Though unable to match the torrid pace set last season, the 2014 Stanley Cup Final was among the most-watched in two decades.
The five-game Rangers/Kings NHL Stanley Cup Final averaged a 3.0 U.S. rating and 5.0 million viewers on NBC, down 9% in ratings and 13% in viewership from last year’s six-game Blackhawks/Bruins series (3.3, 5.8M), but up 64% and 66%, respectively, from the six-game Kings/Devils series in 2012 (1.8, 3.0M).
Though down from last year, Rangers/Kings ranks as the fifth-most watched Stanley Cup Final on record (dates back to 1994), trailing only Blackhawks/Bruins last year, Red Wings/Flyers on FOX/ESPN in 1997 (5.3M), Blackhawks/Flyers in 2010 (5.2M) and Red Wings/Hurricanes on ABC in 2002 (5.1M). No other series topped five million. This year’s series included the most-watched Game 2 on record, the most-watched Saturday night game in 13 years (also Game 2) and the most-watched Game 5 in six.
This year’s Stanley Cup Final was the first between the Rangers and Kings, but not the first to involve the New York and Los Angeles markets. The previously mentioned 2012 Kings/Devils series averaged a mere 3.0 million viewers, and Devils/Mighty Ducks in 2003 averaged a not-much-better 3.6 million on ESPN/ABC.
Overall, the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs averaged a 0.9 U.S. rating and 1.4 million viewers across the NBC family of networks, trailing last year (1.5M) as the second-most watched since NBC began airing the NHL in the 2005-06 season. Overall, this year’s postseason ranks as the fourth-most watched on record (again, dating back to 1994). Only 2013, 1997 (1.5M) and 1996 (1.6M) did better.
(Series+postseason avg. from NBC Sports Group Press Box)
