The Stanley Cup Final continues to rebound from last year’s low numbers.
Wednesday’s Predators-Penguins Stanley Cup Final Game 2 earned a 2.5 overnight rating on NBCSN, up 32% from Sharks-Penguins last year (1.9) but down 48% from Blackhawks-Lightning in 2015, which aired on NBC immediately after American Pharoah‘s Triple Crown run in The Belmont Stakes (4.8).
The 2.5 is the second-highest ever for a Stanley Cup Final Game 2 on NBCSN (six telecasts), behind only Bruins-Blackhawks in 2013 (2.9).
The Penguins’ win, which was close until the third period, earned a 31.1 rating in Pittsburgh — up 13% from Game 2 last year (27.5) but down 2% from Penguins-Red Wings Game 2 in 2009, which aired on the NBC broadcast network (31.7). It was the market’s highest ever for an NHL game on NBCSN. Nashville turned in a 16.3 rating, trailing the Predators’ Western Conference final clincher against the Ducks (16.5) as the market’s best NHL rating on NBCSN.
[Wed. numbers via Sports Business Daily 6.1]
