NBC Ramps Up For Game 6 of Stanley Cup Final

As the NHL Stanley Cup Final shifts back to Philadelphia for the last time on Wednesday, NBC Sports gets ready for what could be the last hockey game of the season. Plenty of ratings success for NBC in the three games it has aired in this series. Here’s what NBC is saying.

BLACKHAWKS CAN WIN FIRST STANLEY CUP SINCE 1961 WITH VICTORY IN GAME 6 AT PHILADELPHIA ON WEDNESDAY AT 8 P.M. ET ON NBC SPORTS

Three-Game Average Viewership Best In Eight Years

“Does Chicago have the will and character to match Philadelphia? If they do, they win the Stanley Cup.” – NBC Sports’ Mike Milbury

“Philadelphia has proven they can bounce back for big games.” – NBC Sports’ Pierre McGuire

NEW YORK – June 8, 2010 – The Chicago Blackhawks can win their first Stanley Cup since 1961 with a victory against the Philadelphia Flyers at Wachovia Center in Game 6 of the 2010 Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on NBC Sports.

Dan Patrick again serves as event host for NBC Sports’ coverage. Mike “Doc” Emrick (play-by-play), who is calling his 12^th Stanley Cup Final, Eddie Olczyk (analyst) and Pierre McGuire (inside-the-glass reporter) will call the action. Patrick hosts NBC’s studio show alongside analysts Mike Milbury and Jeremy Roenick.

Chicago leads the series 3-2 and can win its first Stanley Cup in 49 years with a victory. It is the longest current Stanley Cup drought. Philadelphia will attempt to stave off elimination and force a Game 7. The Flyers are 4-0 in the 2010 playoffs in elimination games and have defeated the Blackhawks all three times they played in Philadelphia this season, including Games 3-4 of the Stanley Cup Final.

MCGUIRE: “Philadelphia has proven they can bounce back for big games. Chicago is very comfortable right now. Game 5 was their big bounce back. They really pushed the pace.”

MILBURY: “The response from Chicago was everything they needed. They answered the bell so resoundingly in Game 5. As hard as Chicago played, Philadelphia never made it easy. They didn’t stop until the final whistle. The central question is, does Chicago have the will and character to match Philadelphia? If they do, they win the Stanley Cup.”

MCGUIRE ON HOME ICE: “Home ice matters in this series. Both fan bases have been so energized. It’s big for Philadelphia to be back at home.

MILBURY ON THE PHILLY CROWD: “They make it abundantly clear that they are there for the home team. It can be distracting for visiting players. The only way to neutralize that is to get an early lead.”

VIEWERSHIP: Sunday night’s Stanley Cup Final between the Blackhawks and Flyers was the most-watched and highest-rated non-overtime Game 5 in eight years. It was watched by 5.85 million viewers and posted a 3.3/6 rating, the most since 2002 (6.85 million and 4.2/8, Carolina-Detroit, ABC). The viewership and rating were up 31 and 38 percent, respectively, vs. last year’s Game 5 (4.45 million; 2.4/5), between the then-defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins, featuring Sidney Crosby. In 2008, a triple-overtime game between Detroit and Pittsburgh was watched by 6.25 million viewers and generated a 3.8/7 rating.

The 2010 Stanley Cup Final is averaging 5.39 million viewers for the three games broadcast by NBC Sports (Games 1-2 & 5), the best viewership for the first three Stanley Cup games on network in eight years (5.77 million, 2002, Carolina-Detroit, ABC).

ON NBC SPORTS: Chicago is 7-2 on NBC Sports this season, including 3-0 against Philadelphia in the Stanley Cup Final (Games 1-2, 5). Philadelphia is 2-6 on NBC Sports in 2010.

GAME 7: If the Flyers win Game 6, NBC Sports will broadcast Game 7 this Friday at 8 p.m. ET from United Center in Chicago. It would be the second consecutive Stanley Cup Final Game 7 broadcast by
NBC Sports. Last year, Pittsburgh defeated Detroit, 2-1, at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.

One more release on the NHL’s ratings after the jump.
The NHL is pleased over the ratings in both the U.S. and Canada.

STANLEY CUP FINAL GAME 5 ON NBC UP 54 PERCENT OVER LAST YEAR

THREE-GAME AVERAGE BEST IN 8 YEARS

NEW YORK (June 7, 2010) – The overnight rating of a 4.0 and 7 share for last night’s Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final on NBC was up 54 percent over last year’s Game 5 (2.6, Detroit-Pittsburgh) and earned the best non-overtime Game 5 rating in eight years (Carolina-Detroit, 4.5, 2002 on ABC). In 2008, Detroit and Pittsburgh played a three-overtime Game 5 that generated a 4.3.

Sunday night’s game peaked at a 4.7/7 from 9:30-10 p.m. ET. Chicago led all markets with a 26.0 rating and 41 share. Philadelphia followed with a 19.7 rating and 28 share. It was the highest rating for each local market so far.

Top 10 Markets 
1.          Chicago             26.0/41
2.         Philadelphia     19.7/28
3.         Buffalo              10.6/15
4.         Pittsburgh          5.8/9
5          Detroit               4.2/6
6.         Las Vegas          3.9/6
7.         Minneapolis     3.8/7
8.         Fort Myers       3.7/6
9.         Milwaukee       3.6/6
T10.     Denver             3.3/6
T10.     Columbus        3.3/5
T10.     West Palm      3.3/5 

The three-game overnight rating average on NBC of a 3.6 is the best on network television for the Stanley Cup Final in eight years and a 29 percent increase over last year (2.8).

Wednesday night’s Game 3 on VERSUS garnered a 3.1 national HH rating and averaged 3.6 million viewers making VERSUS the most-watched cable network among total viewers, all key demos and among Adults 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54. 

The game was VERSUS’ most-watched telecast in network history and was the most-watched Stanley Cup Final game on cable in eight years.

Note: National rating and viewership information for Game 4 on VERSUS is not yet available.   

Through four games, the Final on CBC is averaging 2.83 million viewers, a 54 percent increase over last year (1.84 million).

DIGITAL PLATFORMS SHOW IMPRESSIVE GROWTH

The NHL is engaging and connecting with more fans than ever on its digital platforms and the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs has continued that trend. Some highlights:

• For the first nine days of the Stanley Cup Final, page views are up  83 percent over last year and video starts are up 196 percent
• For the first 54 days of the playoffs, video starts on NHL.com are up 153 percent over last year
• Unique visitors to NHL.com are up 29 percent
• Page views are up 52 percent
• Mobile page views are up 181 percent
• April was the most trafficked month in the history of NHL.com in terms of unique visitors surpassing 17 million
• NHL.com ranked as the number two site in terms of percentage change in unique visitors from March to April according to comScore.

TV MILESTONES IN THE 2010 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS 

• NBC Sports’ coverage of Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final earned the best overnight rating (4.1 rating and 7 share) for a Game 2 on record (NHL overnight data prior to 1975 is unavailable)
• Canada also scored big for Game 1 of the Final with CBC equaling its best Game 1 audience since 1994 (3.16 million).
• NBC’s two-game average overnight rating is a 3.5, the best for the first two games of a Stanley Cup Final in 11 years (3.8 on Fox in 1999, Buffalo vs. Dallas) and up 17 percent over last year (3.0).
• VERSUS’ coverage of the first two rounds of 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs was the most-watched first two rounds on cable on record with an average of  775,000 viewers for the 54 telecasts (Stanley Cup Playoff cable viewership became available by Nielsen for the 1994 playoffs)
  
• NBC and VERSUS have combined for the most-watched first two rounds since 1997 (ABC, ESPN, ESPN2)
• Game 1 of the Blackhawks-Sharks series on NBC earned an 11.2 rating in Chicago, beating the Cubs, White Sox and Boston-Orlando broadcasts combined
• On Thursday April 22, the Blackhawks, with 278,000 viewers in Chicago, prevailed over some tough local competition: Bulls (255,000 viewers, playoff game against Cleveland and LeBron James), NFL Draft (138,000) and the Chicago Cubs vs. NY Mets (137,000 viewers)
• The Flyers Game 7 victory over the Bruins was the most watched Flyers game in Comcast SportsNet history with an 11.7 rating and 345,000 households, topping the previous record set two days earlier.
• CBC’s coverage of Game 7 between the Montreal Canadiens and Pittsburgh Penguins drew an average audience of 4.24 million viewers, ranking as the sixth largest Stanley Cup Playoff audience in CBC history.
• On French language RDS, the Canadiens-Penguins Game 7 was the most-viewed NHL telecast in the network’s history with 2.69 million viewers.
• The game also scored on FSN Pittsburgh averaging a 26.4 HH rating, the highest-rated game ever on the network. At one point 43 percent of all households in the Pittsburgh DMA were tuned into FSN.
• There were three major Boston-area sports events televised on May 7 and Game 4 of the Bruins-Flyers series scored the best numbers, earning an 8.3 local Nielsen rating (328,000 viewers) on Versus in the Boston metered market besting the Yankees-Red Sox matchup on NESN, which earned a 6.3 local rating (223,000 viewers) to finish in second, while Game Three of the Cavaliers-Celtics NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals earned a 4.1 local rating (142,000 viewers) on ESPN.
• TSN’s audience of 2.8 million for the Washington-Montreal Game 7 was the highest audience ever recorded for an NHL game on TSN and was the most-watched program on Canadian television Wednesday night in all key demographics.  
• The Montreal-Washington series ranks as the most-watched playoff series ever on TSN (any round) with an average audience of 1.8 million viewers over seven games.

Source: Nielsen Media Research US and Nielsen Media Research Canada/BBM

That will do it.