or


[04/29/26 - 02:41 PM]
Record Breaker! ESPN Airs Most-Viewed First Round Game 5 Ever on Cable, Extending Milestone Run of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs
Philadelphia Flyers-Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday averaged 2 million viewers, up 190% vs. ESPN's First Round Game 5 average last year.
[via press release from ESPN]

Record breaker! ESPN airs most-viewed First Round Game 5 ever on cable, extending milestone run of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs

Philadelphia Flyers-Pittsburgh Penguins averaged 2 million viewers, up 190% vs. ESPN's First Round Game 5 average last year

On Monday, 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs action continued with the highly anticipated Philadelphia Flyers-Pittsburgh Penguins Game 5 (7 p.m. ET). The game delivered 2 million viewers, up 190% vs. ESPN's First Round Game 5 average last year. This also ranks as the second most-viewed First Round game ever on cable (excluding Game 7's).

In the First Round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, ESPN has now captured the top three First Round matchups ever on cable (excluding Game 7's): Flyers-Penguins Game 1 (2.1 million viewers), Flyers-Penguins Game 5 (2 million viewers) and Minnesota Wild-Dallas Stars Game 1 (1.9 million viewers).

This continues ESPN's record-breaking start to the Playoffs which recently delivered the second most-viewed First Round Game 4 on cable ever.

First Round action continues tonight with Montreal Canadiens-Tampa Bay Lightning Game 5 at 7 p.m. on ESPN2. The puck drops for a trio of Game 6's on Friday with Lightning-Canadiens (7 p.m., ESPN2), Buffalo Sabres-Boston Bruins (7:30 p.m., ESPN) and Vegas Golden Knights-Utah Mammoth (10 p.m., ESPN). More on the First Round here.

- 30 -





  [april 2026]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
   


· SHOWATCH
(series past and present)
· DEVWATCH
(series in development)
· MOVIEWATCH
(tv movies and mini-series)




most recent ratings | view all posts
[10/02/26 - 04:16 PM]
USA Sports' Fever-Aces Game 3 Coverage on USA Network and CNBC Averages 2.25 Million Viewers; Second-Best First Round Game on Record
Viewership of Fever-Aces on USA Network and CNBC peaked at 2.7 million viewers in the 11:15 p.m. ET quarter hour.
[10/02/26 - 02:49 PM]
Yankees Sweep of Red Sox on NBC & Peacock Is Most-Watched First Two Games of MLB Wild Card or Division Series Since 2004
The audience for Wednesday's night's Game 2 peaked at 9.2 million viewers on NBC and Peacock from 9:30-9:45 p.m. ET.
[10/01/26 - 02:39 PM]
NHL on ESPN Opens Season with Year-Over-Year Viewership Growth
The Panthers-Hurricanes matchup averaged 859,000 viewers, up 16% from a year ago.
[10/01/26 - 02:18 PM]
Tuesday's Red Sox-Yankees on NBC & Peacock Is Most-Watched Game 1 Among MLB Wild Card or Division Series Since 2006
Coverage averaged 7.3 million viewers on NBC and Peacock.
[10/01/26 - 08:35 AM]
"Live with Kelly and Mark" Kicks Off Season 39 with Best Premiere Week in Three Years
"Live" has now ranked as the No. 1 talk show in syndication for 189 consecutive weeks (more than three years) across all key measures.
[09/30/26 - 04:44 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Sails to 7 Million Total Viewers on "Yacht Rock Night"
At 10 p.m., "R.J. Decker" hit a season high in early Live+Same Day Panel Only numbers with 3.20 million Total Viewers.
[09/30/26 - 03:27 PM]
Eagles-Bears on "Monday Night Football" Records 22.6 Million Viewers
Said audience marks the second largest Week 3 crowd in the ESPN era (since 2006).
[09/30/26 - 01:00 PM]
Historic "Big Brother" Season Hits 14.8 Billion Minutes Viewed, Up +9% from Last Year
The summer staple also saw year-over-year audience growth, averaging 5.1 million viewers in seven-day multiplatform viewing, up +8% from last summer, while ranking as the summer's most social program across all television programs (excluding sports).
[09/30/26 - 12:50 PM]
ABC's Tuesday Night Kicks Off Strong as "Dancing with the Stars" and Sophomore Drama "R.J. Decker" Each Score 10 Million Total Audience
Sophomore drama "R.J. Decker" earned a total cross-platform audience of 9.61 million, based on viewing over seven days across Hulu, Hulu on Disney+ and linear encores.
[09/30/26 - 11:01 AM]
Top 10 Most-Watched Prime Original Films & Series for the Week of September 21
"Neagley," "Reacher," "Sterling Point," "Off Campus," and "El Juicio" led all original series worldwide.
[09/29/26 - 03:28 PM]
FOX Sports Hits Home Run with Best MLB on FOX Regular Season Since '21 - No. 1 Among All Networks
Regular season coverage on FOX averaged 2.35 million viewers, up +15% vs. '25.
[09/29/26 - 03:12 PM]
FOX NFL Delivers Most-Watched Early Window of the Day on Any Network in Week 3
17,898,000 viewers tuned-in to FOX's 1:00 PM ET window.
[09/29/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of September 21 - "Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story" Takes the No. 1 Spot for a Second Week
"Unabomber" premiered in the top spot on the English film list, gathering 16.4 million views.

[09/29/26 - 12:00 PM]
USA Sports Delivers Viewership Records and Milestones in Inaugural Season of WNBA Coverage Ahead of WNBA Finals on USA Network This October
USA Sports averaged 525,000 viewers across its 48 regular-season games - the most national games of any broadcaster - up 25% vs. 2025 WNBA cable average viewership.
[09/29/26 - 09:50 AM]
"Jimmy Kimmel Live" Finishes 2025-2026 Season with Largest Overall Audience in Eight Years and Strongest Adults 18-49 in Four Years
In the final week of the 2025-2026 season, "Jimmy Kimmel Live" ranked No. 1 in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49.