TV Ratings: Wednesday's Stanley Cup Game 7 forces America to watch hockey
NBC tops 'So You Think You Can Dance'-fueled FOX
Boston Bruins goalie Tim Thomas hoists Lord Stanley's Cup aloft
Credit: Julie Jacobson/AP
Fast National ratings for Wednesday, June 15, 2011.
You know that TV viewers are backed into a corner when they flock to NBC to watch hockey, but that was the case on Wednesday night. Game 7 of the Stanley Cup between the Bruins and Canucks drew the series' best numbers to date and helped NBC hold off FOX's "So You Think You Can Dance" to win the night's key ratings races.
Among adults 18-49, NBC averaged a 3.2 rating, just ahead of FOX's 2.6 rating in the key demographic. ABC was a distant third with a 1.4 rating, topping CBS' 1.2 rating and, of course, the 0.4 rating for The CW.
Overall, NBC averaged an estimated 8.05 million viewers and a 4.6 rating/8 share to win the night. FOX was a close second with a 4.4/7 and 7.37 million viewers. CBS was third with a 3.8/6 and 5.805 million viewers, beating ABC's 2.9/5 and 4.5 million. The CW averaged 1.17 million viewers and a 0.8/4.
[A reminder: As always in the case of live events, Fast National data is time-period specific and not program specific. So any and all numbers are reflective of the hour of primetime viewership and not necessarily of how many people are watching the live event, specifically the Stanley Cup clincher.]
8 p.m. - The first hour of FOX's "So You Think You Can Dance" performances averaged 7.15 million viewers to win the 8 p.m. hour and a 2.6 rating among adults 18-49 to tie for first. NBC's Stanley Cup coverage was second with 7.01 million viewers and also averaged a 2.6 key demo rating. There was a big drop to CBS' "Undercover Boss" with 4.59 million viewers and ABC's "The Middle" with 4.23 million. The CW's "America's Next Top Model" averaged 1.18 million viewers.
9 p.m. - NBC's hockey coverage moved into first for the 9 p.m. hour with 8.18 million viewers and a 3.3 key demo rating. FOX's "So You Think You Can Dance" also improved slightly with 7.59 million viewers and a 2.7 key demo rating. CBS' "Criminal Minds" averaged 6.24 million viewers, beating the 4.15 million viewers for two episodes of "Modern Family" on ABC, though ABC had a small advantage in the key demo. The CW's "America's Next Top Model" averaged 1.17 million viewers.
10 p.m. - The 10 p.m. hour slice of the Bruins' win over the Canucks averaged 8.96 million viewers and a 3.6 rating in the key demographic. CBS' "Blue Bloods" averaged 6.58 million viewers for second overall. An ABC News Special averaged 5.13 million viewers for third overall and a 1.6 key demo rating to beat CBS.
All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change, particularly in the case of live events.
A long-time member of the TCA Board and a longer-time blogger of "American Idol," Dan Fienberg writes about TV, except for when he writes about movies or sometimes writes about the Red Sox. But never music. He would sound stupid talking about music.
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June 16, 2011 at 1:35PM EST Reply to CommentNo one was 'forced' to watch hockey. They obviously did it because they were interested. Keep your personal bias out of the news you report Mr. Fienberg. This Stanley Cup series was highly entertaining, with game seven being forced after being down 3 games. Your ignorance shows through in your reporting. I guess that's why they make garbage like "So you Think You Can Dance" for people like you who like mindless entertainment. Go Sharks!
dan Ray - Get over it. It was a joke. Go Bruins (who forced Game 7 after being down 3-2, not after being down 3 games).
June 16, 2011 at 1:42PM EST-Daniel
danny Zing!
June 16, 2011 at 2:26PM ESTcordawg
June 16, 2011 at 2:42PM EST Reply to Commentwtf do you mean forced. hockey is an amazing sport, probably the best there is