For the first time in the NHL conference finals, viewership increased over last year.
Game 3 of the Penguins/Lightning NHL Eastern Conference final scored 1.8 million viewers on NBCSN Wednesday night, up 6% from Rangers/Lightning last year (1.7M) and up 48% from Canadiens/Rangers in 2014 (1.2M).
The Penguins’ win ranks as the most-watched game of the conference finals (six telecasts through Thursday) and the only one to score a year-over-year increase.
On Thursday night, Game 3 of Blues/Sharks had a 0.7 final rating and 1.2 million viewers — down 36% in ratings and 38% in viewership from Ducks/Blackhawks last year (1.1, 1.8M) and down 50% and 53%, respectively, from Blackhawks/Kings on the NBC broadcast network in 2014 (1.4, 2.4M).
The Sharks’ shutout win scored the second-smallest conference final audience since 2012, ahead of only Tuesday’s Game 2 (1.1M).
(Numbers via ShowBuzz Daily, Programming Insider)
