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NHL/hockey TV ratings 2024-25

Reaser said:
I'll post full #'s tonight or tomorrow night when I get each game, but for now, via SMW:

"The NCAA men’s hockey regionals averaged 109,000 viewers across ESPN2 and ESPNU. Top audience was 322,000 for Denver-Boston College."

https://sportsmediawatch.com/sports-ratings
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Here from the North Pole (at least compared to you guys, my place is north of Juneau CA....) seeing the gigantic numbers
Basketball draw for your crazy Collage sports, I think NHL is doing pretty well compared to NBA.
 
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This is from this event:

www.nhl.com

Hockey Day in Sweden | NHL.com

Join the NHL and Viaplay in celebrating the first-ever Hockey Day in Sweden! This two-day event will feature dozens of interactive hockey activations at the NHL Global Fan Tour, e-gaming competitions, hockey trivia, local community performances, special guest appearances, and other great...
www.nhl.com www.nhl.com

It wasnt a game, just live pregame show, the game itself was shown on Viasat which isnt tracked.
Thought it could be of interest.

Skärmbild 2025-04-01 210145.png
 
(via @jheaps4)

NHL on ABC:

January:

Rangers-Capitals: 1.1M
Rangers-Blackhawks: 454k
Bruins - Panthers 1,05M


February:

Blackhawks-Panthers: 723k
Rangers-Bruins: 1.1M
Lightning-Red Wings: 934k
Golden Knights-Bruins: 1.27M
Capitals-Penguins 1.1M
Wild-Red Wings 944k

March:

Bruins-Penguins: 1.1M
Kraken-Flyers: 580k
Bruins-Lightning: 777k
Devils-Penguins: 604k
Red Wings-Golden Knights: 687k
Bruins-Red Wings: 826k


Cable:

October:

Blues-Kraken: 348k (ESPN)
Bruins-Panthers: 790k (ESPN, non-exclusive)
Blackhawks-Utah: 522k (ESPN)
Rangers-Penguins: 467k (TNT+truTV)
Avalanche-Golden Knights 315k (TNT+truTV)
Wild-Blues: 417k (ESPN)
Flyers-Oilers: 333k (ESPN)
Sabres-Penguins: 512k (TNT+truTV)
Bruins-Avalanche: 340k (TNT+truTV)
Capitals-Flyers: 477k (ESPN)
Avalanche-Kraken: 422k (ESPN)
Kings-Golden Knights: 245k (ESPN)
Flyers-Capitals: 410k (TNT+truTV)
Rangers-Capitals: 412k (ESPN)
Kings-Sharks: 186k (ESPN)
Golden Knights-Kings: 109k (TNT+truTV)

November:

Red Wings-Blackhawks: 411k (TNT+truTV)
Red Wings-Penguins: 354k (TNT, non-exclusive)
Kings-Avalanche 231k (TNT+truTV)
Hurricanes-Flyers: 237k (TNT, non-exclusive)
Predators-Kraken: 155k (TNT+truTV)
Capitals-Lightning: 268k (TNT)
Golden Knights-Avalanche: 207k (TNT, non-exclusive)
Penguins-Bruins: 483k (TNT+truTV)
Avalanche-Stars: 177k (TNT+truTV)

December:

Bruins-Blackhawks: 487k (TNT, non-exclusive)
Stars-Kings: 232k (TNT, non-exclusive)
Rangers-Sabres 478k (TNT+truTV)
Flyers-Red Wings 418k (TNT+truTV)
Panthers-Wild 161k (TNT, non-exclusive)
Blackhawks-Sabres: 245k (ESPN2)
Avalanche-Utah: 258k (ESPN2)
Stars-Blackhawks: 217k (ESPN)
Blues-Blackhawks: 920k (Winter Classic, TNT+truTV)

January:

Avalanche-Blackhawks 283k (TNT, non-exclusive)
Panthers - Utah 183k (TNT)
Red Wings-Panthers: 507k (ESPN)
Oilers-Avalanche 389k (ESPN)
Hurricanes-Sabres: 259k (TNT+truTV)
Oilers-Wild: 324k (TNT+truTV)
Panthers-Kings: 151k (TNT+truTV)
Golden Knights-Stars: 424k (ESPN)
Flyers-Devils: 253k (TNT+truTV)
Penguins-Utah: 138k (TNT+truTV, non-exclusive)

February:

Sharks-Kraken: 175k (ESPN)
Bruins-Rangers: 537k (TNT+truTV)
Oilers-Blackhawks: 217k (TNT+truTV)
Rangers-Penguins 560k (TNT+truTV)
Oilers-Capitals 318k (TNT+truTV)
Canucks-Kings: 159k (TNT+truTV)

March:

Leafs-Penguins: 326k (TNT+truTV)
Bruins-Wild: 457k (TNT+truTV, non-exclusive)
Blues-Stars: 383k (TNT+truTV)
Red Wings-Blue Jackets 1.6M (ESPN, Stadium Series)
Capitals-Rangers: 324k (TNT+truTV, non-exclusive)
Leafs-Golden Knights: 178k (TNT+truTV)
Sabres-Lightning: 390k (ESPN)
Sharks-Avalanche: 305k (ESPN)
Devils-Flyers: 263k (TNT+truTV)
Penguins-Wild: 350k TNT+truTV, non-exclusive)
Sabres-Red Wings: 290k (TNT+truTV, non-exclusive)
Ducks-Utah: 139k (TNT+truTV)
Utah-Oilers: 147k (ESPN)
Golden Knights-Red Wings: 405k (TNT+truTV, non-exclusive)
Stars-Avalanche: 301k (TNT+truTV, non-exclusive)
Avalanche-Leafs: 319k (TNT)
Kraken-Wild: 190k (TNT, non-exclusive)
Devils-Blackhawks: 265k (TNT+truTV, co-exist - CHSN)
Stars-Oilers: 221k (TNT+truTV)
Kings-Avalanche: 321k (ESPN)
Sharks-Kings: 401k (ESPN)
 
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Greatzsky 99 said:
Late night, Kings vs Sharks, over 400k, nice
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Had the first Sunday Night Baseball of the season as lead-in which did 1.3M, but not direct lead-in, 20 minutes between end of baseball and start of NHL coverage, which that 20 minutes had 919k avg viewership, so lead-in still helped prop up the avg on the front-end of Sharks-Kings.

That said, over 400k for what was a 8-1 blowout that wasn't even an entertaining blowout, a pretty dreadful game, is a good-enough # in that context.

At least I was expecting much worse, even factoring in that lead-in (e.g. a presumed 1.0M starting # for Sharks-Kings.)
 
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Reaser said:
Had the first Sunday Night Baseball of the season as lead-in which did 1.3M, but not direct lead-in, 20 minutes between end of baseball and start of NHL coverage, which that 20 minutes had 919k avg viewership, so lead-in still helped prop up the avg on the front-end of Sharks-Kings.

That said, over 400k for what was a 8-1 blowout that wasn't even an entertaining blowout, a pretty dreadful game, is a good-enough # in that context.

At least I was expecting much worse, even factoring in that lead-in (e.g. a presumed 1.0M starting # for Sharks-Kings.)
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Whats your take on new Canadian TV deal, Reaser?
 
Greatzsky 99 said:
Whats your take on new Canadian TV deal, Reaser?
Click to expand...

Good for [NHL] business.

For consumers, that'll be decided in the future both with any potential price hikes & of course on ones opinion of broadcast quality. In other words, not a lot of fans of Rogers presentation/studio/intermissions/etc..

Otherwise it appears very status quo. Rogers has everything, picked up a few more covert-regional-into-national games with Canadian teams and the sub-licensing is the same with French rights, we just don't know who will get them yet. All that changed is seemingly making what they did with Amazon more a formal part of the deal/announcement -- it's presumed Prime will, if it's not already done and just waiting to announce it so Rogers gets their shine for now, continue the Prime Monday Night Hockey deal.

So in practice, nothing really is changing (unless say RDS gets French rights which fans I converse with prefer RDS to TVAS) and the NHL got paid. Former is fan opinion dictated, latter is a good deal for the league.
 
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Reaser said:
Good for [NHL] business.

For consumers, that'll be decided in the future both with any potential price hikes & of course on ones opinion of broadcast quality. In other words, not a lot of fans of Rogers presentation/studio/intermissions/etc..

Otherwise it appears very status quo. Rogers has everything, picked up a few more covert-regional-into-national games with Canadian teams and the sub-licensing is the same with French rights, we just don't know who will get them yet. All that changed is seemingly making what they did with Amazon more a formal part of the deal/announcement -- it's presumed Prime will, if it's not already done and just waiting to announce it so Rogers gets their shine for now, continue the Prime Monday Night Hockey deal.

So in practice, nothing really is changing (unless say RDS gets French rights which fans I converse with prefer RDS to TVAS) and the NHL got paid. Former is fan opinion dictated, latter is a good deal for the league.
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Good summary, thanks, hope Prime continues as people seem happy with it.
 
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Reaser said:
Good for [NHL] business.

For consumers, that'll be decided in the future both with any potential price hikes & of course on ones opinion of broadcast quality. In other words, not a lot of fans of Rogers presentation/studio/intermissions/etc..

Otherwise it appears very status quo. Rogers has everything, picked up a few more covert-regional-into-national games with Canadian teams and the sub-licensing is the same with French rights, we just don't know who will get them yet. All that changed is seemingly making what they did with Amazon more a formal part of the deal/announcement -- it's presumed Prime will, if it's not already done and just waiting to announce it so Rogers gets their shine for now, continue the Prime Monday Night Hockey deal.

So in practice, nothing really is changing (unless say RDS gets French rights which fans I converse with prefer RDS to TVAS) and the NHL got paid. Former is fan opinion dictated, latter is a good deal for the league.
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One wonders the kind of numbers the league is looking at with their next US tv deal. I imagine thats also why we keep hearing rumblings about Houston and Atlanta with regard to expansion
 
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Just a FWIW/update for those waiting on #'s.

Got my Nielsen Cable Top-100 list tonight and nearly everything on cable shows a 0 for viewers, so an obvious error there. Means it will probably be a bit until I see Wednesday's TNT #'s (same reason Programming Insider has nothing listed under "cable" for Wednesday, as of this post) ... Either I'll get them in a correction (ha, unlikely) or Ill see them next week. Hopefully SMW gets corrected #'s before then and posts them so we have them without having to wait so long.

And for those waiting on the individual game NCAA Tournament #'s, last weeks full cable report still hasn't arrived -- supposed to be Tuesday night, these days often delayed until Wednesday night and didn't get tonight again so we'll see. Hopefully tomorrow on that.
 
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Reaser said:
Good for [NHL] business.

For consumers, that'll be decided in the future both with any potential price hikes & of course on ones opinion of broadcast quality. In other words, not a lot of fans of Rogers presentation/studio/intermissions/etc..

Otherwise it appears very status quo. Rogers has everything, picked up a few more covert-regional-into-national games with Canadian teams and the sub-licensing is the same with French rights, we just don't know who will get them yet. All that changed is seemingly making what they did with Amazon more a formal part of the deal/announcement -- it's presumed Prime will, if it's not already done and just waiting to announce it so Rogers gets their shine for now, continue the Prime Monday Night Hockey deal.

So in practice, nothing really is changing (unless say RDS gets French rights which fans I converse with prefer RDS to TVAS) and the NHL got paid. Former is fan opinion dictated, latter is a good deal for the league.
Click to expand...
For a logical/rational viewpoint, it is absolutely a horrible deal for Rogers. No way a lot of those games will ever establish a 7.7 billion dollar price tag, but for the NHL, it is amazing considering how much Rogers lost on the last one (seemingly so) and they somehow got an even better/bigger deal.
 
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S E P H said:
For a logical/rational viewpoint, it is absolutely a horrible deal for Rogers. No way a lot of those games will ever establish a 7.7 billion dollar price tag, but for the NHL, it is amazing considering how much Rogers lost on the last one (seemingly so) and they somehow got an even better/bigger deal.
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Has to be a play to get content for streaming. Otherwise it makes no sense as cable subscriber count continues to drop.
 


TNT and truTV combined to average 188,000 viewers for an NHL doubleheader on Wednesday, down 58% from last year. Capitals-Hurricanes averaged just 186,000, down 67% from Devils-Rangers last year, with the caveat that TNT coverage was blacked out in both home markets. (An “OviCast” on truTV averaged 43,000, surpassing previous “Spittin’ Chiclets” and “MultiVersus” altcasts.)

In the nightcap, Avalanche-Blackhawks averaged 191,000, down 43% from last year’s Oilers-Stars.
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NextBigThing said:
Embarrassing that tonight’s game is on NHL network and not TNT or ESPN. I hope he scores a hat trick and makes the league look clueless.
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ESPN has commitments but TNT is airing "The Meg." A movie that for a few years now they show every week and usually multiple times a week.

Not like this snuck up on the NHL. Had plenty of time to plan in advance. Tonight really should have been picked up by TNT either as a non-exclusive or preferably as a co-exist.

It's not nothing and definitely the lesser of the options but at least they added it to ESPN+ Power Play. Not ideal but a little better than the original of it only being available out-of-market on NHL Network (and Center Ice.)
 
Reaser said:
ESPN has commitments but TNT is airing "The Meg." A movie that for a few years now they show every week and usually multiple times a week.

Not like this snuck up on the NHL. Had plenty of time to plan in advance. Tonight really should have been picked up by TNT either as a non-exclusive or preferably as a co-exist.

It's not nothing and definitely the lesser of the options but at least they added it to ESPN+ Power Play. Not ideal but a little better than the original of it only being available out-of-market on NHL Network (and Center Ice.)
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ESPN has the girl's basketball game, but ESPN2 could have picked up the Caps game. NHL is one again proving why they are the laughing stock of the sports world.
 
NextBigThing said:
ESPN has the girl's basketball game, but ESPN2 could have picked up the Caps game. NHL is one again proving why they are the laughing stock of the sports world.
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No, espn2 wasn't a realistic option. ESPN has the Women's Final Four with the Bird & Taurasi alt-cast on espn2. As I said, they had commitments.

TNT was the U.S. rights partner option. Hypothetically, at least. Since, obviously that didn't happen and the game stayed on NHL Network.

Think a majority of us would agree the NHL botched it if Ovi scores two more goals tonight.
 
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