The Stanley Cup Final again delivered one of the NHL’s top cable audiences in 13 years.
Game 4 of the Lightning/Blackhawks Stanley Cup Final earned a 2.2 final rating and 3.9 million viewers on NBCSN Wednesday night, up 10% in ratings and 16% in viewership from Kings/Rangers last year (2.0, 3.4M) but down 42% and 39%, respectively, from Blackhawks/Bruins on NBC in 2013 (3.8, 6.5M).
The Blackhawks’ win earned the third-largest Stanley Cup Final audience on cable since Hurricanes/Red Wings Game 1 in 2002 (4.0M), trailing only Games 2 and 3 of Blackhawks/Bruins in 2013 (4.0M for each game). It also had the fourth-largest audience for the NHL on NBCSN (previously VERSUS and OLN), behind the two Blackhawks/Bruins games and Game 7 of last year’s Kings/Blackhawks West final (4.1M).
The game also delivered the second-best Game 4 performance for the Stanley Cup Final since Red Wings/Penguins on NBC in 2008 (2.3, 4.0M), trailing only Blackhawks/Bruins in 2013.
Game 4 had a 1.3 rating among adults 18-49, even with last year and down 46% from 2013 (2.4). It ranked second for the night in the demo, trailing only Masterchef on FOX (1.5).
Lightning/Blackhawks has now averaged a 2.9 rating and 5.0 million viewers through four games on NBC and NBCSN, up a tick in ratings and 7% in viewership from Kings/Rangers last year (2.8, 4.7M) and down 7% in both measures from Blackhawks/Bruins in 2013 (3.1, 5.3M). The series ranks as the second-most watched Stanley Cup Final through four games since 1997, trailing only 2013.
(Wed. numbers and series avg. from NBC Sports Group Press Box)
