Opposite some of the strongest NBA competition in years, Stanley Cup Final ratings opened at a three-year high in the metered markets.
Monday’s Capitals-Golden Knights NHL Stanley Cup Final Game 1 delivered a 3.7 overnight rating on NBC, up 6% from Predators-Penguins last year (3.5) and up 37% from Sharks-Penguins in 2016 (2.7).
The 3.7 overnight is the highest for Game 1 of the Cup Final since 2015 (Blackhawks-Lightning: 4.2) and the fourth-highest since 1999.
The increase in overnights came despite competition from Game 7 of the Warriors-Rockets NBA Western Conference Finals (10.3). The NHL narrowed the gap from the last time Game 1 went up against an NBA conference final Game 7 — 2016 (NBA 11.2, NHL 2.7).
Las Vegas led all markets Monday night with a 28.1 rating, followed by Washington D.C. at a 16.0. Both markets posted their highest NHL ratings since NBC acquired rights.
Pittsburgh was the top neutral market at a 10.3, with Baltimore (9.1) and Buffalo (8.8) rounding out the top five.
Pittsburgh and Buffalo were two of ten markets for whom Game 1 was the highest rated Cup Final opener on NBC in which the local team did not play. The others were Minneapolis-St. Paul (6.6), St. Louis (5.2), Nashville (4.1), Chicago (4.0), Tampa-St. Petersburg (4.0), Salt Lake City (3.3), Los Angeles (3.2) and Dallas-Ft. Worth (2.45).
