Local TV ratings for Caps’ first playoff game up over last year’s Game 1

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Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis noted on his blog Friday, regarding Game 1 of the Caps opening round playoff series with the Boston Bruins, “Last night’s Caps playoff game on Comcast SportsNet attracted a peak audience of more than a quarter of a million viewers – 263,000 to be more precise – and averaged 190,000 viewers in the Washington and Baltimore markets.”

That puts this year’s first Caps playoff game ahead of last year’s Game 1 versus the New York Rangers, which scored 179,000 households in the Washington and Baltimore markets, according to this SB Nation post from last April.

The higher ratings for this year’s Game 1 occurred even as the Caps are coming off a disappointing regular season that saw them not clinch a playoff spot until their second to last game. A year ago, the Caps went into the playoffs as the top seed in the Eastern Conference.

One difference between this year and last year, which could partially explain why the 2012 Game 1 averaged 11,000 more households than 2011′s, is that the Caps opened the playoffs on the road this season due to their lower seeding. Some of those 18,000+ fans who were at Verizon Center for Game 1 last year were likely watching on TV this time. But, it’s still safe to say that local interest in this team remains strong—and may even be stronger than it was a year ago-—given the opening night TV ratings.

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