Stanley Cup playoff ratings are still on the rise, with Tuesday’s Capitals-Blue Jackets game hitting a four-year high.
Tuesday’s Capitals-Blue Jackets Stanley Cup Playoffs Game 4 earned a 0.54 rating and 888,000 viewers on NBCSN, marking the largest non-clinching first round audience on cable since 2014 (Bruins-Red Wings Game 4: 1.1M).
Compared to previous years, the audience for Washington’s overtime win increased 54% from last year (Canadiens-Rangers: 576K) and 63% from 2016 (Lightning-Red Wings: 546K).
The Capitals-Blue Jackets series accounts for the two largest audiences of the playoffs on cable, with Sunday’s Game 2 ranking second (765K).
In other action, Golden Knights-Kings had 557,000 viewers later in the night (+16%) and Jets-Wild scored 259,000 on CNBC (-38%).
On Monday, Game 3 of the Bruins-Maple Leafs series delivered a 0.43 rating and 683,000 viewers on NBCSN — up 16% in ratings and 11% in viewership from last year (Capitals-Maple Leafs: 0.40, 615K) and up 8% and 11% respectively from 2016 (Capitals-Flyers: 0.40, 613K).
Predators-Avalanche had a 0.34 (+42%) and 564,000 (+50%) later in the night. Over on CNBC, Lightning-Devils had 297,000 viewers (-3%) while Ducks-Sharks had a postseason-low 139,000 (-72%).
Through Tuesday, viewership has increased for 15 of the 23 playoff windows that can be compared to last year. Eleven of those 15 have increased by double-figures.
[Numbers from Programming Insider 4.17 a, b; ShowBuzz Daily 4.17, 4.18]
