A pair of game 7s helped propel NBC Sports over the weekend. Saturday night’s win by the Blackhawks nabbed a 3.27 metered market rating for the NHL game, which ranks as NBC’s highest overnight rating for an NHL game ever, excluding Stanley Cup Final games, according to Nielsen. Locally, Chicago drew a 26.6 HH rating, its highest ever for a non-Stanley Cup Final Blackhawks game on NBC and its third-highest overall, while the LA market produced a 3.9 score, its highest ever for a non-Stanley Cup Final Ducks game on NBC. Friday night’s Eastern Conference Final Game 7 generated a 2.65 metered market overnight rating, up 53% versus the last ECF Game 7 in 2011, which also featured the Lightning, making it the second-highest rated game ever on NBCSN, excluding Stanley Cup Final games.
With the Stanley Cup Final matchup locked in, NBC Sports has its seven game lineup in place (if necessary) starting Wednesday with Chicago/Tampa Bay on NBC at 8p. NBC also gets Game 2 on June 6 and games 5-7 on June 13, 15 and 17. NBCSN has the telecast on June 8 and 10.