Aided by a scheduling change, Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final was the second-straight to avoid a decline in ratings.
Game 5 of the Sharks/Penguins Stanley Cup Final had a 3.0 final rating and 5.0 million viewers on NBC Thursday night, flat in ratings and down 5% in viewership form Blackhawks/Lightning last year (3.0, 5.3M) and down 19% and 17%, respectively, from Rangers/Kings in 2014 (3.7, 6.0M).
The Sharks’ win, which peaked with 6.5 million viewers, was the second straight game in the series to at least pull even in the ratings. That comes with a caveat, however — last year’s Blackhawks/Lightning Game 5 took place on Saturday night, the lowest rated of the week.
In viewership, it was the least-watched Game 5 since Kings/Devils in 2012 (3.3M). Four of the five games have hit a multi-year low in the measure.
Thursday’s game was easily the highest rated and most-watched of the series, and delivered NBC’s second-largest audience ever for a Stanley Cup Final game that did not involve an Original Six team. Game 7 of Oilers/Hurricanes in 2006 holds the top spot (5.4M). But that too comes with a caveat — the network has aired only three such series prior to this year, Oilers/Hurricanes, Ducks/Senators in 2007 and Kings/Devils in 2012.
Game 5 produced a series-high 1.7 rating among adults 18-49, even with last year and down 26% from 2014.
For the night, Game 5 was not the most-watched sporting event on television — trailing the Mexico/Jamaica Copa America match on Univision and Univision Deportes Network (5.4M). Nor was it the top event among adults 18-49, behind the same match.
(Thu. numbers from NBC Sports Group Press Box, with additional info from Univision, ShowBuzz Daily)
