Ratings and viewership dipped for the first weekend of the Stanley Cup Playoffs on NBC.
Game 2 of the Penguins/Rangers Stanley Cup playoff series drew a 1.4 final rating and 2.2 million viewers on NBC last Saturday night, the network’s third-smallest audience for a primetime NHL telecast. Only Rangers/Flyers in February (1.4M) and Game 3 of the 2007 Ducks/Senators Stanley Cup final (1.6M) earned fewer viewers.
Saturday’s telecast marked the first time in several decades that an opening round playoff game has aired on primetime broadcast television.
Though soft for primetime, the Penguins’ win ranks as the most-watched game of the first round thus far (33 telecasts through Thursday). Ranking a close second, Sunday’s Predators/Blackhawks Game 3 drew a 1.4 and 2.0 million — down a tick in ratings and flat in viewership from Red Wings/Bruins last year (1.5, 2.0M) and up 17% and 11%, respectively, from Blackhawks/Wild in 2013 (1.2, 1.8M).
In other action last weekend, Capitals/Islanders Game 3 drew a 0.9 and 1.3 million early Sunday afternoon — down 25% in ratings and 30% in viewership from Flyers/Rangers last year (1.2, 1.9M) and down 18% and 24%, respectively, from Penguins/Islanders in 2013 (1.1, 1.7M).
Finally, Saturday’s regional coverage of Red Wings/Lightning and Wild/Blues drew a 1.0 and 1.5 million on NBC and a 0.1 and 141,000 on NBCSN. The two networks combined still could not match Blackhawks/Blues on NBC alone last year (1.2, 1.9M).
(Wknd. numbers via Sports Business Daily, additional info from Awful Announcing)
