Back on Saturday night, but without a big lead-in, overnights dipped for Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Game 5 of the Blackhawks/Lightning Stanley Cup Final earned a 3.8 overnight rating on NBC Saturday night, down 21% from Rangers/Kings on a Friday last year (4.6) and down 5% from Bruins/Blackhawks on a Saturday in 2013 (4.0). The 3.8 is down a full point from Game 2 of the series one week earlier (4.8), which had a direct lead-in from The Belmont Stakes (12.3).
Despite the lower numbers, the 3.8 is still the fourth-highest for a Saturday night Stanley Cup Final game since NBC began airing the event in 2006 (16 telecasts) — and the second-highest when the post-Belmont games are excluded.
Chicago was the top market for Game 5 with a 26.2 rating, up 19% from Game 5 in 2013 (22.1) and up 1% from Flyers/Blackhawks Game 5 in 2010 (26.0). The 26.2 is the market’s second-highest of the series, behind only Game 1 (28.0). In Tampa-St. Petersburg, the game had a 14.3 rating — up from Games 3 and 4 on NBCSN, but the lowest of the series on NBC.
Buffalo (7.1), Milwaukee (6.4) and Minneapolis-St. Paul (5.4) rounded out the top five.
(Sat. numbers from NBC via TV By the Numbers)
