The deciding game of the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals drew the largest NHL overnight in 36 years.
The Blackhawks’ championship-clinching Game 6 win over the Flyers drew a 5.8/10 overnight rating on NBC Wednesday night, up 42% from Red Wings/Penguins Game 6 last year (4.1), up 32% from Red Wings/Penguins Game 6 in ’08 (4.4), and up 164% from Hurricanes/Oilers Game 6 in ’06 (2.2).
The overnight peaked at an 8.0/14 from 11-11:15 PM ET.
Last year’s Game 6 aired on a Tuesday night opposite the NBA Finals, Game 6 in 2008 aired on a Wednesday night and was the clinching game of the series, and Game 6 in 2006 aired on a Saturday night.
The 5.8 overnight is the highest ever for an NHL game on NBC, and is tied with Mighty Ducks/Devils Game 7 in ’03 as the highest for any NHL game since Bruins/Flyers Game 6 in ’74 (7.6). For perspective, last year’s Penguins/Red Wings Game 7 drew a 5.0 overnight.
Overall, three of the four Blackhawks/Flyers telecasts on NBC drew at least a 4.0 overnight rating. To put that in perspective, only five previous telecasts on the network hit that mark.
The Blackhawks’ coronation drew a 32.8/50 in Chicago, the highest of the series. In Philadelphia, the game drew a 26.8/38.
Buffalo was the top neutral market (13.5/20), while Indianapolis (6.3/10) was the top non-NHL market.
Final ratings for the three Stanley Cup Final games on NBC this year have declined between 18% and 20% from the overnight, putting Wednesday’s game on pace to finish in the 4.7-4.9 range.
