It turns out viewers like watching the best hockey players in the world compete for their countries.
Night 1 of the 4 Nations Face-Off—a competition between the United States, Canada, Sweden, and Finland that has replaced the NHL’s All-Star festivities this year—got off to an encouraging start on TNT. According to TNT Sports PR, Wednesday night’s opening game between Canada and Sweden averaged one million viewers across TNT and truTV.
TNT Sports’ #4Nations coverage started off with a bang last night!
🇨🇦/🇸🇪 OT thriller surged to more than 1 million avg. viewers on TNT & truTV, a new high on TNT Sports’ platforms this season
🚨 Most watched non-playoff hockey game on @SportsonMax EVER! 🚨 pic.twitter.com/T9ZdCVvlL5
— TNT Sports U.S. PR (@TNTSportsUS) February 13, 2025
Canada’s overtime win made it the most-watched hockey telecast on TNT this season and the most-watched non-playoff hockey telecast ever on Max.
The 4 Nations Face-Off is the first international “best-on-best” hockey competition since 2014, the last time that NHL players were permitted to play in the Olympics. As such, with the 2026 Winter Olympics right around the corner and NHL players allowed to play, the competition has drawn some outsized attention.
ESPN will handle the United States’ opening game against Finland on Thursday night, with ABC airing Saturday’s game when the Americans take on Canada. Given the circumstances, both games will likely draw strong ratings. TNT will get its first shot at the United States next Monday when they take on Sweden before ESPN wraps up with the Championship Game next Thursday.
If Wednesday night’s viewership is any indication, this is a much-needed boost for hockey, which has been struggling to attract large audiences on cable this year.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.