Chicago — The Chicago
Blackhawks and their legion
of fans celebrated the club’s
first Stanley Cup since 1961
with a parade in the Windy
City Friday, while NBC, Versus
and National Hockey
League executives rejoiced
over the sport’s finals and
postseason performance
with the Nielsens.
NBC’s Game 6 coverage on
June 9 ranked as the mostwatched
and highest-rated
NHL game in 36 years. With
Patrick Kane scoring the
Cup-clincher over the Philadelphia
Flyers just over 4
minutes into overtime, NBC
netted a 4.7 national household
rating and an 8 share,
translating into 8.28 million
viewers on average, according
to Nielsen data.
That was the most for an NHL
game since 1974, when 8.29 million
watched the third Stanley
Cup Finals game between the
Flyers and Boston Bruins (a 7.6
rating/27 share).
