The highly anticipated match on ABC scored a 1.3 rating in the advertiser-coveted 18-to-49 demographic
Live sports continue to reign supreme in broadcast’s splashy primetime setting as Game 4 of the NHL’s Stanley Cup Finals topped Wednesday night. The Colorado Avalanche took a 3-1 advantage in the series over the Tampa Bay Lightning as the ABC broadcast claimed a 1.3 rating in the advertiser-coveted 18-to-49 demographic and a healthy 4.6 million total viewers.
Despite some stiff competition with rival broadcasters, the Stanley Cup match was both the highest-rated and most-watched offering of the night.
Reruns ran across CBS and NBC while Fox and The CW offered up new fare. ABC’s pre-game coverage for Game 4 was the second highest-rated primetime show with a 0.6 in the key demo, while CBS’ “The Price Is Right,” featuring Adam Devine, took home the night’s non-sports viewership crown with 3.7 million total viewers.
Here’s how all of the major broadcast networks fared across primetime:
ABC was first in ratings with an average 1.2 rating in the ad-friendly demo and in total viewers with an average of 4.3 million, according to official live plus same day Nielsen data. The network’s pre-game coverage, which began at 8 p.m., gave way to Game 4, which ran from 8:12 p.m. to 11:32 p.m.
CBS was second in ratings with an average 0.4 rating in the 18-to-49 demo and in total viewers with an average of 2.9 million. The Ludacris-led “Price Is Right” in the 9 p.m. slot earned a solid 0.4 rating and 3.4 million total viewers while “One Last Time: An Evening with Lady Gaga & Tony Bennett” claimed a 0.2 and 1.6 million total viewers.
NBC, which aired a primetime block of “Chicago” rerun programming, was third in the ratings with an average demo rating of 0.3 and 2.6 million total average viewers. An 8 p.m. rerun of “Chicago: Med” took home a 0.3 demo rating and 2.7 million total viewers, followed by “Chicago: Fire” at 9 p.m. (0.3, 2.8 million) and “Chicago: PD” (0.3, 2.4 million).
For Fox, “MasterChef” earned a healthy 0.4 demo rating and 2.3 million total viewers at 8 p.m. At 9, “So You Think You Can Dance” drew a 0.3 demo rating and 1.5 million total viewers.
The CW was fifth in ratings with an average 0.1 rating in the key demo and 383,000 total average viewers. “The Flash” at 8 p.m. earned a 0.2 demo rating and 590,000 total viewers. At 9 p.m., The CW aired back-to-back episodes of “Wellington Paranormal,” which got a 0.0 rating and 195,000 total viewers at 9 p.m. and 0.0 rating and 155,000 viewers at 9:30 p.m.
Neither Fox nor The CW airs primetime programming at 10.
Among the Spanish-language networks, Univision finished first with a 0.4 demo rating and 1.3 million total average viewers. At 8, “Mexicana Y El Guero” claimed a 0.3 key rating and 1.1 million total viewers. “Mi Fortuna Es Amarte” took the network’s top spot with a 0.5 demo rating and 1.6 million total viewers at 9 p.m. At 10, “Ultimo Rey: Hijo Pueblo” earned a 0.3 18-to-49 rating and 1.1 million total viewers.
Telemundo was second in ratings with a 0.3 average demo rating and 1.1 million total average viewers. The 8 p.m. showing of “Amor Valiente” drew a 0.9 demo rating and a 882,000 total viewers while 9 p.m.’s “Infiel: Historia de un Engaño” claimed a 0.2 rating in the ad-friendly demo and 926,000 total viewers.
Brandon Katz
Brandon Katz is an industry strategist at Parrot Analytics, a WrapPRO partner.