Fueled by a dramatic Kentucky Derby lead-in, the Blue Jackets and Bruins set a ratings high on NBC.
Airing immediately after the Kentucky Derby, Saturday’s Blue Jackets-Bruins Stanley Cup semifinal Game 5 earned a 2.6 rating and 4.56 million viewers on NBC — up 8% in ratings and 7% in viewership from last year (2.4, 4.26M) and up 8% and 5% respectively from 2017 (2.4, 4.33M), both of which were Penguins-Capitals matchups.
The Bruins’ win ranks as the highest rated and most-watched first or second round Stanley Cup playoff game ever on the NBC family of networks (dates back to 2006).
Overall, it delivered the second-largest audience on record for any NHL game outside of the Stanley Cup Final (dates back to 1993). Game 7 of the 2015 Blackhawks-Ducks Western Conference Final holds the top spot (2.6, 4.60M). It exceeded the most-watched Winter Classic ever — Penguins-Capitals in primetime eight years ago — which had 4.53 million.
The race likely benefited from the controversial finish at the Kentucky Derby, which generated an unusually large postrace audience.
Monday’s clinching Game 6 of the series had 1.871 million viewers on NBCSN, down 16% from last year’s Capitals-Penguins clincher (2.24M) and up a fraction of a percent from Capitals-Penguins in 2017 (1.868M). Ratings were not immediately available. The game had a 14.3 rating in Boston and a 13.0 in Columbus.
In other action, Blues-Stars Game 6 scored a 0.9 and 1.55 million on NBC Sunday afternoon — down 31% in ratings and 26% in viewership from last year (Bruins-Lightning: 1.3, 2.11M), but flat and up 11% respectively from 2017 (Blues-Predators: 0.9, 1.40M).
The NBC broadcast network has aired ten playoff games that can be compared to last year, and eight of those have declined. The only exceptions were Games 2 and 5 of Bruins-Blue Jackets.
As for the other Western Conference series, Avalanche-Sharks Game 5 drew a 0.6 (+30%) and 1.05 million (+47%) on NBCSN Saturday night. Game 6 of the series drew 1.23 million on Monday night (+2%). The latter game had a 9.1 rating in Denver, a record for the NHL on NBC in the market, and a 4.9 in the Bay Area.
