The 4 Nations Face-Off continues to be a huge success as a replacement for the NHL’s standard All-Star Game, with Saturday night’s USA-Canada setting a new high-water viewership mark.
As Alex Silverman of Sports Business Journal first announced, the Americans’ 3-1 win in the best-on-best tournament averaged 4.4 million viewers on ABC. Peaking at 5.1 million, the matchup marks the most-watched NHL event outside of the Stanley Cup Final since 2019.
Last night’s #4Nations game between the U.S. and Canada averaged 4.4 million viewers in the U.S. on ABC, according to Nielsen fast national data. It peaked at 5.2 million. Most-viewed non-Stanley Cup Final hockey telecast since 2019.
— Alex M. Silverman🏒⚽️ (@AlexMSilverman) February 16, 2025
ESPN added that the number was 473% higher than the 2016 World Cup of Hockey game between the USA and Canada.
The two star-studded North American squads were tied after the first period before Dylan Larkin notched a goal and assist to close out the win for the U.S. The Americans’ victory cemented their spot in Thursday’s tournament final on ESPN.
Developed as part of the NHL’s attempt to reconnect with international hockey, the 4 Nations Face-Off has blown the league’s usual All-Star event out of the water. Team USA’s opener against Finland drew ratings on par with a typical All-Star Game, and this number for the Saturday evening ABC game more than doubled. Sports Media Watch’s Jon Lewis noted that the Face-Off now accounts for three of the six biggest NHL audiences this season.
To get a viewership number in line with the late games of a Stanley Cup Final for an All-Star event competing with NBA All-Star Saturday night is a huge win for hockey. This league routinely draws fewer than 500,000 for regular season games and struggles, like the NBA and MLB, to drum up intrigue during the long season.
The league hopes to parlay this strong showing into larger audiences throughout the week, though it will have to contend with a jump to cable. TNT will air Monday night’s slate before ESPN takes over for the final on Thursday.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.