Entering a made-for-TV Stanley Cup Final, the NHL has attracted some of its largest television audiences in more than a decade.
Game 5 of the Kings/Blackhawks NHL Western Conference final drew a 2.2 final rating and 3.8 million viewers on NBC Saturday night, the most-viewed conference final telecast on any network since Avalanche/Red Wings Game 6 on ESPN in 1997 (3.9M).
Excluding the Stanley Cup Final, Saturday’s game ranks as the third-most viewed NHL telecast on NBC since the network resumed airing games in 2006 — trailing only the 2011 Capitals/Penguins Winter Classic (4.5M) and the 2009 Red Wings/Blackhawks Winter Classic (4.4M).
Kings/Blackhawks Game 5 drew a 19.61 rating in Chicago and a 3.84 in Los Angeles, making it the highest rated non-final game on NBC in each markets.
On Friday night, Game 4 of the Penguins/Bruins series drew a 1.6 U.S. rating and 2.9 million viewers on NBC Sports Network — up 83% in viewership from Rangers/Devils Game 4 last year (1.3M), and up 52% from Bruins/Lightning Game 4 in 2011 (1.9M).
The game earned the largest audience for a conference final game on cable since Avalanche/Red Wings Game 7 on ESPN in 2002 (3.0M), and the second-largest audience for any playoff game on NBCSN outside of the Stanley Cup Final. Only Game 7 of the Red Wings/Blackhawks second round series drew more viewers (3.4M)
Game 4 drew a 25.4 rating in Boston, the best ever for an NHL game on NBCSN in the market. Ratings in Pittsburgh were not available.
Thursday’s Blackhawks/Kings Game 4 drew a 1.2 U.S. rating and 2.2 million viewers on NBCSN, up 60% in viewership from Coyotes/Kings Game 4 on NBC last year (1.4M), and up 52% from Canucks/Sharks Game 4 on NBC in 2011 (1.5M). The game drew a 15.39 in Chicago and a 2.55 in Los Angeles.
Overall, the NHL conference finals averaged 2.6 million viewers on NBC and NBC Sports Network — up 111% from last year (1.3M), and the highest average for that round of the postseason since coverage on FOX and ESPN in 1996 (2.9M). The full postseason on NBC, NBCSN and CNBC has averaged 1.1 million viewers, actually down 1% from last year (1.09M to 1.07M), but the second-most viewed postseason since FOX, ESPN and ESPN2 averaged 1.2 million in 1997.
NBC in particular has averaged 2.4 million viewers for the playoffs-to-date, up 12% from last year’s 2.2 million. NBC Sports Network has averaged just under 1.1 million viewers — up 10% from last year (994K).
(This year’s numbers from NBC Sports Group Press Box [1], [2])
