The Colorado Avalanche winning the Stanley Cup wrapped the first year of ABC/ESPN coverage of the sport in their seven-year deal. Indicators from the season, the playoffs and now the Final are positive for all involved.
The Stanley Cup Final averaged 4.6 million viewers for the six-game series between the Avalanche and the two-time defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning. That represents an increase in viewership of 83% from last year’s Final between the Lightning and the Montreal Canadiens. An average of 2.5 million viewers tuned in for that series on NBC and NBC Sports Network.
The Final this year is also up from 2020’s Stanley Cup Final that had the Tampa Bay Lightning square-off with the Dallas Stars. Just 2.1 million viewers tuned in for that peak-pandemic series.
The only cold water to pour onto this fire is in comparing the numbers to the last Stanley Cup Final before the pandemic, in 2019. That series was between the St. Louis Blues and the Boston Bruins. That series went seven games and drew 5.5 million viewers on average. This year’s Final represents a16% drop from that series.
