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NHL continues business momentum with successful October

already is building off of the momentum from the preceding seasons with the addition of new corporate partners, record-breaking game attendance, a rise in TV ratings and a record number of fans signing up to watch live NHL games online.

NHL Continues Corporate Marketing Growth
The League continued to add to its roster of blue chip corporate marketing partners by forging deals in key categories such as automotive (Honda), financial services (Visa) and technology (Cisco). In addition, existing League partners such as Bridgestone and Scotiabank continued to incrementally activate with the NHL. The League also powered Kraft Hockeyville to its most successful season to-date.

League Sets October Attendance Record
The NHL set an attendance record during October with a per-game average of 17,388, marking the first time in League history that the first month of the season surpassed 17,000 fans-per-game. The League also set an October record for percent of capacity (94.1percent). October's total attendance was up by 3.1 percent from October, 2007.

Ratings On The Rise
In Canada, Hockey Night in Canada's October schedule of games drove a 12-percent increase in ratings. TSN's rating was up five percent while substantial interest in the Montreal Canadiens resulted in a 23 percent increase in October ratings on RDS. In the United States, the October slate of games on VERSUS resulted in a five percent increase in the number of viewers. Twenty-one of the 30 teams had local ratings that were higher than or on par with those from a year ago.

The New NHL.com Drives Increased Traffic
The NHL unveiled the new NHL.com in October, which offers a completely re-designed and re-programmed media portal that allows fans a deeper, more personalized NHL experience. For October 2008, NHL.com experienced a 7-percent increase in unique visitors worldwide year-over-year, despite having six fewer game days in October 2008 than in October last. NHL Network Online also drove a 30-percent year-over-year increase in unique visitors to NHL.com video.

Fans Watching Live Games Online In Record Numbers
In October, the NHL unveiled NHL GameCenter Live, its new interface for watching NHL games live online. Fans welcomed its innovation, and for October, the League increased its subscriber base for live games online nearly 270 percent year-over-year.

Shop.NHL.com Continues To Top Sales Year-Over-Year
Sales of NHL-licensed products on Shop.NHL.com for October increased 27 percent compared to the same period last year. Online sales of merchandise at Shop.NHL.com increased for 16 teams during October. The Chicago Blackhawks led the pack with a year-over-year sales increase of 234 percent. Other teams that experienced a significant year-over-year increase in October sales were the Detroit Red Wings (140 percent), Montreal Canadiens (97 percent), Edmonton Oilers (80 percent) and Washington Capitals (74 percent). For the second consecutive year, Hockey Fights Cancer items were a top seller in the month of October.


NHL.com - News: NHL continues business momentum with successful October - 11/10/2008

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