Flyers/Devils Game 3 Hits New High, Blues/Kings Still Mediocre

Another night, another Stanley Cup Playoff overtime, another big number for the NBC Sports Network.

Game 3 between the Flyers and Devils on NBCSN drew 1.66 million viewers, tops for the series on cable, and the second-highest number for a Stanley Cup Playoff game on cable this post-season. The series is now averaging 1.47 million viewers on cable, and 1.81 million viewers counting in NBC’s Game 1 (2.5 million).

Locally, the series continued to set records. In Philadelphia, Game 3 averaged a 13.7 rating, a record for a semifinal game in the market. It was up 11% from Game 2 (12.4) and up 71% from the two-game average for the exclusive Flyers semifinal telecasts in 2011 (8.0).

In New York, the Devils drew a 2.1 local rating. That makes it the highest-rated Devils game ever in the market on NBC Sports Network. It’s also a 64% increase from the New Jersey victory in Game 2 (1.3).

Meanwhile, Game 3 between the Kings and Blues drew 726,000 viewers, above Game 2’s numbers on CNBC (639,000), but below Game 1’s on NBCSN (741,000). The series is currently averaging 702,000 viewers through three telecasts.

Locally, the game set a new record in Los Angeles, drawing a 2.0 rating, which was up 142% from Game 1 (0.8). The numbers for St. Louis were not available.

Top 10 Most-watched Games of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs on Cable

1. NY Rangers vs. Washington, Game 3 (5/2/12, NBCSN): 1.85 million
2. Philadelphia vs. New Jersey, Game 3 (5/3/12, NBCSN): 1.66 million
3. Washington vs. NY Rangers, Game 2 (4/30/12, NBCSN): 1.53 million
4. Washington vs. Boston, Game 7 (4/25/12, NBCSN): 1.32 million
5. New Jersey vs. Philadelphia, Game 2 (5/1/12, NBCSN): 1.29 million
6. Philadelphia vs. Pittsburgh, Game 5 (4/20/12, NBCSN): 1.07 million
7. Pittsburgh vs. Philadelphia, Game 4 (4/18/12, NBCSN): 1.03 million
8. Ottawa vs. NY Rangers, Game 7 (4/26/12, NBCSN): 984,000
9. New Jersey vs. Florida, Game 7 (4/26/12, NBCSN): 867,000
10. NY Rangers vs. Ottawa, Game 6 (4/23/12, NBCSN): 861,000

(Sources: TVBytheNumbers, NBC Sports)

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Your Announcers and Open Thread for Night 24 of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs

Phoenix vs. Nashville, Game 4 (PHX Leads 2-1), 7:30 p.m. ET

US National TV: NBC Sports Network
Play by Play: John Forslund
Inside the Glass: Joe Micheletti

Canada National TV: TSN
Play by Play: Gord Miller
Inside the Glass: Darren Pang

Coyotes/Preds Goes Largely Unnoticed During Overtime Wednesday

You could perhaps excuse some folks for not being able to get into the game between the Coyotes and Predators on Wednesday, but the number that their tilt in Nashville drew was kind of stunningly low.

Game 3 of the Western Conference Semifinal between Phoenix and Nashville drew just 231,000 viewers on CNBC Wednesday, marking the second-lowest numbers of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The numbers can be explained with the game ending before the Rangers-Capitals triple-overtime classic did (while drawing 1.9 million viewers), but still, to get that low a numbers is somewhat shocking.

Coyotes/Predators return to NBC Sports Network for at least the next two games, so numbers should be a bit larger.

(Source: Son of the Bronx)