Even in a non-traditional matchup involving a Canadian team, a Game 7 between the NHL’s top two teams is still a recipe for ratings success.
Thursday’s Jets-Predators Stanley Cup Playoffs Game 7 earned a 0.95 rating and 1.56 million viewers on NBCSN, marking the most-watched Western Conference semifinal game on cable since 2015 (Blackhawks-Wild Game 4: 1.66M).
Compared to last year’s semifinal Game 7s, which took place on a Wednesday night, viewership sank 37% from Penguins-Capitals in the same 8 PM ET window (2.5M) but increased 14% from Oilers-Ducks in a late night window (1.36M).
The Jets’ win, which peaked with 2.1 million from 9:30-9:45 PM ET, had a streaming audience of 55,000 on NBC Sports’ digital platforms. Across TV and streaming, the game had 1.61 million viewers.
Locally, Game 7 scored a 13.2 rating in Nashville per The Tennessean — the highest for a first or second round playoff game in the market.
The complete second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs averaged 1.6 million viewers across NBC’s TV and digital platforms, up 15% from last year (1.4M), up 22% from 2016 (1.3M) and the highest average on record.
The full postseason has averaged 1.1 million (+8%), the highest since 2012.
[Thurs. numbers from Nielsen via Programming Insider 5.11; NBC Sports PR 5.11; The Tennessean 5.11]
