Caps' resurgence benefits networks

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The Washington Capitals' run to the playoffs has turned the area on its head and also captured the attention of the networks that will broadcast the NHL's Stanley Cup playoffs.

Officials and analysts from Versus and NBC — which have struggled to gain big audiences for their hockey broadcasts — said the Caps offer several of the top story lines entering what could become one of the more compelling postseasons in recent memory.

It's tough to root, but to be blunt, what's happened in Washington has been tremendous and it's become kind of a national story, said Marc Fein, senior vice president of programming for Versus. They made such a great run at the end of the season. That captured people's attention.

Fein and others in the hockey community breathed a sigh of relief knowing they would see more of Alex Ovechkin, the Caps left wing and favorite to win league MVP. And they were additionally thankful for the Caps' first-round matchup against the Philadelphia Flyers, one of the most popular teams in hockey.

This is one of the most under-appreciated matchups in the league because a lot of people don't pay attention to Washington and now they are because of Ovechkin, said Pierre McGuire, a hockey analyst for TSN and NBC. And Philadelphia had a bad year last year so people kind of forgot about them. But there's been a lot of bad blood between those teams for a long time because of geographic proximity.

If the Caps beat the Flyers in the first round, there is a good chance they will face the Pittsburgh Penguins, another team with a national following and high-profile players in Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. And it is matchups like those that will drive playoff television ratings, which have generally been dismal. (Last year's Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals on NBC was the lowest-rated prime time broadcast in the network's history.)

When you look at some of these teams, you have good solid hockey markets and good, solid teams that can drive ratings, Fein said.

But, he admitted, a potential series between the Calgary Flames and Ottawa Senators — great for Canada, bad for ratings in the U.S. — keeps me up at night.

In the D.C. area, Versus will be blacked out in favor of broadcasts by Comcast SportsNet, which has experienced record ratings for Caps games this season. NBC will broadcast at least one game of the series.

Versus announced in January it had extended its deal with the NHL to continue airing hockey through the 2010-11 season. It pays the league more than $70 million annually for the broadcast rights. The network views the Stanley Cup playoffs as a chance to build on the momentum of this season, when viewership for its national hockey broadcasts rose about 28 percent. The total number of people watching was still relatively low, with an average of 272,417 viewers tuning in, but Versus was encouraged by the more than 500,000 people who watched the Penguins-Rangers game March 31.

Ratings for Caps games on Versus rose 150 percent in the Washington market.

We had a pop in ratings, and the total number of viewers is up, Fein said. We all want to grow this as big as possible. We know we can do it. We know we can get there.