Aided by a Preakness lead-in, the Stanley Cup playoffs got off to a better start in the ratings.
Saturday’s Bruins-Capitals Stanley Cup quarterfinal Game 1 averaged a 1.2 rating and 2.28 million viewers on NBC, marking the largest first round audience on any network since 2018, when Game 6 of a Penguins-Flyers series drew 2.34 million on NBC. The game aired immediately following the Preakness Stakes, which averaged 7.01 million.
Compared to NBC’s first primetime game of last year’s playoffs, which took place in August and had no meaningful lead-in, ratings jumped 56% and viewership 82% from a 0.8 and 1.25 million for Golden Knights-Blackhawks Game 3. Compared to its first primetime game in 2019, which took place in April and had no meaningful lead-in, ratings and viewership jumped 20 and 34 percent respectively from a 1.0 and 1.71 million for Maple Leafs-Bruins Game 2.
The last time NBC aired an NHL playoff game after the Preakness Stakes, 2018, it drew a 1.7 and 2.91 million for Lightning-Capitals Game 5 in the conference finals. The Preakness was a bigger draw that year as well (7.95M).
In other action, Islanders-Penguins Game 1 drew a 0.8 and 1.41 million and Wild-Golden Knights a 0.8 and 1.40 million on NBC Sunday.
NBCSN rounded out the opening weekend of play with a 0.44 and 742,000 for Lightning-Panthers Game 1, trailing only last year’s Canadiens-Flyers opener (764K) as the network’s most-watched opening round Game 1 since 2017.
Shifting to the regular season, NHL games averaged 391,000 viewers across NBC and NBCSN — down just 2% from last year’s pre-hiatus average (398K), but still the least-watched regular season in the networks’ fifteen-year run with the league. With last year’s qualification round games included, viewership declined 11% (from 438K).
The 15-game Wednesday Night Hockey package averaged 508,000, up 15% from last year’s 21-game schedule (441K) and a four-year high. Figures include streaming viewership not tracked by Nielsen.
On a local level, Blues games averaged a 4.4 rating on Bally Sports Midwest entering the team’s season finale, per the St. Louis Post-Dispatch — even with last year and up 20% from two years ago. In Boston, Bruins games averaged 4.18 on NESN (+18%), the network’s highest rated season since 2014-15.
[Reg. season numbers from NBC Sports PR, local ratings from St. Louis Post-Dispatch, NESN]
