Whether drama or schadenfreude, viewers tuned in en masse to watch the record-setting Boston Bruins fall in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Sunday’s Panthers-Bruins first round Stanley Cup playoff Game 7 averaged a 1.5 rating and 3.10 million viewers on TNT, marking the largest first round cable audience on record (dating back to 1994). The previous high was 2.33 million for Penguins-Rangers Game 7 on TBS last year. Excluding the Stanley Cup Final, no NHL game on cable has had a larger audience in eight years — since Game 7 of the 2015 Eastern Conference Final on NBCSN (Lightning-Rangers: 3.29M).
Florida’s upset win, which peaked with 4.1 million viewers, delivered the largest first round audience on any network since Bruins-Capitals Game 6 on NBC in 2012 (3.52M) and the largest prior to the Cup Final since a Blue Jackets-Bruins second round Game 5 in 2019 — which averaged 4.56 million on NBC immediately following the Kentucky Derby.
Compared to Penguins-Rangers Game 7 in the same Sunday night window last year, which aired on TBS, ratings increased 28% and viewership a third from a 1.2 and 2.33 million. Last year’s game aired opposite a competing NBA Game 7 on TNT, while this year’s game faced no NBA competition.
The two other game sevens this year — Rangers-Devils on ESPN Monday night (2.05M) and Sunday’s Kraken-Avalanche nightcap on TNT (1.1, 2.02M) — delivered the third and fourth-largest first round cable audiences on record. Including last season, the four largest audiences and five of the top six have come in the two seasons of the NHL’s media rights deal with ESPN and Turner.
Outside of the game sevens, Saturday’s Devils-Rangers Game 6 was the top draw of the first round with a 0.9 and 1.93 million on ABC. In overlapping windows on TBS, Maple Leafs-Lightning drew a 0.6 and 1.16 million and Oilers-Kings a 0.48 and 915,000. Last year’s equivalent windows were game sevens.
On Friday night, Bruins-Panthers Game 6 drew a 0.55 (flat) and 1.07 million (-6%) on TNT opposite Hurricanes-Islanders on TBS at a 0.35 (+13%) and 647,000 (+6%). In the nightcap, Avalanche-Kraken on TNT (0.49, 892K) easily outdrew Stars-Wild on TBS (0.30, 578K).
Opposite the first round of the NFL Draft Thursday, Lightning-Maple Leafs Game 5 drew a 0.39 (-13%) and 723,000 (-11%) on TBS, topping Rangers-Devils (0.31, 606K) and Jets-Golden Knights (0.26, 474K) on ESPN2. All three games declined from the equivalent Thursday last year, a night in mid-May with no NFL competition.
Overall, first round viewership increased 18% on TNT and TBS (959K). An average for ESPN was not immediately available, but the networks were up 20% through Thursday.
(Nielsen estimates from ShowBuzz Daily 5.2 a, b, network PR)
