markets, fans with a satellite service carrying
DirecTV or
DISH Network were unable to watch the game. Despite this, and competing with broadcasts of college football bowl games (this was particularly noted in the
Detroit,
Michigan market, usually a strong market for hockey ratings, where the
Wolverines were playing in the
Capital One Bowl), the game garnered a 2.6 rating and 5 share, the highest rating for a regular season NHL game since 1996, and the highest share since
Wayne Gretzky's final game in 1999,[13] in a near tie with second-place
CBS' 2.7 rating for
Gator Bowl coverage.[14] The production earned a 38.1 rating in
Buffalo and 17.7 rating in
Pittsburgh, to lead all markets.[13]
NBC had an airplane flying overhead to provide bird's-eye views of the rink, including a live webstream from its camera throughout the game.[15] The announcers stood in a constructed perch on the penalty box side of the rink, in front of the stadium stands.
On January 3, 2009, the NHL reported that the overnight television ratings had increased 12% over the 2008 game. Nationally, the game had 2.9 overnight rating and a 6 share. In
Chicago, Thursday's game drew a national high of an 11.8 rating and 21 share, with
Detroit second at 10.5 and 21 (this despite that yet again, a Michigan-based team was playing in the
Capital One Bowl opposite the Winter Classic—this time the
Michigan State Spartans). Other above-average markets included Buffalo (whose 10.1 rating/20 share was comparable to Detroit's),
St. Louis (5.3/10), Pittsburgh (4.4/8),
Denver (4.2/10),
Providence (3.5/7),
Indianapolis (3.4/6),
West Palm Beach (3.3/6), and
Orlando (3.2/5).[16] Each overnight ratings point equals about 735,000 TV homes.[17] On January 12, the final ratings figure was announced. There was an average of 4.4 million viewers of the game on
NBC, and this was the largest since the February 23, 1975 match between the
Philadelphia Flyers and the
New York Rangers.[18]
The 2021 Vegas–Colorado outdoor game at Lake Tahoe was delayed for eight hours due to poor ice conditions. NBC aired the entire first period, but the rest of the game was broadcast on NBCSN. The Philadelphia–Boston game at Lake Tahoe was also delayed for the same reason, forcing NBC to move the game to primetime on NBCSN, and moved the originally scheduled
Devils–
Capitals game to NBC. The NHL Outdoors at Lake Tahoe special replaced the originally scheduled Winter Classic and Stadium Series due to the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite the overwhelming popularity of the original Heritage Classic between the
Montreal Canadiens and the
Edmonton Oilers in
2003, the popularity of the Winter Classic in Canada is low and declining. On Canada's
CBC Television network, the Winter Classic has lower ratings than its weekly regular season telecasts Hockey Night in Canada. This has been attributed to the lack of Canadian teams in any of the Winter Classics and has led to a revival of the all-Canadian
Heritage Classic.
In
2011, the seven-hour delay on the
CBC broadcast schedule caused the classic to be completely preempted in the province of
Ontario. The network's coverage of the NHL that night began with the
Battle of Ontario at
Scotiabank Place in
Ottawa at 7 p.m. ET, and broke away to the Classic outside Ontario. The CBC truncated the broadcast after two hours in
Alberta to show the
Battle of Alberta at
Rexall Place in
Edmonton in its entirety.[25]
TSN simulcasted NBCSN's coverage of the 2014 Stadium Series game between the
Rangers and the
Islanders.
There was no separate Canadian live telecast of the 2014 Stadium Series game in Chicago. CBC instead broadcast the
Toronto Maple Leafs–
Montreal Canadiens game being played at the same time.
Since 2016, Sportsnet uses the American broadcast feed in its broadcasts of the Winter Classic and Stadium Series, except when either game involves a Canadian-based team.
The NBC feed of the 2020 Stadium Series was instead aired on
Sportsnet 360. The
Toronto Maple Leafs–Ottawa Senators game that was being played at the same time was being simulcast on both CBC and Sportsnet.
The TNT feed of the 2022 Winter Classic was instead aired on Sportsnet One. The Toronto Maple Leafs–Ottawa Senators game that was being played at the same time was being simulcast on both CBC and Sportsnet.
The TNT feed of the 2022 Stadium Series was instead aired on Sportsnet 360. The
Toronto Maple Leafs–Detroit Red Wings game that was being played at the same time was being simulcast on both CBC and Sportsnet.
The ABC feed of the 2023 Stadium Series was instead aired on Sportsnet 360. The Montreal Canadiens–Toronto Maple Leafs game that was being played at the same time was being simulcast on both CBC and Sportsnet.
On November 26, 2013, Rogers announced that it had reached a 12-year, $5.2 billion deal to become the exclusive national rightsholder for the National Hockey League, beginning in the 2014–15 season. Quebecor Media sub-licensed national French-language rights to the league for $110 million per season, making
TVA Sports the official French-language cable broadcaster of the NHL. RDS retains regional rights to
Montreal Canadiens games not broadcast by TVA Sports.[26][27][28][29][30] Former Montreal Canadiens goalie
José Theodore joined the network as an analyst.[31] NHL games occupy a significant portion of TVA Sports' programming, with a particular emphasis on the Canadiens and other teams popular in Quebec, such as the
Boston Bruins,
Colorado Avalanche,
Pittsburgh Penguins, and
Toronto Maple Leafs. Certain nights will feature themed selections of games, such as a viewers' choice game on Monday nights, rivalry games, and games focusing on star players. TVA Sports' flagship Saturday night broadcast, La super soirée LNH, will air 22 Montreal Canadiens games per season, along with a second game on TVA Sports 2. TVA Sports also airs the
All-Star Game,
Winter Classic, and Stanley Cup Playoffs.[32][33]
That game had the highest American television ratings of any hockey game in 33 years. The success of the
2009 NHL Winter Classic has solidified "the Classic" as an annual event from then on. The Winter Classic was officially made a permanent part of the NHL schedule through at least January 1, 2021, as part of the league's television contract with the NBC Sports Group. The Winter Classic is also broadcast in Canada by the league's TV partner there too.
Unlike the annual Winter Classic and Stadium Series games, Heritage Classic games have been held infrequently.
To celebrate the league's centennial anniversary in 2017, two special outdoor games were held: The
NHL Centennial Classic on January 1, 2017, to kick off the year; and then the
NHL 100 Classic played on December 16.
There was no separate American live telecast of the
2003 Heritage Classic.
ESPN/
ABC, the American rights-holder at the time, was already committed to broadcasting
college football on its channels during that day. American viewers who wanted to watch the game live could view the Canadian CBC broadcast on
NHL Center Ice.[12]
In
2008, some
NBC affiliates decided instead to air the game on secondary channels often used for
weather service. Therefore, in some markets, fans with a satellite service carrying
DirecTV or
DISH Network were unable to watch the game. Despite this, and competing with broadcasts of college football bowl games (this was particularly noted in the
Detroit,
Michigan market, usually a strong market for hockey ratings, where the
Wolverines were playing in the
Capital One Bowl), the game garnered a 2.6 rating and 5 share, the highest rating for a regular season NHL game since 1996, and the highest share since
Wayne Gretzky's final game in 1999,[13] in a near tie with second-place
CBS' 2.7 rating for
Gator Bowl coverage.[14] The production earned a 38.1 rating in
Buffalo and 17.7 rating in
Pittsburgh, to lead all markets.[13]
NBC had an airplane flying overhead to provide bird's-eye views of the rink, including a live webstream from its camera throughout the game.[15] The announcers stood in a constructed perch on the penalty box side of the rink, in front of the stadium stands.
On January 3, 2009, the NHL reported that the overnight television ratings had increased 12% over the 2008 game. Nationally, the game had 2.9 overnight rating and a 6 share. In
Chicago, Thursday's game drew a national high of an 11.8 rating and 21 share, with
Detroit second at 10.5 and 21 (this despite that yet again, a Michigan-based team was playing in the
Capital One Bowl opposite the Winter Classic—this time the
Michigan State Spartans). Other above-average markets included Buffalo (whose 10.1 rating/20 share was comparable to Detroit's),
St. Louis (5.3/10), Pittsburgh (4.4/8),
Denver (4.2/10),
Providence (3.5/7),
Indianapolis (3.4/6),
West Palm Beach (3.3/6), and
Orlando (3.2/5).[16] Each overnight ratings point equals about 735,000 TV homes.[17] On January 12, the final ratings figure was announced. There was an average of 4.4 million viewers of the game on
NBC, and this was the largest since the February 23, 1975 match between the
Philadelphia Flyers and the
New York Rangers.[18]
The 2021 Vegas–Colorado outdoor game at Lake Tahoe was delayed for eight hours due to poor ice conditions. NBC aired the entire first period, but the rest of the game was broadcast on NBCSN. The Philadelphia–Boston game at Lake Tahoe was also delayed for the same reason, forcing NBC to move the game to primetime on NBCSN, and moved the originally scheduled
Devils–
Capitals game to NBC. The NHL Outdoors at Lake Tahoe special replaced the originally scheduled Winter Classic and Stadium Series due to the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite the overwhelming popularity of the original Heritage Classic between the
Montreal Canadiens and the
Edmonton Oilers in
2003, the popularity of the Winter Classic in Canada is low and declining. On Canada's
CBC Television network, the Winter Classic has lower ratings than its weekly regular season telecasts Hockey Night in Canada. This has been attributed to the lack of Canadian teams in any of the Winter Classics and has led to a revival of the all-Canadian
Heritage Classic.
In
2011, the seven-hour delay on the
CBC broadcast schedule caused the classic to be completely preempted in the province of
Ontario. The network's coverage of the NHL that night began with the
Battle of Ontario at
Scotiabank Place in
Ottawa at 7 p.m. ET, and broke away to the Classic outside Ontario. The CBC truncated the broadcast after two hours in
Alberta to show the
Battle of Alberta at
Rexall Place in
Edmonton in its entirety.[25]
TSN simulcasted NBCSN's coverage of the 2014 Stadium Series game between the
Rangers and the
Islanders.
There was no separate Canadian live telecast of the 2014 Stadium Series game in Chicago. CBC instead broadcast the
Toronto Maple Leafs–
Montreal Canadiens game being played at the same time.
Since 2016, Sportsnet uses the American broadcast feed in its broadcasts of the Winter Classic and Stadium Series, except when either game involves a Canadian-based team.
The NBC feed of the 2020 Stadium Series was instead aired on
Sportsnet 360. The
Toronto Maple Leafs–Ottawa Senators game that was being played at the same time was being simulcast on both CBC and Sportsnet.
The TNT feed of the 2022 Winter Classic was instead aired on Sportsnet One. The Toronto Maple Leafs–Ottawa Senators game that was being played at the same time was being simulcast on both CBC and Sportsnet.
The TNT feed of the 2022 Stadium Series was instead aired on Sportsnet 360. The
Toronto Maple Leafs–Detroit Red Wings game that was being played at the same time was being simulcast on both CBC and Sportsnet.
The ABC feed of the 2023 Stadium Series was instead aired on Sportsnet 360. The Montreal Canadiens–Toronto Maple Leafs game that was being played at the same time was being simulcast on both CBC and Sportsnet.
On November 26, 2013, Rogers announced that it had reached a 12-year, $5.2 billion deal to become the exclusive national rightsholder for the National Hockey League, beginning in the 2014–15 season. Quebecor Media sub-licensed national French-language rights to the league for $110 million per season, making
TVA Sports the official French-language cable broadcaster of the NHL. RDS retains regional rights to
Montreal Canadiens games not broadcast by TVA Sports.[26][27][28][29][30] Former Montreal Canadiens goalie
José Theodore joined the network as an analyst.[31] NHL games occupy a significant portion of TVA Sports' programming, with a particular emphasis on the Canadiens and other teams popular in Quebec, such as the
Boston Bruins,
Colorado Avalanche,
Pittsburgh Penguins, and
Toronto Maple Leafs. Certain nights will feature themed selections of games, such as a viewers' choice game on Monday nights, rivalry games, and games focusing on star players. TVA Sports' flagship Saturday night broadcast, La super soirée LNH, will air 22 Montreal Canadiens games per season, along with a second game on TVA Sports 2. TVA Sports also airs the
All-Star Game,
Winter Classic, and Stanley Cup Playoffs.[32][33]