On one of the busiest sports weekends in recent memory, the Stanley Cup Final got off to its slowest start in the ratings since 2007.
Saturday’s Stanley Cup Final Game 1 (Stars-Lightning) averaged a 1.1 rating and 2.12 million viewers on NBC (2.16M including streaming), marking the lowest rated and least-watched Game 1 of the Cup Final since 2007, when Senators-Ducks averaged a 0.5 and 769,000 on NBCSN precursor Versus.
The Stars’ win tied the lowest Cup Final rating ever on broadcast television, matching Senators-Ducks Game 3 on NBC in 2007. It topped only that 2007 game and Lightning-Flames Game 3 on ABC in 2004 (1.97M) as the least-watched on broadcast since at least 2000.
Airing opposite Monday Night Football, Monday’s Game 2 averaged a 0.6 and 1.14 million on NBCSN (1.20M including streaming) — the lowest rated and least-watched Cup Final game on any network since Senators-Ducks Game 2 in ’07 (0.4, 574K) and the fifth-least watched since at least 2001.
The first two games of the series rank among the four lowest rated and least-watched games since 2007, joining Devils-Kings Game 3 (1.0, 1.74M) and Game 4 (1.2, 2.06M) in 2012.
The low numbers come with a laundry list of caveats. This year’s Stanley Cup Final is taking place four months later than scheduled in an empty stadium in Edmonton. Due to the later date, its competition is a mix of the usual (NBA games) and unprecedented (college and pro football). Finally, Stars-Lightning is the first all-“Sun Belt” matchup in Stanley Cup Final history and as such may have been less of a draw even in a normal year.
The competition was a particularly significant factor on Saturday, with Game 1 nearly doubled by the competing Celtics-Heat NBA Eastern Conference Final Game 3 on ESPN (2.0, 3.81M) and the Miami-Louisville college football game on ABC (2.1, 3.80M). It was even outdrawn by the competing NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol on NBCSN (1.2, 2.12M).
Compared to recent years, Game 1 sank 62% in ratings and 60% in viewership from Blues-Bruins last year (2.9, 5.25M) and 62% and 59% respectively from Capitals-Golden Knights in 2018 (2.9, 5.20M), both of which aired on Memorial Day. Game 2 had an even steeper decline — falling 69% in ratings and 66% in viewership from last year (2.0, 3.39M) and 69% in both measures from 2018 (2.0, 3.65M).
Game 1 ranks a distant second among games this postseason behind Islanders-Flyers Game 7 in the second round (1.4, 2.96M). That game had a lead-in from the Kentucky Derby.
Locally, Tampa St. Petersburg averaged an 8.5 rating for Game 1 and a 7.0 for Game 2, down 53% and 54% respectively from the Lightning’s previous appearance in the final five years ago (17.9; 15.1). The games averaged a 6.4 and 4.2 in Dallas-Ft. Worth, the former ranking as the market’s best-ever NHL rating on the NBC family of networks. The Stars’ previous final appearance aired on ESPN/ABC.
[Nielsen estimates from NBC Sports, ShowBuzz Daily 9.22]
