NBC’s Memorial Day broadcast of the opening game of the Stanley Cup Final (1.5 rating in the adults 18-49 demographic, 5.15 million viewers) skated past its previous four years in overall crowd but slid slightly in the demo, early data indicate.
Meanwhile, ABC’s 8-10 PM The Bachelorette (1.1, 4.68M) gained in overall crowd but also ticked down in the key 18-49 age bracket.
Fox’s Beat Shazam (0.6, 2.45M) also ran an original on the Monday holiday, slipping a tenth off its season starter in the demo.
The opening NHL championship game between the Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues bested last year’s Game 1 between the Washington Capitals and Vegas Golden Knights (4.8M viewers) as well as the Night 1 date on two years previous to that.
The live event is subject to more than usual change, early stats not being time zone-adjusted. In the early returns, though, NBC won in every half-hour in both 18-49 and total viewers, with the game peaking at 9:30 PM ET when it clocked a 1.7 demo rating and 5.4M viewers.
St. Louis not surprisingly led all markets with a 29.0 local rating, which NBC Sports says is its franchise-high rating in that market, citing Nielsen data.
Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final airs Wednesday on NBCSN.
NBC won the night among the Big 4 networks with a 1.5 in 18-49 and 5.15 million viewers. ABC (1.0, 4.22M) ranked No. 2 in both metrics, followed by Fox (0.6, 2.33M) in the demo and CBS (0.4, 3.38M) in total viewers. CW (0.2, 1.08M) followed.
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