Viewership was mixed for the first two nights of the NHL playoffs on NBCSN. In other news, Kris Bryant‘s Cubs debut was an above average draw, and PBA bowling generated another small audience on ESPN.
Stanley Cup Openers Mixed on NBCSN
- NBCSN drew 597,000 viewers for Thursday’s Game 1 of the Penguins/Rangers Stanley Cup playoff series, down 14% from Blackhawks/Blues Game 1 last year (697K), but the network’s top draw through the first two nights of the playoffs. The Wild/Blues nightcap had 468,000. Game 1 of Blackhawks/Predators drew 586,000 on the network Wednesday, up a fraction of a percent from Blue Jackets/Penguins last year (584K). On USA Network, Islanders/Capitals Game 1 drew 555,000 — up 23% from Canadiens/Lightning on CNBC last year (450K) — and Flames/Canucks earned 307,000. (via ShowBuzz Daily [1], [2])
Bryant’s Cubs Debut Tops Previous Games
- Friday’s Padres/Cubs MLB regular season game, which marked the Major League debut of much-discussed Cubs rookie Kris Bryant, drew a 4.7 rating on Chicago ABC affiliate WLS. That tops the 4.0 the affiliate earned for its previous telecast this season, Cardinals/Cubs on April 8, as well as the 3.6 Comcast SportsNet Chicago averaged for its first three Cubs games this season. (Chicago Tribune, bizjournals.com)
Another Small Audience For PBA Bowling
- Last Sunday’s Professional Bowlers Association PBA League semifinals drew a 0.3 final rating and 411,000 viewers on ESPN opposite The Masters, down a tick in ratings and 30% in viewership from last year’s penultimate telecast, which did not face such competition (0.4, 584K). The telecast earned the second-smallest audience of the season, ahead of only quarterfinal action the previous week (406K). (via Awful Announcing)
