For the second straight game, NBCSN tied its third-highest NHL overnight.
Game 4 of the Lightning/Blackhawks Stanley Cup Final drew a 2.9 overnight rating on NBCSN Wednesday night, up a tick from Kings/Rangers last year (2.8) and down 37% from Blackhawks/Bruins on NBC in 2013 (4.6). The 2.9 is tied as the third-highest for an NHL game on NBCSN (previously VERSUS and OLN), matching Game 3 of the series on Monday and Game 2 of Blackhawks/Bruins in 2013.
Only Blackhawks/Bruins Game 3 in 2013 (3.1) and Game 7 of last year’s Kings/Blackhawks West final (3.2) earned a higher overnight.
Neither game on NBCSN was able to come to within a ratings point of Games 1 and 2 on NBC, which earned a 4.2 and 4.8, respectively. Whether the series will be able to recover the momentum it had on the broadcast network remains to be seen.
Game 4 drew a 22.2 rating in Chicago, down 8% from Game 3 (24.0) and a series-low. It drew a 13.9 in Tampa-St. Petersburg, up 5% from Game 3 (13.2), and the market’s best ever for the NHL on NBCSN. Buffalo (5.3), Providence (3.9) and Boston (3.7) rounded out the top five.
