Game 5 Nears 6 Million Viewers, Up Big From 2009

On a night with steep competition, the NHL was up in viewers from last year.

Last night’s Game 5 broadcast on NBC of the Blackhawks 7-4 victory over the Flyers drew 5.95 million viewers and a 2.2 among adults 18-49.  The game peaked from 9:30-10:00 PM ET with 6.91 million viewers and a 2.6 in the demo.  The numbers are up 39% in viewers and 38% in the demo from 2009’s Game 5, which aired on a Saturday night against no competition from the NBA.  The game drew a 26.0 rating in Chicago, and a 19.7 in Philadelphia.

If the final viewer numbers hold up, it would bring NBC’s average up to 5.4 million viewers for their three games of coverage of the series.  That’d be up from last year’s three game average (which, mind you, contained two Saturday telecasts) of 4.6 million for Games 1, 2 and 5 by 15%.  Overall, the move to Sunday night – despite being pounded by the NBA – can be looked upon as a relative success.