Boston sports fans are always ready to put their weight behind a winner, and this postseason is no different. The now eliminated Bruins had the full attention of hockey fans around the country as they played in seven of the eight most-watched games of the playoffs so far this postseason.
Sports Media Watch reported the Game 6 battle kept this momentum rolling with 1.48 million viewers on NBCSN. That is a 70% increase from the same series in the “bubble” last season. The Bruins’ 6-2 loss in Game 6 eliminated them from the playoffs, so The “Bruins Bump” in ratings goes away until next season.
The “bump” was real all season for this team, especially on their parent network NESN.
The network broadcasted 49 Bruins games this season and drew a 4.18 average household rating, the highest for a season since 2014-15 and up 18% over last season. Key demographics saw ratings growth on the network as well. Adults 18-34 and Men 25-54 saw rating increases of 10-plus percent, while adults 25-54 increased 7%.
Sports Business Journal confirmed this isn’t just an increase happening in Boston. Local ratings for NHL games were up 15% across the league this season (based on data from US-based franchises), while NBA ratings on regional cable networks were down 4% leaguewide.
National ratings were a different story in the regular season. SBJ reported the league had a total audience delivery of 391,000 in their final season with NBC. That was slightly lower than last year’s nadir of 398,000 TAD. All of those numbers are a far cry from where the league peaked in 2012-13, averaging 590,000 viewers on NBC.
The league is getting set to pull up their stakes at NBC and move the operation over to a split-partnership between Turner Sports and ESPN starting next season.