The 2012 Stanley Cup finals ended the playoffs with a bang. The Los Angeles Kings booted the New Jersey Devils in stunning fashion, pushing us all into the frightening hockey-less wilderness known as the off-season. The ratings for this year’s postseason are in, and for the most part, they’re strong.
NBC sent out a press release that runs down the ratings from both a big picture and more specific standpoint. Here are some of the most interesting bits:
- With an average of 936K viewers between the games shown on NBC, NBC Sports Network and CNBC, the first round was the most-watched on record.
- The same can be said of the second round (aka semifinals), with an average of 1.32 million viewers.
- The combined first three rounds generated the best numbers in 15 years, with a 1.03 million viewer average.
- NBC Sports Network’s ratings were up 12 percent from 2011, while NBC and NBC Sports Network (as a combination) saw a four percent improvement.
- The Los Angeles Kings’ Cup-winning Game 6 triumph produced a 13.6 household rating, the highest on record in the market. Beyond that, Six markets set records for viewership on NBC Sports Network: Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New York, Phoenix and St. Louis. Los Angeles, New York, St. Louis and Washington set NBC records as well.
Pretty good stuff, huh?
If you’re the type who likes to soak in the details, here are the round-by-round notes directly from the press release:
Round by Round:
CONFERENCE QUARTERFINALS
• Averaged 936,000 viewers on NBC, NBC Sports Network and CNBC, making them the most-watched first round on record (cable data not available prior to 1994).
• Averaged 744,000 viewers on NBC Sports Network, making them the most-watched in NBC Sports Network (formerly VERSUS) history, up 16% vs. 2011 (642,000), and the highest on a cable channel in 11 years (ESPN, 745,000 in 2001).
• Averaged 2.57 million viewers on NBC, up 39% vs. last year (1.85). The most-watched Conference Quarterfinals on broadcast television since 1998 (2.76/FOX).
• Capitals-Bruins Game 6 on NBC averaged 3.5 million viewers, making it the most-watched Conference Quarterfinal game since the advent of Nielsen People Meters (1987).
• Washington did an 8.6 household rating, the best in the market on broadcast television for an NHL game since 2004.
• Capitals-Bruins Game 7 on NBC Sports Network averaged 1.32 million viewers, making it the most-watched first-round game on cable in 12 years (1.51/San Jose-St. Louis, Game 7 in 2000 on ESPN).
• It was also up 43 percent vs. last year’s comparable game (926,000; Washington-Montreal, Game 7) and was the most-watched first-round game in NBC Sports Network history.
CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS
• Averaged 1.32 million viewers across NBC, the NBC Sports Network & CNBC, up 28% vs. last year and best on record.
• Averaged 1.29 million viewers on the NBC Sports Network, up 43% vs. last year and best on record for a single cable network.
• Game 3 of the series between the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals, which went to triple overtime, was watched by 1.85 million viewers on the NBC Sports Network and was the most-watched 2012 Conference Semifinal game on cable.
• In Washington, Rangers-Capitals Game 7 received a 7.7 household rating, up 18% vs. 2011. The game received the second-highest local rating ever in the market for a NHL game on the NBC Sports Network.
• In St. Louis, Blues-Kings Game 1 received an 8.1 household rating, the best in that market for an NHL game on broadcast television since 2004.
CONFERENCE FINALS
• Through three rounds, the 2012 Playoffs averaged 1.09 million viewers on NBC, NBC Sports Network & CNBC, making them the most-watched in 15 years (1.237 on FOX/ESPN/ESPN2 in 1997).
• The Western Conference Finals averaged 1.02 million viewers for the four games on NBC Sports Network, up 18 percent over last year’s Western Conference Finals (San Jose-Vancouver, 863,000). NBC Sports Network aired Games 1, 2, 3 and 5. NBC aired Game 4, averaging 1.4 million viewers, down slightly vs. last year (Vancouver-San Jose, 1.5 million).
• The Eastern Conference Finals averaged 1.39 million viewers on NBC Sports Network, down from 2011 (1.71 million).
• In New York, Game 5 of Rangers-Devils received a 6.47 household rating, the highest local rating ever in the market for an NHL game on NBC Sports Network.
• In Phoenix, Game 1 Coyotes-Kings received a 5.56 household rating, the highest local rating ever in the market for a NHL game on the NBC Sports Network.
STANLEY CUP FINAL
• The Cup-clinching Game 6 was the most-watched game of the 2012 Stanley Cup Final with 4.93 million viewers.
o NBC ranked first in Monday night primetime among broadcast networks in the advertiser-coveted M18-49 and M18-34 demos.
· In Los Angeles, the Cup-clinching Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final received a 13.6 household rating, the highest local rating ever in the market for a NHL playoff game on broadcast television on record (since 1976).
• In New York, Game 1 received a 5.1, the highest local rating in the market since 2003 for a NHL playoff game on broadcast television (10.1/Anaheim-New Jersey Game 7/ABC).
• For the entire series, NBC and NBC Sports Network combined to average 3.01 million viewers, down from last year’s 4.57 million average.