NHL local ratings dropped by 23% this season, with only four teams showing increases (2024)

FAQs

Why has NHL viewership dropped? ›

The report reveals a concerning 22% year-over-year decrease in viewership, particularly of note given that the NHL is in just the second year of a pair of exclusive seven-year U.S. media rights deals with ESPN and TNT. In part, the drop is due to an expanded slate of NHL games across each network, the report says.

So far, through two games of the Stanley Cup Final, compared to last year through two games, viewership is down 1.6 million. Last season, an average of 2 million people per night watched games 1 and 2. Through 2 games this year, viewership is running at an average of 1.3 million per game. That's not good.

NHL Viewership on ABC Experiencing Double-Digit Increases versus 2021-22 Season. NHL viewership on ABC is experiencing double-digit increases, averaging 1.1 million total viewers – up 19% – versus ABC's full-season average last year.

NHL Record a Tad Deceiving

In 2018-19, the NHL total regular-season attendance broke a league record, attracting 22,186,851 total fans to games across the league. From a high level, you could call that a success. It's a modest 0.6% growth or 10 additional fans per game on average compared to the previous season.

Many families simply cannot afford to have a child to play hockey. Some people don't have easy access to a hockey rink. Ice time can be pricey, and there may be select hours to practice. Markoulis also said the marketability of the NHL's top prospects is lagging when compared with basketball, baseball and football.

Additional data shows that: Over 16.9 million people watched Major League Baseball games on TV last year alone. Over 8 million people watched NBA games on TV last year. Hockey is another popular sport that has seen an increase in interest over time; over 4.6 million people watched NHL games on TV this year.

NHL.tv will cease to exist in the United States and be folded into ESPN+. There will be 75 exclusive games streamed on ESPN+ and Hulu that are produced by ESPN. This deal doesn't impact the NHL Center Ice out-of-market television package sold by providers.

NFL vs NHL: Summary

There's no real comparison between the NFL and the NHL when it comes to which league draws more fans and which creates more revenue – the NFL is the hands-down winner of that competition since the NHL's numbers are just a fraction of its football counterpart.

The Canadiens additionally lead all NHL franchises in wins (3,495), ties (837), and points (8,013). The Maple Leafs lead all NHL franchises in losses (2,850).

The worst loss in NHL history belongs to the New York Rangers when they lost 15-0 to the Detroit Red Wings on January 23, 1944. This loss was so outstanding that the record has stood for 76 years, despite tens of thousands of NHL games having been played since.

What was the biggest NHL shut out? ›

Apparently, the Detroit Red Wings have the biggest shutout in NHL history, when they dominated one of the other Original 6 teams, the New York Rangers on January 23rd, 1944. The score was an astounding 15- 0 victory that still stands as the largest shutout in the NHL to date.

Ice hockey is a worldwide sport that is particularly popular in the United States and Canada thanks to the prominence of the National Hockey League (NHL). According to a survey conducted in April 2023, around 13 percent of all respondents were avid fans of the NHL in the United States.

Football/Soccer

The sport has roughly 3.5 billion fans worldwide and 250 million players across 200 countries around the world. The next most popular sports in the world are cricket (2.5 billion fans), basketball (2.2 billion fans), and field hockey (2 billion).

Geography. The least popular teams in the NHL are mainly the expansion teams situated in the sun-belt of the southern US states; the Carolina Panthers and the Arizona Coyotes are prime examples. Interestingly the New York Islanders a team with x4 Stanley Cups and based in the Northern states rank remarkably low at 27th ...

Is bigger actually better? Olympic ice hockey is played on a rink roughly 200 feet long by 98 feet wide. That's a just about ten more feet laterally on the ice than in the 85 feet wide rinks used in the NHL.

In terms of overall league revenue, the NFL, MLB, and NBA rank as the top three most lucrative sports leagues in the world, with the English Premier League and the NHL ranked at fourth and fifth place.

Hockey possesses all of these characteristics in its players. For various reasons, it hasn't clicked in America yet. Hockey is the most American sport that the American people won't sit down and watch.

Ice hockey is traditionally popular in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States, particularly in Massachusetts (and New England in general), Michigan, New York (especially Upstate New York) and Minnesota. Minnesota is known as the hockey capital of the US.

Chess Boxing

As bizarre as it is, it's no wonder it is one of the least popular sports in the world.

What is the #1 sport in America? ›

Football - America's Favorite Sport to Watch and Follow

According to Gallup.com, 37% of U.S. adults picked football as their favorite sport to watch. Football has been the favorite since 1972.

In 13 states people chose a team from the MLB and in 10 of them they chose a team from the NBA. It is not all bad news for the MLS, though, because in another survey done by Gallup, the MLS surpassed the NHL as the 4th most popular sport in the US last December.

SN NOW PREMIUM provides the same out-of-market games that are available on NHL LIVE, including games on-demand, plus many exciting features such as goal markers, in-game catch-up highlights, multi-length game recaps and the ability to watch up to four games at once with multi-game view.

NHL Center Ice is an out-of-market sports package available through cable and satellite TV providers. It gets you around 40 NHL games per week during the regular season and includes NHL Network for around-the-clock hockey coverage. As of 2021, ESPN+ is the streaming home of the NHL's out-of-market matchups in the US.

ESPN and ABC are broadcasting NHL games once again in 2022. Viewers will be able to stream national broadcasts on ESPN's website and app as well as the streaming services below. Those who don't have cable but still want to watch the NHL can sign up for ESPN+ and live stream games.

Quebec City was by far the smallest market in the NHL; it was also the second-smallest major-league city in North America, behind only Green Bay, Wisconsin; home of the National Football League's Green Bay Packers.

Hockey hits are, on average, 17% harder than football hits even though hockey players are 20% smaller than football players? Interesting. Josh Meinhardt and 1,418 others like this.

The NHL audience is the richest of all professional sports. One-third of its viewers make more than $100k, compared to about 19 percent of the general population. Nascar's audience has the highest share of women (37 percent) and highest share of white people (94 percent).

Taking the top spot with an impressive overall index score of 2.84 out of 4, the Boston Bruins officially have the most loyal supporters in the NHL. This is thanks to the team's 100% average attendance, 5.6 million social media followers, and relatively strong engagement rate on Instagram (1.89%).

The latest ranking reported that the New York Rangers is the most valuable NHL franchise after the 2021–22 NHL season.

What NHL franchise has the biggest fanbase? ›

With 2.68 million fans, the Chicago Blackhawks was the National Hockey League (NHL) team account with the greatest number of Facebook likes in April 2023. The Facebook presence of the NHL itself had around 4.65 million fans.

1. January 23, 1944: Detroit 15, New York Rangers 0. The most one-sided game in NHL history took place in Detroit on January 23, 1944, when the Red Wings blanked the New York Rangers, 15-0.

The Kings completed the largest comeback in NHL playoff history, going from being down 5–0 to win the game in overtime, 6–5. Combined with upset wins in Games 1 and 5, the underdog Kings eliminated the heavily favored Gretzky-led Oilers in a 3–2 series victory to reach the second round.

The New York Rangers have taken the fewest shots by a team in a game, with 0 taken against the Red Wings on October 12, 1958.

On the flip side, Senators-Ducks Game 2 in 2007 stands as the lowest rated and least-watched game, netting a subterranean 0.4 and 576,000 on VERSUS. That series represents the low point for the Stanley Cup Final, averaging a 1.2 and 1.8 million.

The country in which ice hockey remains the most popular is Canada, which is unsurprising since the country is widely recognized as the birthplace of modern organized ice hockey.

In a USA Today article, it was reported that the NHL is predominantly composed of white players, with 97% belonging to this ethnicity. The remaining 3% consists of players from various ethnic backgrounds. Among the diverse group, there are currently 34 active black players.

What's the fastest growing sport in America? ›

Without a doubt, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is the fastest-growing sport in terms of financial earnings. It is estimated that MMA is worth over $7 billion as of 2022, with revenues growing around 20% each year.

The 272 regular-season games averaged 16.7 million viewers across television and digital platforms. The league also said that 185 million fans watched games at some point during the 18 weeks. Despite the dip, it is the third-highest average since 2016. Last season averaged 17.1 million.

The study found that, unsurprisingly, the National Hockey League (NHL), which includes seven Canadian teams, is the most popular professional sport in Canada, followed closely or very closely by 36% of Canadians.

-- The NHL is projecting revenues to reach $5.2 billion this season, a rise from how they were trending prior to the pause in the 2019-20 season because of concerns surrounding the coronavirus.

NHL.TV is no longer available for users in the US because ESPN+ is now the streaming home for out-of-market NHL games. Similarly, Sportsnet NOW Premium replaced NHL LIVE for out-of-market access in Canada.

The least popular teams in the NHL are mainly the expansion teams situated in the sun-belt of the southern US states; the Carolina Panthers and the Arizona Coyotes are prime examples. Interestingly the New York Islanders a team with x4 Stanley Cups and based in the Northern states rank remarkably low at 27th.

The least valuable team in the NHL is the Florida Panthers, worth $160 million. The New York Rangers, who have risen 21% since last year, are now the first team in the NHL to have a $2 billion valuation.

NFL vs NHL: Summary

There's no real comparison between the NFL and the NHL when it comes to which league draws more fans and which creates more revenue – the NFL is the hands-down winner of that competition since the NHL's numbers are just a fraction of its football counterpart.

According to Sports Virsa, the top 10 hardest sports in the world to play in 2022 are as follows: Boxing (hardest), American football, mixed martial arts, ice hockey, gymnastics, basketball, soccer, wrestling, rugby, and water polo.

Though factors such as a low population can contribute to the lack of teams in certain states, places like Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Virginia, and Kentucky are examples of states with an impressive population but still no teams in the NFL, MLB, NBA, or NHL.

How popular is NHL in USA? ›

Ice hockey is a worldwide sport that is particularly popular in the United States and Canada thanks to the prominence of the National Hockey League (NHL). According to a survey conducted in April 2023, around 13 percent of all respondents were avid fans of the NHL in the United States.

The NHL Live service won't be available in Canada for the 2022-23 season (and presumably beyond), replaced by Sportsnet Now's premium tier.