Sports

2015 Stanley Cup Final is Second-Most Watched on Record

Stamford, PA

Game 6 averaged 8 million viewers. The 2015 Stanley Cup final averaged 5.551 million viewers, up 11 percent vs. the 2014 final. Game 6 won the night for NBC in primetime. (Photo: AP Images)

The 2015 Stanley Cup Final averaged 5.551 million viewers and a 3.19 HH rating across NBC and NBCSN, making it the second-most watched Final on record (since 1994), according to The Nielsen Company. In addition, last night’s deciding game on NBC (8:08-11:16 p.m. ET), in which the Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-0 to claim their third Stanley Cup in six years, averaged 8.005 million viewers and delivered a 4.44 HH rating, making it the third-most watched Stanley Cup Final Game 6 on record.

Game 6 was the culmination of one of the most competitive Stanley Cup Finals in history. It was the first time in 64 years that each of the first five games were decided by one goal, and until late in the third period last night, when Chicago went ahead 2-0, no team had had more than a one-goal lead throughout the series.

Overall, the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs (88 games) averaged 1.430 million viewers across NBC, NBCSN, CNBC and USA Network, making it the third-most watched post-season in 18 years.

NBC Sports Live Extra and numerous local markets also scored record metrics throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The 5.551 million viewers for the six-game 2015 Stanley Cup Final makes it the second-most watched on record, trailing only the 2013 Final, which featured the Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins and averaged 5.753 million viewers through six games. This year’s final was up 11 percent vs. last year, which featured the New York Rangers and Los Angeles Kings and ended in five games (5.009).

Among the six Stanley Cup Finals on record to average at least 5.0 million viewers since 1994, NBC/NBCSN has televised four of them, including each of the past three years.

As a result of Game 6, NBC won the night in primetime (8-11 p.m. ET) across all key demographics, including a 2.7 rating in the advertiser-coveted A18-49 demo. Game 6 ranked as the most-watched show in primetime, ahead of all broadcast and cable competition.

On digital, Game 6 ranked No. 1 in uniques (223,000) among all authenticated NHL games on NBC Sports Live Extra ever. The game peaked at 136,500 uniques in the 10 p.m. ET hour.