Stars-Kraken finished on a strong note in the ratings as Game 6 and 7 were on par with last year’s equivalent New York Rangers games.
Monday’s Kraken-Stars second round Stanley Cup playoff Game 7 averaged a 1.4 rating and 2.75 million viewers on ESPN, flat in ratings and down just 2% in viewership from Rangers-Hurricanes in the same Monday night window last year (1.4, 2.79M) and the largest audience for any Western Conference playoff game — on any network — since a first round Blackhawks-Blues Game 6 on NBC in 2016 (2.82M).
The Stars’ win, which peaked with 3.7 million viewers, trails only Panthers-Bruins Game 7 in the first round (3.10M) and last year’s aforementioned Rangers-Hurricanes Game 7 as the most-watched first or second round playoff game on cable in the past decade. (Several games on NBC had larger audiences, particularly those airing immediately following a Triple Crown horse race.)
Saturday’s Game 6 of the series averaged a 1.0 rating and 2.042 million — up a tick in ratings and a fraction of a percent in viewership from Hurricanes-Rangers last year (0.9, 2.038M).
The Kraken played in three of the five most-watched games in the first two rounds of playoffs, with Monday’s game second, Saturday’s game fourth and their first round Game 7 against Colorado fifth (2.02M).
Shifting to the other Western Conference series, Sunday’s Golden Knights-Oilers Game 6 averaged a series-high 0.9 and 1.65 million despite a late 10 PM ET start time. The Golden Knights’ win had a direct lead-in from ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball, which averaged a 1.0 and 1.77 million.
The three weekend games were the most-watched of the second round, each surpassing the previous high of 1.55 million for Maple Leafs-Panthers Game 3 the prior Sunday. Western Conference games accounted for six of the eight largest second round audiences this season.
The three games also outpaced last year’s most-watched West game in the second round, Game 6 of Avalanche-Blues (1.646M).
With no NBA games on Saturday or Monday, Stars-Kraken was television’s top show in each of the key young adult demographics on both nights.
(Nielsen estimates from Programming Insider 5.16, ShowBuzz Daily 5.16 a, b, network PR)
