April 26--Game 7 of the Blackhawks' playoffs series against the St. Louis Blues set an all-time ratings record on Comcast SportsNet Chicago, the network announced on Tuesday, citing Nielsen Media Research.
Close to 663,000 homes tuned in for the entire game as the Blues closed out the the defending champions 3-2 at Scottrade Center on Monday night. Viewership peaked at 830,000 homes between 10 and 10:15 p.m.
The game's 19.07 rating in the Chicago market bested last season's Hawks-Predators first-round series by 22 percent and marked the network's most watched game broadcast in its history. Game 3 of a first-round NBA series between the Bulls and Pacers set the previous high at 13.69 on April 21, 2011.
Before Monday, the Hawk's best rating (13.33) on CSN had been a Game 7 overtime loss to the Vancouver Canucks on April 26, 2011.
plthompson@tribpub.com
