NHL viewership maintains post-Olympic glow through conference finals

The NHL is maintaining its strong viewership pace heading into the Stanley Cup Final.

Viewership for each of the league’s conference finals saw near-50% increases on both NHL broadcast partners. ESPN’s coverage of the Western Conference Finals, a Vegas Golden Knights sweep over the Colorado Avalanche, averaged 2.2 million viewers, up 44% versus last year’s Western Conference Finals on ESPN (Oilers-Stars), which went five games. Meanwhile, the Eastern Conference Finals between the Carolina Hurricanes and Montreal Canadiens on TNT Sports averaged 2 million viewers through its first four games, up 49% versus last year’s Eastern Conference Finals (Panthers-Hurricanes). Viewership data for Friday’s Game 5, which sent the Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup Final, is not yet available.

Still, viewership for this year’s postseason has followed a remarkable trend. According to the league, first-round viewership increased by 68% year-over-year, averaging 1.2 million viewers per game, while second-round viewership shot up by 55% versus last year, averaging 1.9 million viewers per game.

There’s reason to believe this year’s Knights-Hurricanes Stanley Cup Final will be a ratings winner as well. For one, the Cup Final is back on broadcast television this year as the rotation flips back from TNT to ABC. Throughout the course of the NHL’s current media rights deals, Stanley Cup Finals on ABC have performed much better than those on TNT, which require a pay-TV subscription. Last year’s Stanley Cup Final, for instance, averaged just 2.5 million viewers on TNT, down 40% from 2024 on ABC.

This year’s matchup is also the first to feature two non-Canadian teams since 2023, which will provide an additional home market for ABC to lean on. (Canadian viewership is not included in Nielsen’s measurements.)

The NHL’s renaissance comes in the afterglow of the United States’ gold medal campaign in February’s Winter Olympics. Interest in the league’s television product has skyrocketed in the months since and shows no signs of slowing down.

This year’s Stanley Cup Final doesn’t feature the two sexiest teams or the two biggest markets, but it would be surprising to see anything other than a continuation of the post-Olympic trend.