Winter Classic a new outdoor tradition

While college football has long had an imprint on New Year's Day sporting events, the NHL is making a serious toehold as well. With a move to outdoor stadiums and by playing in front of more than 70,000 spectators, the league's annual Winter Classic has become a bonafide hit. That's a consensus both among hockey fans as well as the on-ice participants. This season's contest will be played at Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park (capacity 43,500 for baseball) where the Flyers will take on their longtime rivals the NY Rangers. The game will pushed back a day to Jan. 2 and telecast on NBC. "It's only a short distance from Broadway to Broad Street, and over the years, these not-so-neighborly teams have provided an assortment of memorable games," says NHL commissioner Gary Bettman in promoting the match-up. Ratings should be strong. Last year's game featured another bitter rivalry -- the Washington Capitals at Pittsburgh Penguins, played at football venue Heinz Field -- that drew 4.5 million viewers on the Peacock. That represents the most-watched regular season game in the U.S. in 36 years. Not only has the Winter Classic, which began in 2008, been a boon for NBC, but for HBO as well. For the first time last year, the pay cabler used its successful sports docu series "24/7" for hockey and this season "Flyers/Rangers: Road to the NHL Winter Classic" will begin its first of four episodes Dec. 14. The series gives an up close and personal look at the players and coaches for each team, and gives fans an inside-the-lockerroom experience rarely seen before in hockey. "Taking '24/7' into the NHL proved to be a perfect fit," explains HBO Sports exec producer Nick Bernstein. "The franchise is fashioned on larger-than-life personalities, engaging storylines and unrestricted access. Clearly, we had all those ingredients last December and the NY-Philadelphia rivalry should spark another terrific series." Contact Stuart Levine at stuart.levine@variety.com

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