NEW YORK – The 2011 Stanley Cup Final, won by the Boston Bruins over the Vancouver Canucks in a dramatic seven-game series, set numerous viewership milestones and records, including the highest North American viewership for any Stanley Cup Final in history – 11.5 million viewers (records go back to 1994). Game 7 of the series led the way, averaging a record 18.3 million viewers in the U.S. and Canada, also a North American viewership record for any NHL game on record.
Game 7 drew 8.54 million viewers on NBC in the U.S., the best for any NHL game in 38 years, up three percent over last year’s deciding Game 6 and seven percent over Game 7 in 2009. In Canada, the 8.76 million viewers on CBC for Game 7 is an all-time best for any NHL game on the network and the second most-watched sports program ever on CBC, behind only the 2002 Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Final between USA and Canada (8.96 million). The 8.76 million viewers is a 148-percent increase over the last Stanley Cup Final Game 7 in 2009 (Pittsburgh-Detroit, 3.528 million viewers). On French-language RDS, the game attracted 1.043 million viewers, 50-percent higher than the last Game 7 to feature a Canadian team (2006: Edmonton-Carolina, 695,000 viewers).
MOST-WATCHED STANLEY CUP FINAL GAMES IN U.S. (1966-2011):
1. 5/18/71, Montreal-Chicago – Game 7, 12.41 million, CBS 2. 5/11/72, Boston-NY Rangers – Game 6, 10.93 million, CBS 3. 5/10/73, Montreal-Chicago – Game 6, 9.41 million, NBC 4. 6/15/11, Boston-Vancouver – Game 7, 8.54 million, NBC (Last Night’s Game) 5. 4/30/72, NY Rangers-Boston – Game 1, 8.51 million, CBS 6. 5/12/74, Boston-Philadelphia – Game 3, 8.30 million, NBC 7. 6/9/10, Chicago-Philadelphia – Game 6, 8.28 million, NBC 8. 5/7/72, Boston-NY Rangers – Game 4, 8.26 million, CBS 9. 6/12/09, Pittsburgh-Detroit – Game 7, 7.99 million, NBC 10. 5/19/74, Boston-Philadelphia – Game 6, 7.85 million, NBC
CBC averaged 6.153 million viewers over the seven-games series, the best ever for CBC, a 98-percent increase over last year’s Final (3.10 million viewers) and an 186-percent increase over the last seven-game Final in 2009 (2.154 million viewers).
The Stanley Cup Final seven game series (Games 1, 2, 5, 6, 7 on NBC and Games 3, 4 on VERSUS) averaged 4.6 million viewers and a household rating of 2.7/5, surpassing the 2004 series (3.3 million, 2.2/4 on ABC/ESPN) as the most-watched combined network/cable Stanley Cup involving a Canadian team ever and up 39 percent from that series. The combined viewership was up 160 percent over the last Final with a Canadian team (Ottawa-Anaheim, 1.76 million viewers).
The Bruins’ first title since 1972 energized Beantown with the Boston market averaging a 28.1/44 rating for the seven games (five on NBC and two on VERSUS), 12-percent higher than the Boston Celtics’ seven-game average in Boston on ABC for last year’s NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers (25.0/40). The 43.4/64 for Game 7 was the best-ever rating for an NHL game in Boston.
The live games were also available on satellite radio through the NHL’s partnership with SiriusXM, featuring live local radio feeds from both Vancouver and Boston.
OTHER RATING & VIEWERSHIP MILESTONES:
· Game 1 on NBC delivered a 2.7 national rating, up 17 percent over
last year (2.3) despite that series featuring the No. 3 and 4 U.S.
television markets (Chicago-Philadelphia).
· The 4.56 million viewers on NBC were the most for a Stanley Cup Final
Game 1 since 1999 (Buffalo-Dallas, 5.07 million viewers on FOX).
· The two-game Stanley Cup Final metered market average on VERSUS of
1.95 was up 231percent over the last time the Final featured a
Canadian team (2007, Ottawa-Anaheim, 0.59 on VERSUS).
· Game 4 on VERSUS produced a 23.64 HH rating in Boston, finishing No.
1 in the time period in the market and beating the Yankees-Red Sox
game on NESN by 141 percent (9.8 local rating).
· The 2.76 million viewers on VERSUS for Game 3 made it the most
watched Stanley Cup Final game featuring a Canadian club on U.S.
cable since 1994 (Vancouver-NY Rangers Game 7).
· The 4.6 million viewers for Game 1 on NBC was 169-percent higher than
the first network broadcast of the 2007 series (1.6 million viewers
for Game 3), the last time the Final featured a Canadian participant.
· Overall, this was the second most-watched postseason (second only to
last year) on U.S. cable in nine years.
· The Boston market earned a 43.4 rating and a 64 share, the best
overnight on record for a hockey game in Boston (dating back to 1991)
and the best overnight in the Boston market featuring a Boston team
in any major sports championship since Super Bowl XLII
(Patriots-Giants, 55.6 on 2/3/08).
· NBC’s five-game average audience of 5.31 million and 3.1/6 is the
best for a network Stanley Cup Final featuring a Canadian team in 38
years (6.8/15 and 7.4 million for three games in 1973 on NBC).
NHL NETWORK
The NHL Network had the series covered from all angles with its team of experts and guest analysts, all of which drew praise from the North American media. NHL On The Fly at the Stanley Cup Final: Pre-Game presented by Cisco was on the air each game day at 6 p.m. and followed up each game with a post-game show immediately following the conclusion of every game to bring viewers instant analysis, coverage of post-game news conferences and all the news and notes. Both pre- and post-game shows originated live from fan plaza and concourse areas in Vancouver and Boston.
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