A lack of American teams is hurting NHL postseason viewership stateside. But what the league lacks in American audience it is gaining back in Canada.
According to data published by Jon Lewis of Sports Media Watch, opening round viewership of the Stanley Cup Playoffs is averaging 716,000 viewers per game, down over 20% versus last season. ESPN and ABC are averaging 727,000 viewers across 25 games (down 29% year-over-year), while TNT Sports is averaging 704,000 viewers across 22 games (down 16% year-over-year).
Without any of the typical viewership darlings from south of the border making this year’s postseason (i.e. the Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers, or Pittsburgh Penguins), ratings are predictably down. But up in Canada it’s a different story.
The country put five teams in the playoffs this season, the most since 2017. And as such, viewership has surged. Per Lewis, Canadian audiences for the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs averaged 1.8 million viewers, up 12% versus last year. The combined average between the U.S. and Canada is 2.5 million viewers per game which, according to the league, is even with last year’s ratings.
With three Canadian teams advancing into the conference semifinals, it’s reasonable to expect this trend to continue. Canadian viewership will likely stay strong as American viewership dwindles.
Unfortunately, the league is coming off a 12% year-over-year decline for its regular season viewing in America, making for an overall tough picture from a ratings perspective.
