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NHL Playoffs 2014: Opening Night Ratings Impress

By Michael Straw

May 13, 2013; Boston, MA USA; A view of the Stanley Cup Playoff logo on the ice before game seven of the first round of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs between the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
May 13, 2013; Boston, MA USA; A view of the Stanley Cup Playoff logo on the ice before game seven of the first round of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs between the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports /
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May 13, 2013; Boston, MA USA; A view of the Stanley Cup Playoff logo on the ice before game seven of the first round of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs between the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
May 13, 2013; Boston, MA USA; A view of the Stanley Cup Playoff logo on the ice before game seven of the first round of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs between the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports /

The NHL playoffs began on Wednesday night and if the ratings are any indication, fans in the United States were as excited for the best playoffs in sports as ever before.

According to NBC, the ratings for the opening night on NBCSN and CNBC were up 53% from last year. The ratings on CNBC alone were up an astounding 153% from a year ago.

The rest of the ratings information can be found below via ProHockeyTalk:

"Opening night of the 2014 NHL Playoffs averaged 472,000 viewers across the three games on NBCSN/CNBC (+53% from opening night in 2013), 305,000 P18-49 (+53%).NBCSN’s two games averaged 486,000 viewers (+22% from the comparable coverage in 2013; 397,000), 289,000 P18-49 (+14%) and 260,000 P25-54 (+21%).In its third year of NHL coverage, CNBC posted its best audience for a playoff opening night with 450,000 average viewers (+34% from the previous high in 2012), 329,000 P18-49 (+103%).The combined NHL audience across NBCSN and CNBC from 7:30P-10:30P ranked #1 in cable for the time period among Men 18-49 (524,000).Last night’s Columbus-Pittsburgh first-round game on NBCSN averaged 584,000 viewers, up 39% from NBCSN’s early game on opening night of the playoffs last year (Minnesota-Chicago) Last night’s Dallas-Anaheim first-round game on NBCSN averaged 390,000 viewers, up 12% from NBCSN’s late game on opening night of the playoffs last year (Detroit-Anaheim) Last night’s Montreal-Tampa Bay first-round game on CNBC averaged 450,000 viewers, making it the most-watched game for a Stanley Cup Playoffs opening night on CNBC, up 153% from CNBC’s early game on opening night of the playoffs last year (Los Angeles-St. Louis)"

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