{"id":622965,"date":"2026-04-22T06:17:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T06:17:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/622965\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T06:17:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T06:17:09","slug":"nhl-scores-highest-tv-ratings-in-14-seasons-field-level-media-professional-sports-content-solutions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/622965\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL scores highest TV ratings in 14 seasons – Field Level Media – Professional sports content solutions"},"content":{"rendered":"

A year after NHL viewership shrunk, the league drew its highest average television audiences in 14 years for the just-concluded regular season, Sports Business Journal and Sports Media Watch reported on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

In games on ESPN, ABC and TNT\/truTV, the NHL posted averages of 546,000 viewers, per the reports. That\u2019s a year-on-year increase of at least 23% and a better average than all seasons since 2012-13, when NBC and NBCSN averaged 590,000.<\/p>\n

Nielsen\u2019s change in methodology might explain a part of the decade-plus high, as ratings across all sports are higher based on the new measurement system. NBA ratings were up 35% this year, other sports also seeing double-digit-percentage increases.<\/p>\n

The 54 games airing on ESPN and ABC drew 760,000 viewers on average, a 30% jump from 2024-25. ESPN games in particular saw a major rating improvement, with games attracting 602,000 on average, a 48% hike from the prior season.<\/p>\n

TNT\/truTV carried 72 games that brought in 381,000 viewers on average, a rise of 21% year-on-year. Those contests saw a significant bump after Team USA won hockey gold at the Milan Olympics, as NHL viewership on TNT Sports rose to 453,000 on average following the league\u2019s midseason break.<\/p>\n

The top-rated NHL game of the regular season was the Stadium Series game at Tampa on Feb. 1, when the Tampa Bay Lightning edged the Boston Bruins 6-5 in a shootout. ESPN drew 2.07 million viewers for that contest, a cable-TV record for an NHL regular-season game.<\/p>\n

NHL ratings declined in the 2024-25 season despite the league replacing the All-Star Game with the wildly popular 4 Nations Face-Off that saw Canada defeat the United States 3-2 in overtime in the final.<\/p>\n

\u2013Field Level Media<\/p>\n

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