• January 5, 2011

The National Hockey League says the 2011 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic on New Year's Day earned the best regular-season U.S. television viewership in 36 years for the league.

The League said the classic, in In its fourth year, showed double- and triple-digit gains in all key metrics on NHL.com and NHL.com Mobile, while fueling retail growth of 78%.

The league says all network advertising was sold out well ahead of the broadcast on NBC, and all sponsorship opportunities were sold out as well. Sponsorship revenue for the event finished up 20% over last year.

The NHL said viewership for the U.S. broadcast on NBC gained 22% over last year's New Year's Day outdoor game. The game brought 68,111 to Heinz Field to see the Washington Capitals defeat the host Penguins 3-1.