FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, June 1st, 2017

GAME 2 OF STANLEY CUP FINAL AVERAGES MORE THAN 3.2 MILLION VIEWERS, UP 27% VS. LAST YEAR

Predators-Penguins Game 2 Posts Total Audience Delivery (TV + Digital) of 3.278 Million Viewers; SECOND-MOST WATCHED Game 2 on Cable Since 2002

Game 2 is MOST-WATCHED CABLE PROGRAM on Wednesday

Pittsburgh’s 31.1 Local Rating is BEST EVER for Market on NBCSN

Nashville’s 16.3 Local Rating Is SECOND-BEST EVER for Market on NBCSN

Game 2 Sets AVERAGE MINUTE AUDIENCE NHL STREAMING RECORD with 97,900 Viewers per Minute

STAMFORD, Conn. – June 1, 2017 – Last night’s Game 2 of the 2017 Stanley Cup Final on NBCSN, in which the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Nashville Predators 4-1 at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pa., averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 3.278 million viewers, up 27% vs. last year’s Game 2 between the Penguins and San Jose Sharks (2.579 million), according to The Nielsen Company. Game 2 was also the most-watched program on cable on Wednesday (daytime and primetime) among average viewers, and the A18-49 and A25-54 demos.

Despite neither Nashville (#29) nor Pittsburgh (#23) being a Top 20 TV market, the contest was the second-most watched Stanley Cup Final Game 2 on cable since 2002 (Carolina-Detroit, ESPN, 3.782 million), behind only Boston-Chicago in 2013 (3.964 million), which are the #9 and #3 TV markets.

Game 2 (8:09 p.m. – 11:13 p.m. ET) peaked with 3.8 million TV-only viewers during the 9:45-10 p.m. ET quarter-hour. The full contest posted a 1.84 household rating, and averaged 3.180 million TV-only viewers, up 28% and 27%, respectively, vs. Game 1 a year ago (1.44 HH rating; 2.507 million viewers).

Locally, Pittsburgh delivered a 31.1 local rating, the best ever for a Penguins game in the market on NBCSN, surpassing all previous Stanley Cup Final games on the network. Nashville posted a 16.3 local rating, the market’s second-best ever for a Predators game on NBCSN, trailing only last mont’s Game 6 vs. Anaheim in the Western Conference Final (16.5). NBCSN was the No. 1 network overall in both markets during the game.

The Top 5 local markets for Game 2 were:

RANK MARKET LOCAL RATING
1. Pittsburgh 31.1
2. Nashville 16.3
3. Buffalo 8.7
4. Philadelphia 4.4
5. Knoxville 4.3

Digitally, Game 2 delivered an Average Minute Audience of 97,900 viewers, an all-time record for an NHL game. Predators-Penguins Game 2 also delivered 20.471 million live minutes – second-best ever for an NHL game — and 229,000 unique devices – third-best ever for an NHL game — up 52% and 34%, respectively, vs. Penguins-Sharks in 2016 (13.476 million live minutes and 171,000 devices).

Through two games, the 2017 Stanley Cup Final is averaging a TAD of 4.076 million viewers, up 23% vs. last year (3.316 million). Through 80 games, the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs on the networks of NBCUniversal are averaging a TAD of 1.202 million viewers, up 9% vs. 2016 (1.103 million).

NBC Sports’ coverage of the 2017 Stanley Cup Final continues Saturday night, with Game 3 at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. Pre-game coverage begins at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN with a special two-hour edition of NHL Live.

–NBC SPORTS GROUP–