Ratings: Stanley Cup, NBA Lottery, UCL and more

Through Thursday, round one of the Stanley Cup Playoffs averaged 604,000 viewers across NBC’s TV and digital platforms — down 3% from the same point of last year’s playoffs (622K). Last year’s first round, which included three Game 7s, ended up averaging 778,000. This year’s first round ended Friday with no series going seven. Should the first round finish below 700,000, it would be the least-watched since 2013 (478K), with the caveat that many games had unusual weekday afternoon starts.

Games on cable have averaged 536,000 viewers (including streaming). Excluding weekday matinees, that average rises to 582,000 — behind only 2012 (583K) as the highest on cable at this point of the playoffs since NBC acquired rights.

Wednesday’s Canadiens-Flyers Game 5 averaged a 0.45 rating and 748,000 on NBCSN, ranking second for the playoffs on cable behind Game 1 of the same series (0.47, 764K). In the nightcap, Canucks-Blues Game 5 had a 0.28 and 431,000. Shifting to the afternoon, Hurricanes-Bruins Game 5 scored 519,000 despite a 4 PM ET start, bonus coverage of Coyotes-Avalanche Game 5 drew 444,000, and Blue Jackets-Lightning Game 5 had just 283,000 at Noon ET.

In other action, Capitals-Islanders Game 5 averaged a 0.41 and 659,000 on Thursday and Game 4 a 0.43 and 652,000 on Tuesday. Stars-Flames Game 6 drew a 0.27 and 411,000 in a late night window Thursday, not much higher than the afternoon Game 5 on Tuesday (380K).

Thursday’s NBA Draft Lottery averaged a 1.5 rating and 2.25 million viewers on ESPN, down 48% in ratings and 49% in viewership from last year, when Zion Williamson was in the draft pool (2.9, 4.43M), but down a more modest 6% and 7% respectively from 2018 (1.6, 2.42M).

The telecast ranks as the least-watched NBA Draft Lottery since at least 2007. Keep in mind that the event typically precedes an NBA conference final. This year, it aired between first round games.

Wednesday’s Bayern Munich-Lyon UEFA Champions League semifinal averaged 963,000 across Univision and TUDN, marking the largest UCL semifinal audience ever on a single U.S. outlet. The match, which peaked with 981,000 from 4-4:30 PM ET, surpassed the previous high of 879,000 set one day earlier on the same networks.

The four most-watched UCL semifinals have aired on Univision. As neither CBS All-Access nor CBS Sports Network are Nielsen-rated, figures for English-language coverage are not available.

The first five games of the Blues-Canucks Stanley Cup playoff series, which St. Louis lost in six Friday night, averaged a 6.5 rating in St. Louis across NBCSN and Fox Sports Midwest — down 27% from last year (8.9) per the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Four of the first five games began at 9:30 PM local time. … Going head-to-head Tuesday night, ESPN averaged 366,000 viewers for Rays-Yankees while FS1 averaged 334,000 for Cardinals-Cubs. Despite cannibalizing each other, both games easily outdrew the networks’ other MLB windows this week, none of which cracked the 300,000 mark. … Opening round coverage of the Northern Trust, the first event of the PGA Tour Fedex Cup Playoffs, averaged 544,000 viewers on Golf Channel Thursday (+31%).