NBC Sports Network Hockey Ratings Through the Roof. Can Horse Racing Follow?

Earlier this year the ratings for the NBC Sports Network were brutal, and we surmised it might not bode well for their horse racing coverage. Although I have not seen ratings anywhere for the Florida Derby or Spiral (always a bad sign I guess), the network did give out some good news today on their NHL Playoff Ratings.

• On cable, average viewership on the NBC Sports Network, nee Versus, was up 22% to 600,000 for its first two days of telecasts on April 11-12, from 490,000 in 2011. (Other national data was available at presstime.)
  Wednesday's and Thursday's combined coverage of the 2012 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs on both NBC Sports Network and CNBC combined for a total audience of 5.37 million viewers, a 31% increase versus 4.11 million last year, when NBC Sports Network, then known as Versus, was the only channel to show games. 

 Can racing ride the coattails of the NHL? Well, if getting some commercials being seen in front of more sports fans is an elixir, this may portend something good (when compared to a few weeks ago anyway).