Viewership For Penguins-Sharks Stanley Cup Final Lowest On NBC Sports Since '12

NBC and NBCSN averaged 3.95 million viewers for the six-game Penguins-Sharks Stanley Cup Final, the lowest for the NHL championship series since Kings-Devils in '12 drew 3.01 million. Penguins-Sharks is down 29% from 5.55 million viewers last year for Blackhawks-Lightning, which was the second most-watched Stanley Cup Final on record (dating back to '94). Kings-Rangers in '14 drew 5.0 million viewers over five games, while the six-game Blackhawks-Bruins series in '13 averaged 5.76 million. The Penguins' series-clinching win on Sunday night finished with 5.41 million viewers, down 32% from 8.0 million for the Blackhawks' clincher last year on a Monday night. Pittsburgh led all local markets with a 31.7 rating for the Final, followed by S.F.-Oakland-San Jose (7.0) and Buffalo (5.8). Overall, the Stanley Cup Playoffs averaged 1.23 million viewers for 89 games across NBC, NBCSN, CNBC and USA Network, down 14% from 1.43 million viewers over 88 games last year. The '14 playoffs, which did not include USA Network, averaged 1.45 million viewers, while '13 averaged 1.47 million viewers.