Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals drew the largest audience for an NHL game in five years.
The Red Wings’ series clinching victory over the Penguins last night drew a 4.0 rating and 6.8 million viewers on NBC, making the game the highest rated and most watched NHL telecast ever on the network. Game 6 is also the most watched NHL game since Game 7 of the Devils/Mighty Ducks series drew 7.2 million viewers in 2003.
Compared to the last Stanley Cup Finals Game 6, the 6.8 million viewers is up 132% from Hurricanes/Oilers two years ago.
Overall, NBC averaged a 3.1 rating with 5.3 million viewers for four Stanley Cup Final games, up 94% and 116% from the 1.6 rating with 2.4 million viewers the network averaged for three games last year. For the entire six-game series, NBC and Versus combined to average 4.6 million viewers, up 159% from last year.
The 3.1 average for the Stanley Cup Finals on NBC is the highest since ABC averaged a 3.6 rating for its coverage of the 2002 Finals.
Viewership for Stanley Cup Finals on NBC.
4.0 mil: Red Wings/Penguins Game 3 (Wed., 5/28, 8 PM NBC); up 148% from ’07.
4.0 mil: Red Wings/Penguins Game 4 (Sat., 5/31, 8 PM NBC); up 45% from ’07.
6.2 mil: Penguins/Red Wings Game 5 (Mon., 6/2, 8 PM NBC); up 114% from ’07.
6.8 mil: Red Wings/Penguins Game 6 (Wed., 6/4, 8 PM NBC); no comparable game in ’07.
