The third season under the seven-year agreement between The Walt Disney Company and National Hockey League was a success, with the NHL on ESPN property delivering double-digit viewership increases. For the regular season, NHL broadcasts on ESPN averaged 486,000 total viewers, which is up 25% compared to last season. Within the Persons 18-49 demographic, the property averaged 211,000 viewers, a 20% year-over-year increase.
Regular season games on ESPN networks averaged 666,000 total viewers, a 13% increase from last season. Additionally, the Persons 18-49 demographic came to an average of 230,000 viewers, which is up 4% year-over-year. ESPN also produced digital content that accrued more traffic than last season with 42 million unique viewers and 1.5 billion minutes, up 14% and 11% on the year, respectively.
The network broadcast an opening night tripleheader on Tuesday, Oct. 10 that started with a game between the Nashville Predators and Tampa Bay Lightning at 5:30 p.m. EST. Following the interconference matchup was a tilt between the Chicago Blackhawks and Pittsburgh Penguins at 8 p.m. EST. The night concluded with a matchup between the two newest teams in the NHL – the Seattle Kraken against the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights. These games averaged 909,000 total viewers, up 40% from the 2022-23 season opening night doubleheader.
Later in the season, the network broadcast both Stadium Series games from MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. – which included the Philadelphia Flyers, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders and New York Rangers. The latter matchup between the Islanders and Rangers became the most-viewed regular season game since ESPN reacquired rights to the NHL in 2021, averaging 1.6 million viewers.
ESPN is broadcasting games within the Stanley Cup Playoffs as teams strive to win the league championship at season’s end. Viewership of Round 1 games across ESPN, TBS and truTV have amassed a 51% increase in ratings and 60% rise in viewership from last year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs, according to a report from Jon Lewis of Sports Media Watch. The Walt Disney Company will broadcast the Stanley Cup Final on ABC for the second time under the existing deal with the NHL.
