EW YORK – June 16, 2011 – 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.
NHL Network’s daily signature show, NHL Live™ also broadcast Monday
through Friday from 4 – 6 p.m. during the 2011 Stanley Cup Final with the
latest series information and reports from Vancouver and Boston.
Puck The Media 
Your Responses