With Vegas completing a shocking run to the Stanley Cup Final, the end of the Western Conference Final was a solid draw nationally — and a record one locally.
Sunday’s Golden Knights-Jets NHL Western Conference final Game 5 earned a 1.7 overnight rating on NBC, down a tick from Predators-Ducks last year, which aired on a Saturday night with a Preakness lead-in (1.8).
Versus the same Sunday afternoon window last year, overnights increased 13% from Senators-Penguins Game 5 (1.5).
The Golden Knights’ series-clinching win earned a 17.9 rating in Las Vegas, the market’s highest on record for an NHL game. Vegas became the first expansion team to make a Big Four championship in its first year since 1968.
Game 4 of the series Friday night had 1.5 million viewers on NBCSN, up 16% from Ducks-Predators last year (1.3M) but down a third from Sharks-Blues in 2016, which aired on NBC in the post-Preakness window (2.3M). Final ratings were not immediately available.
Of the Golden Knights’ 12 playoff games that can be compared to last year,* ten have posted an increase in viewership. That does not include Sunday’s Game 5.
The series’ penultimate game delivered a 16.3 rating in Las Vegas. That was briefly the highest for an NHL game in the market, surpassed by Game 5.
* Window-to-window comparisons for the first two rounds, conference-to-conference for the conference finals.
[Numbers from NBC Sports PR/Twitter 5.19, 5.21 a, b; ShowBuzz Daily 5.21]
