It was a close game with a fair share of stars and a trip to the Stanley Cup Final on the line, but the end of the NHL’s Eastern Conference Finals still hit a viewership low.
Game 7 of the Lightning/Penguins NHL Eastern Conference final had 2.5 million viewers on NBCSN Thursday night, down 23% from last year’s Lightning/Rangers Game 7, which took place on a Sunday night (3.3M).
The Penguins’ win ranks as the least-watched Game 7 of the conference finals since Sabres/Hurricanes on OLN in 2006. Viewership for that game was not immediately available, but was almost certainly lower. The previous low over that span was 2.6 million for Bruins/Lightning in 2011.
Keep in mind Thursday’s game faced tough competition from the NBA’s Western Conference Finals on TNT, which pulled 10.0 million viewers.
Despite the lower numbers, Game 7 was still the most-watched game of the playoffs on cable — topping the previous high of 2.0 million for Capitals/Penguins Game 6 in the second round. No other game on cable crossed the 2.0 million mark.
(Thu. numbers via ShowBuzz Daily)
