A Stanley Cup Final that started with low expectations now ranks among the most-watched on record through four games.
Tuesday’s Hurricanes-Golden Knights NHL Stanley Cup Final Game 4 averaged a 2.6 rating and 5.345 million viewers on ABC, marking the most-watched Game 4 of a Cup Final since Penguins-Predators on NBC in 2017 (5.65M) and the fourth-most watched Game 4 on record (31 telecasts dating back to 1994). Viewership trails only the 2017 game, Blackhawks-Bruins on NBC in 2013 (6.46M) and Flyers-Red Wings on ESPN in 1997 (5.36M).
The 2.6 rating is also the highest for a Game 4 since Blues-Bruins on NBC in 2019 (3.1).
Note that Nielsen did not begin including out-of-home viewing in its estimates until 2020, only began doing so in 100 percent of markets a year ago, and is months into a new methodology that integrates its traditional panel with “Big Data” from smart TVs and set-top boxes. Those changes will skew historical comparisons, particularly to years before 2020.
Carolina’s win, which peaked with 6.4 million in the 10:30 PM ET quarter-hour, trails only Game 7 of the 2024 Cup Final (Oilers-Panthers: 7.67M) as the most-watched NHL game since the clinching Avalanche-Lightning Game 6 in 2022.
Ratings and doubled last year’s Oilers-Panthers Game 4 on TNT Sports (1.3, 2.61M) and increased 86% and 74% respectively from the previous Cup Final Game 4 on ABC, Panthers-Oilers in 2024 (1.4, 3.1M).
The full series is now averaging a 2.4 rating and 5.0 million through four games, marking the most-watched Cup Final through four games since Blackhawks-Lightning in 2015. Only three series have averaged more viewers through four games dating back to ’94 — 2015, Blackhawks-Bruins in 2013, and the four-game Red Wings-Flyers sweep in 1997.
All four games of the Cup Final have hit multi-year highs, with the nine-year mark for Game 4 following a 22-year high for Game 3, an 11-year high for Game 2, and a six-year high for Game 1. All four games have averaged at least four million viewers, more than the previous three Cup Final series combined (3).
This year’s Cup Final is the first since 1997 in which each of the first four games topped the four million mark. That 1997 series is currently the only Cup Final on record in which every game averaged four million. This year’s series is almost certain to become the second, whether it ends Sunday night in Game 6 or next Wednesday in Game 7.
