With the last four Stanley Cup champions still alive — and three of the four hailing from top ten TV markets — the start of the NHL conference finals has gotten off to a strong start.
Game 1 of the Penguins/Bruins NHL Eastern Conference final drew a 2.0 final rating and nearly 3.4 million viewers on NBC Saturday night, up 162% in viewership from Rangers/Devils Game 1 on NBC Sports Network last year (1.3M), and up 119% from Bruins/Lightning Game 1 on NBCSN in 2011 (1.5M).
Saturday’s game earned the largest audience for a conference final game on any network since Red Wings/Avalanche on ESPN in 2002 (3.6M). Games in the earlier rounds have earned larger audiences, including Game 6 of last year’s Bruins/Capitals first round series on NBC (3.5M).
On Monday night, Game 2 of the series drew a 1.5 U.S. rating and 2.6 million viewers on NBC Sports Network — up 94% in viewership from Rangers/Devils Game 2 last year (1.3M), and up 67% from Bruins/Lightning Game 2 in 2011 (1.6M).
Game 2 drew a 23.36 rating in Boston, the market’s highest ever for an NHL game on NBCSN. In Pittsburgh, the game drew a 19.91.
Moving to the Western Conference, Game 1 of the Kings/Blackhawks series drew a 1.0 U.S. rating and 1.6 million viewers on NBCSN Saturday afternoon — up 47% in viewership from Kings/Coyotes Game 1 last year (1.1M), and up 61% from Sharks/Canucks Game 1 in 2011 (1.0M).
Game 2 on Sunday night drew a 1.2 and 2.0 million viewers, up 142% in viewership from Kings/Coyotes last year (835K), and up 138% from Sharks/Canucks Game 2 in 2011 (847K).
Games 1 and 2 drew ratings of 11.8 and 16.6, respectively, in the Chicago market. In Los Angeles, Game 1 scored a 2.1 rating and Game 2 a 2.3.
(This year’s numbers from NBC Sports Group Press Box)
