Given it was a four-game sweep involving a Canadian team, TNT turned in solid numbers for the NHL’s Western Conference Final.
The four-game Avalanche-Oilers NHL Western Conference Final averaged 1.8 million viewers on TNT, up 58% from last year’s equivalent Canadiens-Golden Knights series on USA and NBCSN and the largest cable average for a West Final since 2015. Keep in mind most of the prior conference finals included one or more games on the NBC broadcast network.
Monday’s clinching Game 4 averaged 1.99 million on TNT, the largest audience for any Western Conference Final game since Blues-Sharks Game 1 on NBC in 2019 (2.09M) and the largest on cable since Ducks-Blackhawks Game 6 on NBCSN in 2015 (2.38M). Ratings were not immediately available.
Saturday’s Game 3 averaged a 0.9 rating and 1.85 million, the largest audience for Game 3 of a West Final since Blackhawks-Kings on NBC in 2014 (2.4M).
Shifting to the East, Sunday’s afternoon Rangers-Lightning Game 3 averaged a series-low 0.9 and 1.96 million on ESPN — the most-watched afternoon conference final game since Hurricanes-Bruins Game 2 on NBC in ’19 (2.26M). Keep in mind it was only the fourth such game over that span, and one of the three aired on an NFL Sunday (Lightning-Islanders Game 4 two years ago).
ESPN and ESPN2 are averaging 1.1 million viewers for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, up 26% from last year, including 2.2 million for the Eastern Conference Final. That outpaces TNT and TBS, which averaged 1.0 million for their 39-game postseason run.
ESPN has had the benefit of airing all of the Rangers’ second and third round series. New York has played in the top six and seven of the eight most-watched games this postseason.
[Nielsen estimates from ShowBuzz Daily 6.7, league and network PR]
