Viewership increased slightly for the early rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs on NBC.
NBC averaged 1.93 million viewers for coverage of the first three rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, up 2% from last year (1.89M).
Despite the overall increase, the network concluded its early round coverage with a pair of declines in late May.
On May 22, Game 4 between the Canucks and Sharks drew a 1.0 final rating and 1.455 million viewers, down 33% in ratings and 42% in viewership from last year (SJ/CHI G4: 1.5, 2.503M), and down 23% and 30%, respectively, from 2009 (DET/CHI G4: 1.3, 2.073M).
The previous day, Bruins/Lightning Game 4 earned a 1.2 and 1.913 million viewers, down 8% and 9%, respectively, from last year (PHI/MTL G4: 1.3, 2.108M).
(Numbers from NBC Sports Group, Media Life Magazine)
