SAN FRANCISCO, California – Comcast SportsNet California, the home of “Authentic Bay Area Sports,” has registered significant rating increases for its Sharks telecasts during the first half of the 2011-12 NHL season. Through 43 games this season, Comcast SportsNet California is averaging a 1.33 household rating, which is equal to an estimated 33,411 households in the San Francisco DMA (San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose) watching per game, a 51 percent increase over the .88 average household rating posted at the end of the 2010-11 season.

Ratings in key advertising demographics also registered increased numbers, Adults 18-49 (up 42%), Adults 25-54 (up 42%), Men 18-49 (up 39%) and Men 25-54 (up 32%). Source for all ratings information is provided by Nielsen Media Research.

In addition, Sharks Pregame Live (up 47%) and Sharks Postgame Live (up 7%) have posted rating gains compared to statistics at the end of the 2010-11 season.

On January 5 against Columbus, Comcast SportsNet California delivered the highest rated Sharks regular season game in the history of the network – a 2.22 average household rating with approximately 55,640 households viewing the entire game.

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Comcast Sports Group, part of the NBC Sports Group, consists of 14 local networks that deliver 2,400 sporting events annually and breaking news and analysis to more than 50 million cable and satellite homes. Comcast Sports Group’s sports networks are: Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, Comcast SportsNet California, Comcast SportsNet Chicago, Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic, Comcast SportsNet New England, Comcast SportsNet Northwest, Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, SNY, The Mtn. – Mountain West Sports Network, CSS and Comcast Sports Southwest. Comcast Sports Group also manages NECN (New England Cable News), the nation’s largest regional news network, and The Comcast Network, based in Philadelphia and Washington, which delivers community-oriented programming. For more information, see ComcastSportsNet.com.