FROM NHL:

STANLEY CUP FINAL SETS VIEWERSHIP MILESTONES

JUNE 20, 2011 -- NEW YORK -- The 2011 Stanley Cup set numerous viewership milestones and records, including the highest average 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).

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.

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.
• 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).

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