Buffalo top TV market as Stanley Cup playoffs are most-watched on record through second round

With 34 one-goal games, 15 overtime contests, and four Game 7s through two rounds, the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs are setting national, local and digital viewership and consumption milestones, according to Nielsen and Adobe Analytics.

The highlights include:

•For the entire 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, NBC Sports is averaging a total audience delivery (TAD) of 1.073 million viewers across NBC, NBCSN, CNBC, USA Network, NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app, making it the most-watched playoffs on record through two rounds.

•NBC Sports’ cable coverage of the 2019 playoffs across NBCSN, CNBC, USA Network, NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app is averaging a TAD of 911,000 viewers, making it the most-watched cable delivery on record through the second round.

•The second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs stands as the most-watched on record, averaging a TAD of 1.621 million viewers across NBC, NBCSN, NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app. Viewership is also up 3% vs. last year (1.574 million).

•Viewers have live-streamed more than a half-billion minutes through two rounds (526.8 million), up 39% compared to the same time period last season.

•Carolina, Colorado, Columbus, Dallas, St. Louis and San Jose all set local ratings records during the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The viewership and consumption records are even more impressive considering the absence of many teams from the largest media markets or with strong hockey histories, such as the New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings, Chicago Blackhawks, Philadelphia Flyers and Detroit Red Wings. In addition, the four teams that played in the past two Stanley Cup Finals – the Washington Capitals (2018), Vegas Golden Knights (2018), Pittsburgh Penguins (2017) and Nashville Predators (2017) – were all eliminated in the First Round this year.

Note: The term “on record” means since 1994, which is the year when People Meters first included cable viewing.

2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs

For the 69 games of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, NBC Sports is averaging a TAD of 1.073 million viewers across NBC, NBCSN, CNBC, USA Network, NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app, making it the most-watched playoffs on record through two rounds. Viewership is up 1% compared to 2018 (1.067 million), which held the previous record through two rounds.

NBC Sports’ cable coverage of the 2019 playoffs across NBCSN, CNBC, USA Network, NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app is averaging a TAD of 911,000 viewers, making it the most-watched cable delivery on record through the second round, and up 10% compared to last year (825,000).

Following are the Top 10 markets for the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs to date across NBC, NBCSN, CNBC and USA Network: