NBC Earns 4.0/7 Nielsen Rating For Stanley Cup Finals Game Six

Red Wings' Stanley Cup-Clincher  Earns 4.0/7 Rating On NBC

NBC for Wednesday's Red Wings-Penguins Stanley Cup Finals Game Six drew an average of 6.8 millions viewers, making the game the most-watched Game Six since the NHL returned to network TV in '95 and the third-most watched Stanley Cup Finals game in that span. The game earned a 4.0/7 rating, up 111% from a 1.9/4 for the comparable Hurricanes-Oilers Game Six in '06. NBC for its Stanley Cup Finals coverage averaged a 3.2/6 and 5.4 million viewers for four telecasts, marking the best-rated and most-viewed series since Red Wings-Hurricanes averaged a 3.6/7 and 5.8 million viewers for three network telecasts on ABC in '02. There have been seven Game Sixes since '95 (THE DAILY). DAILY VARIETY's Rick Kissell reports Red Wings-Penguins Game Six drew seven million viewers from 8:00-11:00pm ET, which is a "larger audience than all but one NBA playoff game this spring" leading into the NBA Finals. TNT's Lakers-Spurs Western Conference Finals Game Four on May 27 drew 7.25 million viewers (DAILY VARIETY, 6/6).

CANADA: The GLOBE & MAIL's William Houston reports the CBC for Game Six drew its "largest audience of the playoffs" with 2.739 million viewers. The CBC for the Stanley Cup Finals averaged 2.3 million viewers, down 8% from 2.5 million for Ducks-Senators last year. The CBC's average audience for Devils-Ducks in '03, the last all-U.S. Finals, was 1.51 million viewers. Meanwhile, French language RDS drew 858,000 viewers for Game Six, the net's largest non-Canadiens audience of the postseason. RDS averaged 738,000 viewers for the Finals, up 20% over '07 (GLOBE & MAIL, 6/6).

THE GRUDGE REPORT? The GLOBE & MAIL's Houston also reports Pat Brisson, the agent for Penguins C Sidney Crosby met with the CBC Sports Exec Dir Scott Moore after Game Six to discuss the "peculiar coverage of Crosby" on "HNIC" during the Stanley Cup Finals. Crosby was "largely ignored" during the series by the CBC's Ron MacLean and Don Cherry. The conversation between Brisson and Moore was "amicable, but inconclusive" (GLOBE & MAIL, 6/6).