Overnight ratings dipped once again for the Stanley Cup Final, but Game 6 still delivered a solid number for NBC.
Sunday’s Bruins-Blues Stanley Cup Final Game 6 earned a 4.7 overnight rating on NBC, down a tick from Penguins-Predators in 2017 (4.8), but up 27% from Penguins-Sharks in 2016 (3.7). There was no Game 6 last year.
Despite the decline, the 4.7 overnight is the third-highest for any NHL game since 2015. Last year’s Capitals-Golden Knights Game 5 holds the top spot (5.0), followed by the aforementioned Penguins-Predators Game 6.
It is also the fifth-highest for a Game 6 in the Stanley Cup Final since 2000 (Stars-Devils: 5.2), behind Penguins-Predators and the Blackhawks’ three Game 6 clinchers — 2010 against the Flyers (5.8), 2013 against the Bruins (5.6) and 2015 against the Lightning (5.6). Excluding series-clinchers, it is the highest Game 6 overnight since the NHL returned to broadcast television in 1995. Keep in mind it was only the seventh non-clinching Game 6 over that span.
Overnight ratings have been flat or down for all six games of the Bruins-Blues series, though two of the previous five games ended up with increases in the final nationals.
St. Louis led all markets Sunday night with a 33.0 rating, up 10% from Game 5 (30.1) and the market’s highest ever for an NHL game on NBC Sports. Boston ranked second at a 27.6, down 16% from Blackhawks-Bruins in 2013 (33.0) and down 17% from Canucks-Bruins in 2011 (33.3).
Bruins secondary market Providence ranked third at a 21.7. Buffalo was the top neutral market, with a 10.8 — up 4% from the previous Game 6 in 2017 (10.4). Kansas City rounded out the top five with an 8.2.
[Numbers from NBC Sports]
