NBC SPORTS' PREAKNESS STAKES IS MOST-WATCHED SINCE 2018 & LEADS INTO NBC SPORTS' MOST-WATCHED NHL STANLEY CUP PLAYOFF FIRST-ROUND OPENER EVER

NBC's Preakness Stakes Coverage Peaked at 8.6 Million Viewers as Rombauer Crossed Finish Line

Bruins-Capitals Overtime Thriller on NBC Registers Total Audience Delivery of 2.31 Million Viewers, Network's Most-Watched First Round Game 1 on Record; Playoffs Continue with Three Games Tonight

The Belmont Stakes is Sat., June 5 at 5 p.m. ET on NBC

STAMFORD, Conn. - May 18, 2021 - NBC Sports' Saturday late afternoon and evening coverage of the 146th Preakness Stakes on NBC followed by the opening game of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs delivered a pair of viewership milestones.

The 146th Preakness Stakes averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 7.0 million viewers on Saturday - marking the most-watched broadcast of the event since Triple Crown-winner Justify's victory in 2018, according to official national data provided by Nielsen and digital data from Adobe Analytics. The 2021 Preakness Stakes TAD nearly tripled last year's viewership (2.4 million viewers on Oct. 3, 2020) and is up 29% from the last Preakness Stakes held in May (5.4 million on May 18, 2019).

The Preakness Stakes, which peaked at 8.6 million NBC-TV viewers from 6:45-7 p.m. ET as Rombauer ran to victory, led into the Boston Bruins-Washington Capitals opening game of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Capitals' thrilling 3-2 overtime victory registered a TAD of 2.31 million viewers, ranking as the most-watched Game 1 on record in the first round of the NHL Playoffs since 1995 (regionalized game window on FOX). The game broadcast peaked with 3.14 million TV-only viewers.

Caps-Bruins also ranks as the most-watched game at any point in a First-Round series since Game 6 of the Penguins-Flyers in 2018 (2.4 million on April 22, 2018). NHL Stanley Cup Playoff coverage continues tonight on the networks of NBCUniversal.

NBC presents The 153rd Belmont Stakes on Saturday, June 5 at 5 p.m. ET, with coverage beginning at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

TOP METERED MARKETS FOR 2021 PREAKNESS STAKES (Race Portion)
1. Baltimore 13.8/37
2. Ft. Myers 9.8/20
3. Louisville 9.3/20
4. West Palm Beach 8.9/21
5. Buffalo 8.7/20
6. Knoxville 7.6/14
7. Providence 7.4/17
T8. Indianapolis 7.0/18
T8. Washington, DC 7.0/20
T10. Austin 6.8/20
T10. Pittsburgh 6.8/17

TOP METERED MARKETS FOR BRUINS-CAPITALS GAME 1
1. Boston 9.2/21
2. Providence 8.9/18
3. Ft. Myers 4.2/8
4. Pittsburgh 3.9/8
5. Baltimore 3.7/9
6. Washington, DC 3.4/9
7. Buffalo 3.1/6
8. Las Vegas 2.8/7
9. Tampa 2.7/6
10. West Palm Beach 2.5/5

--NBC SPORTS--