Aided by a Kentucky Derby lead-in, the Penguins and Capitals delivered strong numbers for NBC.
Game 5 of the Penguins/Capitals Stanley Cup playoff series had a 2.7 overnight rating on NBC Saturday night, up 59% from Game 2 of the series the previous week (1.7), and the highest overnight for a first or second round playoff game on the NBC family of networks (dating back to 2006).
The previous high was a 2.6 for Game 5 of a Red Wings/Blackhawks second round series in 2013, which aired over Memorial Day weekend because of the NHL lockout.
Excluding the Stanley Cup Final, the Capitals’ win earned the seventh-highest NHL overnight on the NBC networks — behind the 2009, 2011 and 2014 Winter Classics and the clinching game of the Western Conference final in 2013, 2014 and 2015.
Game 5 scored a 19.8 rating in Pittsburgh and a 7.7 in Washington, the markets’ highest ratings on NBC since 2013 and 2012, respectively.
(Sat. numbers from NBC Sports)
