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--
