NHL TV ratings 2023/2024

[S E P H]

-Stanley Cup Playoffs viewership Friday-

Canucks-Predators: 819k
-TNT: 621k
--truTV: 198k

Stars-Golden Knights: 1.142M
-TNT: 819k
--truTV: 323k

Are these >1 million games being classified as "million games" or does truTV act as a separate entity?

 

[Reaser]

Are these >1 million games being classified as "million games" or does truTV act as a separate entity?

They're over a million. Same ad inventory, same broadcast. Simulcast. Counts in the Nielsen final averages (series, round, playoffs) the same, as 1 game.

Outside of 'official', another way to look at it is that if truTV simulcasts didn't exist, nearly all those people would just be watching on TNT (or TBS for TBS games) anyway. No doubt truTV provides a boost but usually about 30-50k are watching their sports shows exclusively on truTV that precede the simulcast NHL coverage.

 

[4mats4]

Canucks-Predators averaged 582,833 viewers nationally

 

[CokenoPepsi]

Numbers are down from years past for the Leafs. That’s been the trend in Canada. The country is changing.

Haven't fallen as much as the Raptors, Jays really seem to be the only ones on the rise which may be dying now as novelty worn off and disappointment over current head office.

Leafs/Bruins did 5 million+ game 7...huge

 

[Kirk Van Houten]

Canucks-Predators averaged 582,833 viewers nationally

Decent.

 

[Reaser]

With ESPN apparently losing their Friday night NBA package in the new rights deal. Hopefully the NHL fills those slots. How it used to be in the 90s/00s when the ESPN games were largely on Friday. Destination viewing. Night with few competing NHL games. Works better than Tuesday/Thursday games when there's 10 overlapping NHL games and everyone is watching their own team.

edit to add: For the NBA this past regular season that was 15 Friday nights (some Fridays they have other stuff, especially during bowl season) and most were doubleheaders. With ESPN showing 31 NHL games this past regular season. Majority of them could come Friday night, add opening night games (Tuesday) and that could pretty much set the regular season NHL on ESPN schedule. Having a "night" that is consistent matters. Friday would then be open for the last 3 years of the NHL/ESPN deal, hope they make that move.

 

[Kirk Van Houten]

With ESPN apparently losing their Friday night NBA package in the new rights deal. Hopefully the NHL fills those slots. How it used to be in the 90s/00s when the ESPN games were largely on Friday. Destination viewing. Night with few competing NHL games. Works better than Tuesday/Thursday games when there's 10 overlapping NHL games and everyone is watching their own team.

edit to add: For the NBA this past regular season that was 15 Friday nights (some Fridays they have other stuff, especially during bowl season) and most were doubleheaders. With ESPN showing 31 NHL games this past regular season. Majority of them could come Friday night, add opening night games (Tuesday) and that could pretty much set the regular season NHL on ESPN schedule. Having a "night" that is consistent matters. Friday would then be open for the last 3 years of the NHL/ESPN deal, hope they make that move.

Just by moving the dates from their current number of games on ESPN I think you could fill those friday nights so I'm hoping that's the move after the CFB seson is done. Bowl season has different times not a problem.

 

[NextBigThing]

With ESPN apparently losing their Friday night NBA package in the new rights deal. Hopefully the NHL fills those slots. How it used to be in the 90s/00s when the ESPN games were largely on Friday. Destination viewing. Night with few competing NHL games. Works better than Tuesday/Thursday games when there's 10 overlapping NHL games and everyone is watching their own team.

edit to add: For the NBA this past regular season that was 15 Friday nights (some Fridays they have other stuff, especially during bowl season) and most were doubleheaders. With ESPN showing 31 NHL games this past regular season. Majority of them could come Friday night, add opening night games (Tuesday) and that could pretty much set the regular season NHL on ESPN schedule. Having a "night" that is consistent matters. Friday would then be open for the last 3 years of the NHL/ESPN deal, hope they make that move.

WNBA/Women’s NCAA Basketball will get those Friday slots.

 

[Kirk Van Houten]

Just by moving the dates from their current number of games on ESPN I think you could fill those friday nights so I'm hoping that's the move after the CFB seson is done. Bowl season has different times not a problem.

Amazon to get In-Season and Play-in tournaments as part of NBA deal

The NBA’s two newly-created properties, the In-Season Tournament and Play-in Tournament, are reportedly headed to Amazon in the league’s new rights deal.

www.sportsmediawatch.com

From reading that: Amazon is seeking — and likely to get — a Saturday night window. One would assume that means the end of ABC’s occasional Saturday night game. ESPN, per Ourand, will carry only Wednesday night regular season games as part of its renewal, dropping the Friday night slate that it has aired since the 2002-03 season.

So the NHL has a chance to get friday nights on ESPN and more primetime games on saturday instead of saturday early.

 

[Reaser]

WNBA will get those Friday slots.

The WNBA which runs mid-May to Mid-October is going to get the current Friday NBA on ESPN slots that run from mid-October through March.

Makes sense.

Somehow, this still is the smartest thing you've said in the NHL TV ratings thread in at least 3 years.

 

[Reaser]

Just by moving the dates from their current number of games on ESPN I think you could fill those friday nights so I'm hoping that's the move after the CFB seson is done. Bowl season has different times not a problem.

Yup, that's what I was trying to say in my "edit." The amount of NHL games on ESPN currently fits perfectly into the amount of Friday windows available. And yes, CFB season, not Bowl season. I believe you saw this but so everyone else has an idea:

NBA had these Fridays on ESPN this past regular season (the slots we're talking about):

Oct x1
Nov x4
Dec x4
Jan x3 (NHL had a Friday game on ESPN here, so x4 if NHL)
Feb x1
Mar x2

Obviously would need to add April, if not Friday can use the same April slots they already have. But essentially a majority of the season could be NHL on ESPN Friday nights. The league should already/immediately be talking to ESPN asking to be moved into those slots as the NBA Friday replacement and their current slots can goto things like MACtion and college basketball, etc..

 

[Anisimovs AK]

English number is down from 2013 game 7.

SOURCE: https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.1407292

Holy hell, he actually provided a source. Of course, the context of the number being 100k short in the era of cord cutting is still lost on him, which is par for the course.

Still though, congrats on sourcing your first comment

 

[TheOrganist]

There aren’t any numbers yet from ABC for Bruins/Leafs?

 

[Kirk Van Houten]

Not yet in a bit we're getting them

 

[DaBadGuy7]

Leafs-Bruins G7 - 3.24 million
Knights-Stars G7 - 1.99 million
Canes-Rangers G1 - 1.99 million

 

[4mats4]

Leafs-Bruins G7 - 3.24 million
Knights-Stars G7 - 1.99 million
Canes-Rangers G1 - 1.99 million

Solid numbers! Waiting for the 4 digit numbers to add to my averages

 

[Reaser]

With the 5.7M (Eng+stream & French) in Canada and 3.2M in the U.S. that's just under (8.9M) 9 million watching Leafs-Bruins Game 7 across the U.S. & Canada.

Solid numbers! Waiting for the 4 digit numbers to add to my averages

3.244M

 

[Kirk Van Houten]

Expected a bit more on the Bruins game 7. Really good numbers for the VGK - DAL game 7.

 

[4mats4]

Bruins-Leafs averaged 1,543,857 viewers nationally

 

[Kirk Van Houten]

Leafs-Bruins G7 - 3.24 million
Knights-Stars G7 - 1.99 million
Canes-Rangers G1 - 1.99 million

I should add to the west game 7: "down from last year’s Kraken-Avalanche Game 7 (1.1, 2.02M), which had a direct lead-in from the aforementioned Panthers-Bruins game." So from 2.02M to 1.99M with no lead in it's really good basically even.

And for the game 1 in the east: "the largest audience for a second round opener on cable in at least 20 years and the largest across all networks in three. NBC topped the two million mark for Islanders-Bruins Game 1 in 2021."

 

[Reaser]

Stanley Cup Playoffs (U.S. broadcasts)
First Round last 3 years:

-2024-
1.0M+ avg viewership: 16 games
High: 3.244M (TOR-BOS G7)

-2023-
1.0M+ avg viewership: 14 games
High: 3.095M (FLA-BOS G7)

-2022-
1.0M+ avg viewership: 11 games
High: 2.325M (PIT-NYR G7)

 

[Anisimovs AK]

I should add to the west game 7: "down from last year’s Kraken-Avalanche Game 7 (1.1, 2.02M), which had a direct lead-in from the aforementioned Panthers-Bruins game." So from 2.02M to 1.99M with no lead in it's really good basically even.

And for the game 1 in the east: "the largest audience for a second round opener on cable in at least 20 years and the largest across all networks in three. NBC topped the two million mark for Islanders-Bruins Game 1 in 2021."

Excited to see the Stars-Avs ratings this round. Hoping Dallas can get stronger local ratings

 

[Kirk Van Houten]

Stanley Cup Playoffs (U.S. broadcasts)
First Round last 3 years:

-2024-
1.0M+ avg viewership: 16 games
High: 3.244M (TOR-BOS G7)

-2023-
1.0M+ avg viewership: 14 games
High: 3.095M (FLA-BOS G7)

-2022-
1.0M+ avg viewership: 11 games
High: 2.325M (PIT-NYR G7)

Clearly some luck to get a game 7 with a strong team for the ratings every first round but overall the floor rises up a bit every season.

 

[Reaser]

Solid numbers! Waiting for the 4 digit numbers to add to my averages

-VGK-DAL Game 7-

1.989M
-TBS: 1.679M
--truTV: 310k

 

[Reaser]