Ratings: Stanley Cup Finals Game 1 Scores Top Spot During Primetime Thursday

Broadcast primetime was once again revived on Wednesday by live sports. The Colorado Avalanche eked out a 4-3 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals, airing on ABC to a 1.33 rating in the key 18-49 demographic and 4.2 million total viewers.

That’s not quite as nice as the double digit viewership that the NBA finals has pulled over the past two weeks, but still was the most-watched and highest-rated offering across the broadcast networks.

Reruns aired throughout primetime on NBC and CBS, while Fox and The CW had new fare. Likely due to the draw of live sports, both Fox and The CW suffered small declines week-over-week.

On Fox, new episodes of “MasterChef” and “So You Think You Can Dance” averaged a 0.36 demo rating and 2.1 million viewers. The average demo rating stayed steady compared to last week, but the network lost about 400,000 eyeballs.

The CW’s “The Flash” and “Kung Fu” managed an average of 0.07 in the demo and 462,000 total viewers (compared to a 0.09 and 523,000 total viewers last week).

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Here’s how all of the major broadcast networks fared across primetime:

ABC was first in ratings with an average 1.29 rating in the key demo and in total viewers with an average of 4.2 million, according to official live + same day Nielsen data. The network geared up for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals with pregame coverage beginning at 8 p.m., which drew a 0.74 demo rating and 3.7 million total viewers. The game broke in at 8:12 and dominated the rest of primetime with a 1.33 demo rating and 4.2 million total viewers.

CBS was second in ratings with an average 0.39 in the demo and in total viewers with an average of 3.4 million. A rerun of “The Price is Right” drew a 0.44 demo rating and 4 million total viewers at 8 p.m. At 10, a re-airing of “S.W.A.T.” secured a 0.28 demo rating and 2.2 million total viewers.

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Fox was third in ratings with an average 0.36 in the demo. NBC was third in total viewers with an average of 2.8 million. NBC was fourth in ratings with an average 0.29 in the demo, while Fox was fourth in total viewers with an average of 2.1 million.

NBC opted for reruns of the “One Chicago” franchise. “Chicago Med” was first with a 0.31 demo rating and 3.1 million total viewers at 8 p.m. At 9, “Chicago Fire” received a 0.29 demo rating and 2.9 million total viewers. “Chicago PD” rounded things out with a 0.27 demo rating and 2.4 million total viewers at 10.

For Fox, “MasterChef” earned a 0.41 demo rating and 2.4 million total viewers at 8 p.m. At 9, “So You Think You Can Dance” managed a 0.31 demo rating and 1.7 million total viewers.

The CW was fifth in ratings with an average 0.07 in the demo and in total viewers with an average of 462,000. “The Flash” got a 0.08 demo rating and 502,000 total viewers at 8 p.m., while “Kung Fu” had a 0.05 demo rating and 422,000 total viewers at 9.

Neither Fox nor The CW airs primetime programming at 10.

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Among the Spanish-language networks, Univision finished first with a 0.4 demo rating and in average total viewers with 1.3 million. “La Mexicana y El Guero” earned a 0.4 demo rating and 1.3 million total viewers at 8 p.m. At 9, “Mi Fortuna Es Amarte” had a 0.5 demo rating and 1.7 million total viewers at 9. At 10, “El último rey: El hijo del pueblo” got a 0.3 demo rating and 999,000 total viewers.

Telemundo was second in ratings with a 0.3 demo rating and in average total viewers with 1 million. “Casa de Famosos,” which began airing at 7 p.m., had a 0.3 demo rating and 1.2 million total viewers. “Amor Valiente” had a 0.2 demo rating and 854,000 total viewers at 9. “Infiel: Historia de un Engaño” received a 0.2 demo rating and 923,000 total viewers at 10 p.m.