The Stanley Cup Final ended with an 18-year high in the metered markets.
Thursday’s Capitals-Golden Knights Stanley Cup Final Game 5 earned a 5.0 overnight rating on NBC, up 61% from Predators-Penguins last year (3.1) and up 39% from Sharks-Penguins in 2016 (3.6).
The 5.0 is the highest for Game 5 of the Cup Final in 18 years, since Devils-Stars on ABC in 2000 (5.3). The previous high was a 4.6 for Rangers-Kings in 2014.
It is also the highest for any NHL game in three years (2015 Lightning-Blackhawks Game 6: 5.6).
The Capitals’ championship-clinching win tied the fifth-highest NHL overnight since NBC acquired rights in 2006, matching Penguins-Red Wings Game 7 in 2009.
Compared to previous Stanley Cup clinchers, Thursday’s overnight increased 4% from Penguins-Predators Game 6 last year (4.8) and 35% from Penguins-Sharks Game 6 in 2016 (3.7).
Las Vegas led all markets with a 27.6 rating, the market’s second-highest NHL rating ever behind Game 1 (28.1). In victorious Washington D.C., the game had a 25.2 — an NHL record in the market.
Baltimore ranked third with a 12.5, followed by Richmond (Va.) at an 11.4. Buffalo was the top neutral market with an 11.2. Pittsburgh also pulled a double-digit rating with a 10.65.
