The highly anticipated first-round matchup between the United States and Canada in the inaugural 4 Nations Face-Off tournament garnered the largest average audience for a non-Stanley Cup Final hockey telecast since 2019. The North American rivalry, which featured three fights in the first nine seconds, averaged 4.4 million viewers on ABC, according to fast national data from Nielsen Media Research. Emanating from Bell Centre in Montréal, Québec, the United States tallied a 3-1 victory that peaked with 5.2 million viewers, marking the most-watched telecast affiliated with the NHL in the past two years, Game 7 of last season’s Stanley Cup Final on ABC notwithstanding.
The game also accrued the largest non-playoff NHL audience since the 2011 Winter Classic, a tilt between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals that averaged 4.5 million viewers on NBC. Jon Lewis of Sports Media Watch also added that 4 Nations Face-Off games account for three of the six largest average audiences for NHL broadcasts this season. The game is up 369% from the season average of NHL on ABC games ahead of NHL players returning to the Olympic Games next year from Milan Cortina.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman recently announced that the World Cup of Hockey would return in February 2028 on a regular schedule. The international hockey tournament last took place in 2016 with Canada defeating Europe to win the championship. The Saturday night prime time showdown between the United States and Canada finished 473% higher than the last matchup between the two teams nine years ago. The gold-medal game between these two teams in the 2010 Winter Olympics averaged 27.6 million viewers on NBC, marking the most-watched hockey telecast in 40 years. Yet three years ago when the two countries faced off without NHL players, the game averaged 1.22 million viewers on USA Network.
The 4 Nations Face-Off replaced the NHL All-Star Game this season, which experienced a 7% decline in viewership last year when it averaged 1.4 million viewers on ABC. The marquee matchup was up against NBA All-Star Saturday Night programming consisting of the Kia Skills Challenge, Starry 3-Point Contest and AT&T Slam Dunk Contest on TNT. Last year’s iteration of these events averaged 4.6 million viewers on TNT and truTV, which included a three-point shootout between Stephen Curry and Sabrina Ionescu.
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