Blackhawks' Stanley Cup Win Draws 8.1 Million Viewers

Last night's Game 6 (8:15-11 p.m. ET) of the 2013 Stanley Cup Final, in which the Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Boston Bruins, 3-2, to claim their second Stanley Cup in four years, was watched by 8.16 million viewers on NBC, up 66% vs. last year's Game 6 and making it the second-most watched Game 6 since 1994, according to official data released today by The Nielsen Company.

Game 6 was the culmination of an exciting Stanley Cup Final. Two Original Six teams, three overtime contests -- including an Epic triple-overtime in Game 1 -- and extremely tight games (Chicago and Boston were tied or separated by one goal 87% of the time) propelled the series to be the most-watched Stanley Cup Final on record, averaging 5.76 million viewers across NBC and NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) (data available since 1994).

Overall, the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs averaged 1.467 million viewers on NBC, NBC Sports Network and CNBC (84 games), making it the most-watched post-season since 1997 (1.52 million on ESPN/ESPN2/FOX) and up 18% vs. last year (1.241).

GAME 6
Last night's game drew a 4.7 U.S. household rating and 8.16 million viewers on NBC, up 52% and 66%, respectively, vs. last year (3.1 and 4.929 million viewers). This year's series-clinching contest was the second-most watched Stanley Cup Final Game 6 since 1994, trailing only Chicago's 2010 series-clinching Game 6 against Philadelphia (6/9/10, 8.279 million).

Game 6 peaked with 10.424 million viewers from 10:45-11 p.m. ET.

Following are NBC's Most-Watched NHL Games (Since 2006):
Rank Program Episode Date Rtg Viewers
1 Game 7 Boston at Vancouver 6/15/2011 4.8 8,537
2 Game 6 Chicago at Philadelphia 6/9/2010 4.7 8,279
3 Game 6 Boston at Chicago 6/24/2013 4.7 8,160
4 Game 7 Pittsburgh at Detroit 6/12/2009 4.3 7,992
5 Game 6 Detroit at Pittsburgh 6/4/2008 4.0 6,781

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