FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, June 3rd, 2014

KINGS-BLACKHAWKS GAME 7 IS MOST-WATCHED NON-STANLEY CUP FINAL NHL PLAYOFF GAME ON RECORD

Kings-Blackhawks Averages 4.137 Million Viewers, Peaks at 5.5 Million from 10:30-10:45 PM ET

Game 7 is Most-Watched NHL Game & Most-Watched Non-Olympic Program Ever on NBCSN

NBCSN was No. 1 Sunday Night Cable Network during Game 7

Viewers Consume More than 8 Million Minutes of Game 7 through NBC Sports Live Extra

Through First Three Rounds, 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs Are Most-Watched in 17 Years

STAMFORD, Conn. – June 3, 2014 – The Los Angeles Kings-Chicago Blackhawks Game 7 overtime thriller on Sunday night averaged 4.137 million viewers, according to The Nielsen Company, making it:

 

  • the most-watched non-Stanley Cup Final NHL Playoff game on record;
  • the most-watched NHL game ever on NBCSN; and
  • the most-watched non-Olympic program ever on NBCSN.

 

Sunday night’s Western Conference Final Game 7 (8:01-11:16 p.m. ET) — which pitted the last two Stanley Cup champions against each other and was won, 5-4, by the Kings in overtime — surpassed Game 7 of the 1996 Eastern Conference Final between the Florida Panthers and Pittsburgh Penguins (ESPN, June 1, 4.049 million) as the most-watched non-Stanley Cup Final NHL playoff game on record.

Kings-Blackhawks surpassed Game 3 of last year’s Stanley Cup Final between the Blackhawks and Boston Bruins (4.001 million) as the most-watched NHL game ever on NBCSN and the most-watched non-Olympic program ever on the network. It also had more viewers than USA-Russia (4.100 million) men’s ice hockey during the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

NBCSN was the No. 1 network on cable during the game Sunday night. It was the second-most watched cable program of the day among average viewers, P18-49 (1.909) and P25-54 (2.111), trailing only HBO’s Game of Thrones. It also outperformed all broadcast programming among P18-49 and P25-54.

The game peaked at 5.5 million viewers from 10:30-10:45 p.m. ET, and delivered a 2.35 HH rating.

 

NBCSN’S MOST-WATCHED NON-OLYMPIC PROGRAMS

RANK DATE ROUND GAME VIEWERS (Millions)
1 6/01/2014 CONFERENCE FINALS (West) LA/CHI G7 4.137
2 6/17/2013 STANLEY CUP FINAL CHI/BOS G3 4.001
3 6/15/2013 STANLEY CUP FINAL BOS/CHI G2 3.964
4 6/02/2010 STANLEY CUP FINAL PHI-CHI G3 3.600
5 6/04/2009 STANLEY CUP FINAL DET-PIT G4 3.448

 

The 22.7 HH rating in Chicago was the best Blackhawks game delivery ever on NBCSN.Originally reported yesterday, following are some local ratings notes and highlights regarding Sunday night’s Game 7:

  • Los Angeles drew its best Round 3 metered market rating ever on NBCSN with a 4.8 rating.
  • With the Rangers awaiting the winner in the Stanley Cup Final, New York delivered a 3.7 rating, its best rating on NBCSN ever for a non-Stanley Cup Final game that did not include a New York team.

 

Following are the Top 10 markets for Kings-Blackhawks Game 7:

Rank Market Rating
1 Chicago 22.7
2 Buffalo 7.3
3 Los Angeles 4.8
4 Minn-St. Paul 4.3
5 Boston 3.9
6 San Diego 3.8
6 Pittsburgh 3.8
6 Milwaukee 3.8
9 New York 3.7
10 Providence 3.5

 

Digitally, the live stream of Game 7 produced record metrics for an authenticated game on NBC Sports Live Extra. The game delivered 142,033 uniques and 8,146,724 million minutes consumed, making it the best authentication-required NHL game ever in all key metrics and the best authenticated or unauthenticated game of the 2013-14 season in all key metrics.

Through three rounds, the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs are the most-watched in 17 years. NBC, NBCSN and CNBC have combined to average 1.187 million viewers for 86 games, up 11% vs. last year (1.074 million for 78 games) and the most since FOX, ESPN and ESPN2 combined to average 1.237 million for the first three rounds in 1997.

–NBC SPORTS GROUP–