2017 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS AVERAGING 829,000 VIEWERS, BEST IN THREE YEARS & UP 3% VS. 2016

Saturday's Penguins-Capitals Game 2 on NBC Averages 2.587 Million Viewers (TAD); Peaks at 3.115 Million Viewers (TV Only); Wins Saturday Night among A18-49 Demo; Is Most-Watched Game of 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs So Far

Last Night's Capitals-Penguins Game 3 on NBCSN Delivers Best Cable Overnight Rating (1.49) of 2017 Playoffs

1 Million Unique Devices Have Streamed Nearly 200 Million Minutes of 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs

STAMFORD, Conn. - May 2, 2017 - Midway through the second round, NBC Sports Group's coverage of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs across NBC, NBCSN, CNBC, USA Network, NBCSports.com, and the NBC Sports app continues to produce viewership milestones and year-over-year increases.

Total Audience Delivery (TAD) for NBC Sports' coverage of the first 49 games of the 2017 playoffs (April 12-30) averaged 829,000 viewers, the best in three years and up 3% vs. 2017 (808,000). TAD measures consumption across multiple platforms, combining the average minute audience for television and digital. The increase comes despite the participation of five Canadian teams in the 2017 playoffs (with two advancing to the second round), and zero first-round Game 7s. Last year there were zero Canadian teams in the playoffs and two Game 7s in the first round.

The second round has been powered by the Pittsburgh-Washington series, pitting the defending Stanley Cup champions vs. the two-time Presidents' Trophy winners. TAD for Saturday's Game 2, which aired in primetime on NBC (8:18-11:12 p.m. ET), averaged 2.587 million viewers, with TV-only viewership peaking at 3.115 million for the game's final 12 minutes. The game won the night for NBC among the A18-49 demographic, and is the most-watched game of the 2017 playoffs.

TAD for Saturday afternoon's double-overtime New York Rangers-Ottawa Senators Game 2 on NBC (3:10-7:11 p.m. ET) averaged 1.563 million viewers, up 30% vs. the comparable game last year, which featured two U.S. teams (Islanders-Lightning, 1.205 million). The TV-only peak for Rangers-Senators was 2.5 million viewers from 6:30-6:45 p.m. ET.

Last night's Washington-Pittsburgh Game 3 on NBCSN delivered a 1.49 overnight rating, the best cable overnight of the 2017 playoffs. NBCSN was the No. 1 network in both local markets, with Pittsburgh delivering a 20.6 rating (up 19% vs. comparable 2016 game) and Washington D.C. scoring a 7.1 (up 42%).

Digitally, last night's Game 3 delivered the most live streaming minutes for any NHL second-round game in NBC Sports Digital history, accruing 12.1 million minutes among 159,000 unique devices, up 65% and 51%, respectively, vs. last year's Game 3 of the same series.

Overall through 50 games, NBC Sports Digital's live streaming coverage of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs has totaled one million unique devices and nearly 200 million minutes (196.6 million), up 17% and 21%, respectively, vs. 2016 (881,000 & 163 million). Connected TVs have contributed to the growth, as consumption is up 87% and 76%, respectively, for uniques (253,000) and minutes (100 million) on the platform.