
Ratings Roundup: 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs Skates Through Second Round as Most-Watched on Record By Kristian Hernandez, Assistant Editor
Wednesday, May 15, 2019 - 9:15 am
Print This Story
Story Highlights
Ratings roundup is a rundown of rating news from the past week and is derived from press releases and reports around the industry. In this week's edition, the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs keeps up the ratings pace through two rounds, the Premier League's Championship Sunday scoops its most-watched day in the U.S., ESPN and ABC's conference semifinals are the highest in eight years, NBC Sports raises its first-ever NTT IndyCar Grand Prix to the highest spot in five years, the UEFA Champions League were up 50%, and the Liga MX Quarterfinals leapfrogs major networks.
2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs Continue to Roll to Ratings High
With 34 one-goal games, 15 overtime contests, and four Game 7s through two rounds, the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs are setting national, local and digital viewership and consumption milestones, according to Nielsen and Adobe Analytics.
The highlights include:
For the entire 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, NBC Sports is averaging a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 1.073 million viewers across NBC, NBCSN, CNBC, USA Network, NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app, making it the most-watched playoffs on record through two rounds.
NBC Sports' cable coverage of the 2019 playoffs across NBCSN, CNBC, USA Network, NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app, is averaging a TAD of 911,000 viewers, making it the most-watched cable delivery on record through the Second Round.
The Second Round of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs stands as the most-watched Second Round on record, averaging a TAD of 1.621 million viewers across NBC, NBCSN, NBCSports.com, and the NBC Sports app.
Viewers have live streamed more than a half-billion minutes through two rounds (526.8 million), up 39% compared to the same time period last season.
Carolina, Colorado, Columbus, Dallas, St. Louis and San Jose all set local ratings records during the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The viewership and consumption records are even more impressive considering the absence of many teams from the largest media markets or with strong hockey histories, such as the New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings, Chicago Blackhawks, Philadelphia Flyers, and Detroit Red Wings. In addition, the four teams that played in the past two Stanley Cup Finals - the Washington Capitals (2018), Vegas Golden Knights (2018), Pittsburgh Penguins (2017) and Nashville Predators (2017) - were all eliminated in the First Round this year.
Note: The term on record means since 1994, which is the year when People Meters first included cable viewing.
For the 69 games of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, NBC Sports is averaging a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 1.073 million viewers across NBC, NBCSN, CNBC, USA Network, NBCSports.com, and the NBC Sports app, making it the most-watched playoffs on record through two rounds. Viewership is up 1% compared to 2018 (1.067 million), which held the previous record through two rounds.
NBC Sports' cable coverage of the 2019 playoffs across NBCSN, CNBC, USA Network, NBCSports.com, and the NBC Sports app, is averaging a TAD of 911,000 viewers, making it the most-watched cable delivery on record through the Second Round and up 10% compared to last year (825,000).
Following are the Top 10 markets for the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs to date across NBC, NBCSN, CNBC and USA Network:
Buffalo 2.74
Boston 2.38
St. Louis 2.23
Providence 2.04
Columbus, Ohio 1.97
Denver 1.87
Pittsburgh 1.65
Minneapolis-St. Paul 1.39
Raleigh 1.30
Las Vegas 1.14
Second Round
The Second Round of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs was the most-watched Second Round on record, averaging a TAD of 1.621 million viewers for 24 games across NBC, NBCSN, NBCSports.com, and the NBC Sports app. Viewership was also up 3% vs. last year (1.574 million).
Columbus-Boston Game 5, which followed Kentucky Derby coverage in primetime this past Saturday night, averaged a TAD of 4.618 million viewers, ranking as the second-most watched non-Stanley Cup Final NHL game on television since 1993 and up 7% vs. the comparable game in 2018. It trailed only Chicago-Anaheim (4.636 million), which was a Western Conference Game 7 in 2015.
The top cable game of the Second Round was Boston-Columbus Game 4 on NBCSN, which averaged a TAD of 2.065 million viewers and is the network's most-watched Second Round Game 4 on record. It was up 15% from the comparable 2018 game.
Wednesday's exciting Colorado-San Jose Second Round Game 7 averaged a TAD of 1.754 million viewers on NBCSN, making it the most-watched late game in four years (Chi-Ana Game 5, 2.092 million) and up 9% vs. last year's Winnipeg-Nashville Game 7 (1.611 million).
Viewership peaked with nearly 2.1 million viewers. Both Denver and San Jose set viewership milestones for the game. See below.
Digital
Across NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app streaming platforms, the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs to date have totaled 526.8 million live minutes, up 39% compared to the same time last year.
This was also the most streamed Second Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs ever in Average Minute Audience (AMA) and live minutes streamed. The Second Round totalled 255.2 million live minutes, up 29% compared to the complete Second Round last year. The AMA of 59,700 viewers was up 30% year over year.
The Dallas-St. Louis double-overtime Game 7 set Second Round records in AMA, uniques and live minutes. The game delivered an AMA of 103,900 viewers, which stands as the highest AMA on record for a Second Round game. The game's 328,000 uniques and 25.7 million live minutes also rank as the highest on record for a Second Round game.
Colorado-San Jose Game 7 delivered an AMA of 87,700 viewers, which ranks as a Top
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
25/04/2026
Mediagenix Sweeps 2026 NAB Awards With Wins for Product of the Year and Best of ...
25/04/2026
SCHOEPS Microphones Announces Desert Island Boom Set for NAB 2026
Brie Clayton April 24, 2026
0 Comments
Compact modular set ideal for location sound ...
25/04/2026
Berklee Africana Studies Hosts Gospel Extravaganza 2026 The Signature Series event will honor three new inductees to the Berklee Gospel Hall of Fame and celeb...
25/04/2026
Student Spotlight: Siva Maja Gierszewska, who performs under the artist name Siva, shares how she found her songwriting confidence at Berklee.
April 24, 2026...
25/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
24/04/2026
Churchill Downs Inc. (CDI) has announced a definitive agreement to acquire the intellectual property of the Preakness Stakes and Black-Eyed Susan Stakes from 1/...
24/04/2026
Daktronics has partnered with DCL (Design Communications, Ltd.) to design, manuf...
24/04/2026
Chyron has announced PRIME Translate, a workflow solution that produces live content simultaneously in multiple languages within the PRIME platform. The system ...
24/04/2026
Eutelsat has announced a new partnership with Co-op Cable, introducing an expand...
24/04/2026
Pitch Dublin, an indoor golf simulation and hospitality venue on Dawson Street i...
24/04/2026
G&D and VuWall have announced two senior leadership appointments, effective Apri...
24/04/2026
Victory , the free sports streaming service from A Parent Media Co. Inc. (APMC), has announced a multi-year agreement to become the exclusive local streaming ho...
24/04/2026
The former business major from Massachusetts has found his home in graphics and bug operation while contributing to live ESPN productions
In the live-sports-vi...
24/04/2026
The Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) and Spectrum have announced a multiyear carriage agreement making MASN available to Spectrum customers in areas of southe...
24/04/2026
The NFL Draft is rebuilt from the ground up in a new city every year. The three-day fan festival is expected to draw 500,000 or more attendees, with millions fo...
24/04/2026
Diversified has continued expansion of its sports and media capabilities to supp...
24/04/2026
NAB reports that the 2026 NAB Show wrapped with more than 58,000 registered atte...
24/04/2026
Clear-Com has announced significant updates to its Arcadia Central Station and E...
24/04/2026
NAB reports that the 2026 NAB Show wrapped with more than 58,000 registered atte...
24/04/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
24/04/2026
B/R NFL Draft Live' refines the digital giant's productions around footb...
24/04/2026
Study highlights five pillars shaping modern fan engagement as broadcasters reth...
24/04/2026
The 2026 event, the first Draft with NFL Network under the ESPN umbrella, will b...
24/04/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
24/04/2026
Integral to the Draft production for three almost decades, the company tells the...
24/04/2026
Championing documentaries that illuminate and expand the artform is at the core ...
24/04/2026
The Peabody Awards spotlight excellent work that endures. This year's winner...
24/04/2026
Earth Day is a chance to reflect on our connection to the natural world. To mark the 57th Earth Day on April 22, Spotify's editors have pulled together a co...
24/04/2026
This past weekend, Spotify was at the heart of the largest literary event in the...
24/04/2026
All data tells a story, and in our case, that story is written by you. To celebrate 20 years of Spotify, we're sharing bite sized moments that capture how t...
24/04/2026
Over the past 20 years, Spotify's look and feel has evolved with the way people use our platform, while ensuring we preserve an intuitive, personal, and fam...
24/04/2026
It's been 20 years since Spotify began, but the real story is what the world chose to play. For the first time, we're unveiling the most streamed artist...
24/04/2026
Whether you're relaxing at home or on the go, Spotify is there across more than 2,000 devices, ready with your favorites or something new to discover. Now, ...
24/04/2026
Nintendo and Spotify are welcoming fans to the Super Mario Bros. 40th anniversary and the release of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie with new playlists and a speci...
24/04/2026
30 October - 1 November 2026
The Audio Engineering Society (AES) have announced that the AES Show 2026 will be held on Halloween weekend - Friday 30 October...
24/04/2026
New closed-back design promises honest' low end
Sennheiser have just announced the launch of a new pair of flagship closed-back headphones which they s...
24/04/2026
Powerful 12-channel hardware sequencer announced
Cre8audio are renowned for their innovative, and often visually striking designs, and although their latest...
24/04/2026
Room correction now supports full 9.1.6 Dolby Atmos setups
The software element of IK Multimedia's room-correction system has just received an update th...
24/04/2026
New content for BBO Tutti & BBO Riffs
VSL have recently introduced some new free content expansions for two of their most popular Big Bang Orchestra Packs: ...
24/04/2026
Rohde & Schwarz to highlight its R&S EVSD1000 UAV-based navigation analyzer at I...
24/04/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) is pleased to announce that the ca...
24/04/2026
ITV's Director of Drama Polly Hill has commissioned six part propulsive, lun...
24/04/2026
The NASA 777 aircraft departs the L3Harris facility in Waco, Texas....
24/04/2026
WASHINGTON, April 23, 2026 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) has closed a $1 b...