2015 STANLEY CUP FINAL IS SECOND-MOST WATCHED ON RECORD

GAME 6 AVERAGES MORE THAN 8 MILLION VIEWERS, THIRD-MOST FOR A GAME 6 ON RECORD

2015 Stanley Cup Final Averages 5.551 Million Viewers, Up 11% vs. 2014 Final

Game 6 Wins Night for NBC in Primetime

Chicago Delivers Best-Ever 41.0 HH Rating for Game 6; Tampa Posts Second-Best 15.2

2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs Are Third-Most Watched in 18 Years

Chicago, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, Tampa & Washington D.C. Set Playoff Viewership Milestones

Game 6 Ranks No. 1 in Uniques All-Time Among Authenticated NHL Games on NBC Sports Live Extra

STAMFORD, Conn. - June 16, 2015 - The 2015 Stanley Cup Final averaged 5.551 million viewers and a 3.19 HH rating across NBC and NBCSN, making it the second-most watched Final on record (since 1994), according to The Nielsen Company. In addition, last night's deciding game on NBC (8:08-11:16 p.m. ET), in which the Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-0 to claim their third Stanley Cup in six years, averaged 8.005 million viewers and delivered a 4.44 HH rating, making it the third-most watched Stanley Cup Final Game 6 on record.

Game 6 was the culmination of one of the most competitive Stanley Cup Finals in history. It was the first time in 64 years that each of the first five games were decided by one goal, and until late in the third period last night, when Chicago went ahead 2-0, no team had had more than a one-goal lead throughout the series.

Overall, the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs (88 games) averaged 1.430 million viewers across NBC, NBCSN, CNBC and USA Network, making it the third-most watched post-season in 18 years.

NBC Sports Live Extra and numerous local markets also scored record metrics throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

STANLEY CUP FINAL

The 5.551 million viewers for the six-game 2015 Stanley Cup Final makes it the second-most watched on record, trailing only the 2013 Final, which featured the Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins and averaged 5.753 million viewers through six games. This year's Final is up 11% vs. last year, which featured the New York Rangers and Los Angeles Kings and ended in five games (5.009).

Among the six Stanley Cup Finals on record to average at least 5.0 million viewers since 1994, NBC/NBCSN has televised four of them, including each of the past three years.

Following are the most-watched Stanley Cup Finals on record and the only ones to average more than 5.0 million viewers:
Rank Series Network Games Avg. Viewers
1 2013 Chicago-Boston NBC/NBCSN 6 Games 5.753 million
2 2015 Tampa Bay-Chicago NBC/NBCSN 6 Games 5.551 million
3 1997 Detroit-Philadelphia FOX/ESPN 4 Games 5.289 million
4 2010 Chicago-Philadelphia NBC/NBCSN 6 Games 5.167 million
5 2002 Detroit-Carolina ABC/ESPN 5 Games 5.112 million
6 2014 New York-Los Angeles NBC/NBCSN 5 Games 5.009 million

Stanley Cup Final Local

Chicago led all local markets during the Final, averaging a 27.3 HH rating, which is up 24% vs. the Blackhawks two most-recent Final appearances in 2013 and 2010 (22.0 for both). Tampa delivered a 14.9 HH rating for the six games. Buffalo (7.1) was the top market among cities with no team in the game.

Following are the Top 10 local markets for the entire 2015 Stanley Cup Final series:
Rank Market HH Rtg
1 Chicago 27.3
2 Tampa 14.9
3 Buffalo 7.1
4 Boston 5.2
5 Milwaukee 5.2
6 Minn-St. Paul 5.1
7 Denver 4.9
8 Ft. Myers 4.4
9 St. Louis 4.3
10 Providence 4.1

GAME 6

The 8.005 million viewers for last night's deciding game rank third among Stanley Cup Final Game 6s and fourth overall for any NHL game on record. The game peaked with nearly 10.9 million viewers in the 10:45-11 p.m. ET quarter-hour.

Following are the most-watched NHL Games on record:
Rank Program Series Network Date Rtg Viewers (000)
1 Game 7 Boston at Vancouver NBC 6/15/2011 4.8 8,537
2 Game 6 Chicago at Philadelphia NBC 6/9/2010 4.7 8,279
3 Game 6 Boston at Chicago NBC 6/24/2013 4.7 8,160
4 Game 6 Tampa Bay at Chicago NBC 6/15/2015 4.4 8,005
5 Game 7 Pittsburgh at Detroit NBC 6/12/2009 4.3 7,992

Game 6 Local

As reported this morning, the Chicago market delivered a 41.0 HH rating, its highest ever for a Blackhawks game, and a 57 share. The Chicago rating is the highest local rating for any market for a non-Game 7 on NBC. Tampa posted a 15.2 HH rating, its second-best ever on NBC.

Following are the Top 10 markets for Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final:
Rank Local Market HH Rtg
1 Chicago 41.0
2 Tampa 15.2
3 Buffalo 10.5
4 Milwaukee 7.9
5 Denver 7.6
6 Minneapolis-St. Paul 7.5
7 Boston 6.7
8 Providence 5.8
8 St. Louis 5.8
10 Las Vegas 5.1

In addition, CSN Chicago, part of the NBC Sports Regional Networks, delivered a 2.1 HH rating for its Game 6 post-game coverage, up 75% compared to post-game coverage in 2013 (1.2).

Network Primetime

As a result of Game 6, NBC won the night in primetime (8-11 p.m. ET) across all key demographics, including a 2.7 rating in the advertiser-coveted A18-49 demo. Game 6 ranked as the most-watched show in primetime, ahead of all broadcast and cable competition.

Game 6 Post-Game

NBCSN's post-game coverage (11 p.m. - 12:30 a.m. ET) averaged 609,000 viewers and a 0.33 HH rating, up 191% and 120%, respectively, vs. its coverage of the most-recent series-clinching Game 6 in 2013. It is NBCSN's most-watched post-game show following an NBC playoff game. Viewership peaked at 1.254 million during the (11:15-11:30 p.m. ET) quarter-hour.

POST-SEASON

The 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs (88 games) averaged 1.430 million viewers and a 0.87 HH rating across NBC, NBCSN, CNBC and USA Network, making it the third-most watched post-season in 18 years (1997, FOX/ESPN, 1.523 million, 57 games), and barely trailing NBC Sports Group's 2013 (1.466) and 2014 (1.446) coverage.

Post-Season Local

Chicago, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, Tampa and Washington D.C. all posted record ratings on NBC and/or NBCSN in their respective markets throughout the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

On NBC:

· Chicago: Best game ever on NBC with a 41.0 rating vs. Tampa on 6/15 (last night's Game 6)

· Los Angeles: Best non-Stanley Cup Final Ducks game ever on NBC with a 3.9 vs. Chicago on 5/30

· Minneapolis: Best game ever on NBC with a 17.3 rating vs. St Louis on 4/26

· New York: Best non-Stanley Cup Final game ever on NBC with a 5.7 rating vs. Tampa on 5/16

· Tampa: Best game ever on NBC with a 17.9 rating vs. Chicago on 6/3. Second best on record with a 15.2 to last night's Game 6.

On NBCSN:

· Chicago: Best game ever on NBCSN with a 24.0 vs. Tampa on 6/8

· Minneapolis: Best game ever on NBCSN with a 14.9 rating vs. Chicago on 5/3

· New York: Best game ever on NBCSN with a 10.3 vs. Tampa on 5/29

· Tampa: Best game ever on NBCSN with a 13.9 vs. Chicago on 6/10

· Washington D.C.: Best game ever on NBCSN with a 7.9 vs. NY Rangers on 5/13

Tampa's Stanley Cup Final appearance also led to local market records in other Florida markets on NBCSN:

· Ft. Myers: Best game on NBCSN ever (Tampa vs. Chicago) with a 3.3 on 6/8

· Miami: Best Stanley Cup Final game on NBCSN ever with a 1.6 (Tampa vs. Chicago) on 6/10

· West Palm Beach: Best game ever on NBCSN (Tampa vs. Chicago) with a 3.3 on 6/10

DIGITAL

Game 6 ranked No. 1 in uniques (223,000) among all authenticated NHL games on NBC Sports Live Extra ever. The game peaked at 136,500 uniques in the 10 p.m. ET hour. Ending in regulation, the game ranked No. 3 all-time for NHL games on Live Extra, delivering 11.1 million minutes. Uniques and minutes were up 43% and 76%, respectively, vs. the previous Game 6 in 2013 between the Blackhawks and Bruins (156,000 & 6.3 million).

For the entire series, the 2015 Stanley Cup Final delivered 700,000 uniques and nearly 55 million minutes, up 15% and 68%, respectively, vs. the 2014 Final, which featured the Rangers and Kings (606,000 & 32.5 million).

For the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs (88 games), the post-season delivered 1.833 million uniques and 252.4 million minutes, up 13% and 42%, respectively, vs. 2014 (91 games; 1.624 million & 178.0 million).

NHL AWARDS & NHL DRAFT

NBC Sports Group's NHL coverage continues with the 2015 NHL Awards from Las Vegas, Nev., on Wednesday, June 24 at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN, as well as with live coverage of the 2015 NHL Draft from Sunrise, Fla., on Friday, June 26 at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN.