from John Lane of NHL.com,

The first round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs proved historic for ESPN and Turner Sports, with ratings for TNT and TBS the highest since the advent of cable television.

Games covered on ESPN, ESPN2, TNT and TBS averaged 768,000 viewers, a 58 percent increase from last season on NBCSN, CNBC and USA Network.

Turner Sports broke records for individual game and total rounds. The series-deciding game between the New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins on TBS on May 15 delivered 2.3 million average viewers, making it the most-watched first-round Stanley Cup Playoff game ever on cable. The number was the most for a non-Stanley Cup Final game on cable since Game 7 of the 2018 Eastern Conference Final, when 2.6 million watched the Washington Capitals defeat the Tampa Lightning 4-0.

Game 7 between the Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs on TNT on May 14 averaged 1.7 million viewers, making it the second-most watched first round game on ever on cable. Female viewership for Stanley Cup Playoff games airing on TNT and TBS also enjoyed substantial increases, going up 83 percent on cable from 2021 and 49 percent from 2019.

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