Stanley Cup Final ratings have been consistently solid, but consistently down.
Sunday’s Bruins-Blues Stanley Cup Final Game 6 earned a 3.6 rating and 6.48 million viewers on NBC, per Nielsen fast-nationals — down 8% in ratings and 7% in viewership from Penguins-Predators in 2017 (3.9, 6.99M), but up 16% and 20% from Penguins-Sharks in 2017 (3.1, 5.41M). There was no Game 6 last year.
The Bruins’ series-tying win trails only Penguins-Predators Game 6 and Capitals-Golden Knights Game 5 last year (3.9, 6.59M) as the highest rated and most-watched NHL game since 2015.
It ranks just sixth out of the last ten game sixes (dating back to 2008), behind Penguins-Predators, the Blackhawks’ three Game 6 clinchers, and Red Wings-Penguins in 2008 (4.0, 6.78M). Each of those games was a series-clincher.
Excluding clinchers, it was the highest rated Game 6 since the NHL returned to broadcast television in 1995. That comes with a caveat — there have only been seven such games (and three of them have involved Canadian teams).
Including the streaming audience of 141,000 viewers — a record for the NHL on NBC Sports’ digital platforms — the game had 6.62 million viewers (-7%).
Four of the six Bruins-Blues games have declined from the most recent comparable game.
Game 6 had a 2.0 rating in adults 18-49, down 13% from last year (2.3), but up a tick from 2017 (1.9). It had a 1.7 in adults 18-34, down a tick from last year (1.8), but up a tick from 2017 (1.6).
[Numbers from NBC Sports; Nielsen via ShowBuzz Daily 6.11]
