The first weekend of the Stanley Cup Playoffs produced the four largest audiences of the postseason, led by the only game thus far on broadcast television.
Saturday’s Devils-Rangers first round Stanley Cup playoff Game 3 averaged a 0.8 rating and 1.61 million viewers on ABC, marking the top audience of the week-old playoffs and the most-watched first round Game 3 since Flyers-Penguins on NBC in 2018 (2.29M). There was no comparable window last year, when ABC did not air any playoff games prior to the Stanley Cup Final.
The Devils’ overtime win, which peaked with 2.2 million viewers, lifted the ESPN/ABC playoff average to 745,000 through Saturday (14 games) — up 18% from the networks’ comparable number of games last year. It was Saturday’s top television program across all of broadcast in the key young adult demographics (the NBA’s four-game slate aired on cable).
The four most-watched games of the playoffs took place over the weekend, with Sunday’s Bruins-Panthers Game 4 ranking second at a 0.7 and 1.39 million on TNT — up 78% in ratings and 66% in viewership from Wild-Blues on TBS last year (0.40, 837K).
Saturday’s Maple Leafs-Lightning Game 3 placed third at a 0.54 and 1.11 million on TBS, despite overlapping with the previously-noted Devils-Rangers game on ABC. The combined audience across the two games was 2.7 million. As one would expect given the competition, Toronto’s overtime win declined 11% in ratings and 16% in viewership from Rangers-Penguins in a standalone window last year (0.6, 1.32M).
Stars-Wild Game 4 rounded out the top four with a 0.55 (+17%) and 1.09 million (+9%) on TBS Sunday evening.
Later Sunday night, Oilers-Kings Game 4 averaged a 0.47 and 899,000 on TBS — up 62% in ratings and 61% in viewership from the same series in a similar window last year (0.29, 558K). Friday’s Game 3 on TNT was also up big from last year’s series, rising 55% and 63% respectively to a 0.31 and 591,000.
Hurricanes-Islanders Game 4 opened Sunday’s schedule with a 0.39 and 758,000 on TNT, down 25% in both measures from Hurricanes-Bruins on ESPN last year (0.52, 1.02M). Friday’s Game 3 on TBS had a 0.37 and 703,000, up 32% and 25% respectively from Lightning-Maple Leafs a year ago (0.28, 561K).
After failing to crack the 400,000 viewer mark in Games 1 and 2, Golden Knights-Jets Game 3 surged to a series-high Saturday afternoon with a 0.42 and 870,000 on TBS — up 24% and 29% respectively from last year (Avalanche-Predators: 0.34, 673K). Avalanche-Kraken Game 3 capped Saturday’s schedule with a 0.46 (+15%) and 860,000 (+9%).
Rounding out the recent slate, Friday’s Bruins-Panthers Game 3 on TNT drew a series-low 0.37 and 713,000 on TNT — down 8% and 4% respectively from Hurricanes-Bruins last year. In addition to being the least-watched game of the series, it is also the only game to have declined from last year.
(Nielsen estimates from ShowBuzz Daily 4.25, network PR)
