Stanley Cup Final ratings held steady for a second straight game, but unlike Game 1, viewership declined.
Wednesday’s Blues-Bruins Stanley Cup Final Game 2 earned a 2.0 rating and 3.39 million viewers on NBCSN, flat in ratings and down 7% in viewership from Capitals-Golden Knights last year (2.0, 3.65M), but up 11% and 6% respectively from 2017 Predators-Penguins (1.8, 3.18M).
The Blues’ overtime win, which peaked with 3.95 million viewers from 9:45-10 PM ET, delivered the ninth-largest Stanley Cup Final audience on cable since 2002.
It ranks as just the eighth-most watched Stanley Cup Final Game 2 since 2008 (11 telecasts), with the caveat that six of those games aired on the NBC broadcast network. With those games excluded, it ranks third out of five.
The game had a streaming audience of 157,000, up 12% from last year and an NHL record for NBC Sports’ digital platforms. Across TV and streaming, it delivered 3.54 million viewers (-6%).
Game 2 viewership fell 36% from Monday’s opener, a bigger drop than last year (30%) or 2017 (34%).
In adults 18-49, the game had a 1.1 rating — down 15% from last year (1.3), down a tick from 2017 (1.2), and the lowest in three years (2016: 1.0). It drew a 0.9 in adults 18-34 (-18%), also the lowest since 2016 (0.8).
Ratings for every Stanley Cup Final game dating back 20 years are available here.
Most-watched Stanley Cup Final games on cable, 2002-present
[Numbers from NBC Sports]
