The National Hockey League (NHL) has achieved its best average viewership on TV in 14 seasons, with all games across ESPN, ABC, and TNT/truTV averaging 546,000 viewers. Viewership is up 23% from last season.
The NHL’s viewership has bounced back from a lower average last season, with the current average being the best since the 2012-13 season. The league’s rights deals with ESPN and TNT Sports have contributed to this success.
Games on ESPN and ABC have seen a significant increase in viewership, with an average of 760,000 viewers across 54 telecasts. This represents a 30% increase from last season.
ESPN games have averaged 602,000 viewers over 38 games, a 48% increase from last season. ABC games have averaged 1.1 million viewers over 16 telecasts, a 33% increase.
TNT Sports has also seen an increase in viewership, averaging 381,000 viewers over 72 games. This represents a 21% increase from last season.
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The Lightning-Bruins Stadium Series game on February 1 was the best NHL audience this season, with 2.07 million viewers. This game also set a record for the best regular-season game ever on cable TV.
ABC’s best game was the Red Wings-Penguins matchup on January 3, which averaged 1.59 million viewers. TNT had three of the top five cable TV games this season, including the Bruins-Flyers game on March 5, which averaged 1.2 million viewers.
The Bruins led all teams with five games in the top 10, followed by the Red Wings with four and the Rangers with three. Notably, there were no Capitals games in the top 10.
ESPN, ABC, and TNT have all seen significant increases in viewership, with ESPN averaging 602,000 viewers per game and ABC averaging 1.1 million viewers per game. These numbers demonstrate the strength of the NHL’s broadcast partnerships and the league’s growing popularity, which is also reflected in the performance of stadium events that require tailored approaches.