With a four-month delay just one of several mitigating factors, the Stanley Cup playoffs enters its final round at a viewership low.
The first three rounds of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs averaged 844,000 viewers across NBC’s TV and digital platforms, down 28% from last year (1.18M) and the smallest average through the conference finals since the current playoff TV format began in 2012.
This year’s months-delayed postseason has included weekday afternoon games, multiple head-to-head matchups with the NFL, and three fewer games on the NBC broadcast network.
The conference finals averaged 1.14 million viewers. Last Saturday’s Golden Knights-Stars Game 4 was the most-watched of the round with a 0.9 rating and 1.68 million viewers on NBC — up a tick in ratings and 23% in viewership from last year (Sharks-Blues: 0.8, 1.37M) and flat and up 10% respectively from 2018 (Jets-Golden Knights: 0.9, 1.53M).
That was the only increase of the conference finals, and it comes with a caveat: the comparable games both last year and in 2018 aired on NBCSN.
Other games were down significantly, with NFL competition playing a role. Airing opposite Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers debut, Sunday’s Lightning-Islanders Game 4 averaged a 0.52 (-54%) and 944,000 (-49%) on NBC — the least-watched playoff game on broadcast, in any round, since at least 2012.
The next night, Stars-Golden Knights Game 5 averaged 829,000 viewers on NBCSN opposite Monday Night Football (-54%) — topping only Game 3 (790K), which aired opposite the NFL Kickoff Game, as the least-watched conference final game since 2012.
As previously noted, Lightning-Islanders Game 6 averaged 1.18 million opposite Thursday Night Football — down 44% from the last East Final Game 6 two years ago (Lightning-Capitals: 2.11M).
The 44% decline was actually less steep than for Game 5 two nights earlier, which sank 62% sans-football competition (1.10M). That too comes with a caveat: the previous ECF Game 5 aired on NBC following the Preakness Stakes (Capitals-Lightning: 2.91M).
[Nielsen estimates from NBC Sports, ShowBuzz Daily 9.15 a, b; 9.16, 9.17, 9.18]
