Low TV viewership numbers for NHL in America

[WCW Nitro]

https://www.google.ca/amp/amp.awfula...iewership.html

The NHL’s viewership struggles are continuing into 2025.

After the league got off to a poor start to the season, seeing a steep 39% year-over-year decline in Opening Night viewership, then drawing a record-low audience for the Winter Classic a few months later, the NHL is putting up some truly dreadful numbers

ESPN has regularly been drawing nearly a million viewers recently for a brand new property like TGL. Even Thursday’s East-West Shrine Bowl on NFL Network (a 25-0 thumping) outdrew the NHL on ESPN by about 10,000 viewers.

[FlamingHomer]

Yet the cap is going up considerably?

[troutman]

I suspect local ratings are miniscule too in many US cities.

[Captain Otto]

Who cares? That country will be burned to the ground in 6 months.

I jest, I jest (not really).

[JJJ]

Originally Posted by FlamingHomer

Yet the cap is going up considerably?

Gambling revenue?

[SuperMatt18]

NHL needs to figure out ways to actually promote it's players.

More marketing opportunities in the National Spot light.

More focus on players away from the rink as well as at the rink.

Need more behind the scenes access that things like the F1 show and Starting Five showed on Netflix.

People need more of a reason to care.

[FlamingHomer]

Originally Posted by JJJ

Gambling revenue?

You might be on to something there.

[SutterBrother]

I know there are a lot of games I would love to pay to watch. But as someone who hasn't had cable in 15 years, and with the NHL spread across Amazon, Hulu, ESPN+ HBO Max...

...it's usually easier to just Yoh Ho Ho! ARRRGH.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by WCW Nitro

https://www.google.ca/amp/amp.awfula...iewership.html

The NHL’s viewership struggles are continuing into 2025.

After the league got off to a poor start to the season, seeing a steep 39% year-over-year decline in Opening Night viewership, then drawing a record-low audience for the Winter Classic a few months later, the NHL is putting up some truly dreadful numbers

ESPN has regularly been drawing nearly a million viewers recently for a brand new property like TGL. Even Thursday’s East-West Shrine Bowl on NFL Network (a 25-0 thumping) outdrew the NHL on ESPN by about 10,000 viewers.

The fact that the ABC national broadcasts seem to do alright, albeit there are not many, suggests maybe ESPN and TNT may be part of the issue. ESPN in particular, does not promote hockey that much. You have to scroll pretty far down the home page before it gets into the NHL and even then, the coverage is weak.

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

The US clearly needs McDavid and all the endless hype that accompanies him to play there.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

It’s nothing but click bait. They cherry picked a couple of really bad matchups and are trying to paint the entire viewership because no one wanted to watch a 10:30 PM Eastern start between Seattle and San Jose.

Even within the article they pointed out that the ABC numbers look good.

ABC Hockey Saturday Viewership:

Blackhawks-Panthers averaged 723,000 viewers in the opening window, while the Rangers-Bruins drew a season-high 1.1 million viewers in the later window. There was no comparison to last year.

ABC’s season average stands at 888,000 viewers, with three games already surpassing 1 million viewers—compared to just five for the entirety of last season.

These kinds of things can’t be taken on a game by game basis. Especially in a league where every team plays 82 regular season games. I’d be curious what the overall trend is for viewership on ESPN and TNT.

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

Baseball and Football suuuuck. Like how is hockey 5th or 6th on the list (probably below golf even) in many US markets?

America just has poor taste in sports.

[ResAlien]

The story is missing what seems to be critical information, perhaps making it difficult to make an assessment. The way to watch most out of market NHL in the US is by subscribing to ESPN+, save for the few games they deem national games and those are broadcast by ESPN with the ESPN crews on a standard ESPN non paywall channel.

The women's basketball game for example was not behind an ESPN+ paywall so it stands to reason more people would watch. I don’t think this is all that complex. The majority of a niche product is locked behind a paywall and we wonder why it's not catching more watchers? Answer's kinda right there innit?

Edit: simply put the NHL product is behind a paywall and the products the article is comparing them to are not. No duh the viewership numbers are lower.

[MrMike]

I've tuned into some "away" broadcasts. I'll use Detroit for an example. I think they have two to three 70+ old white men doing the broadcasts, god are they terrible.

I think Amazon has been the best watching experience I have seen in a long time.

I think it's time for some new blood and a new approach. Enough Ron Macleans and Wayne Gretzkys.

[flame4life]

I am not on NHL's speedial, so likely my thoughts will not go beyond this post, but like others have mentioned, it used to be one stop location for your NHL. Now, they break off parts of the television games to all their partners, and when you think you have one subscription to rule them all - ESPN+, you don't because those games are on other providers that you have to shell out extra for. I would rather they set up a ANNUAL PASS mentality that allows you to view ALL the games on one platform rather than spread over everywhere.

A second beef is the NHL's blackout policy. I miss the days when Blackout only meant the local city in an effort to get people in the area. That I totally agreed with! Take my current location, Phoenix ... When Coyotes were here, they blacked out the AZ games - totally get that and I respected that. Now that Coyotes have moved and there is no team, it would be awesome marketing if you didn't black out any games ... instead, since the Coyotes have moved, I am blacked out of all VEGAS KNIGHTS games, and all UTAH HOCKEY CLUB games. That doesn't even make sense.

I could go on, but like we know - nothing will come of anything the fans say it is all about the almighty $$$.

[Toonage]

I have long maintained if you put ball in the name of the game they will watch.

Call it ice ball. Who cares if it’s not a ball. A football isn’t really a ball either.

[dissentowner]

For one, make the game affordable for out of market fans.

[Hockey-and_stuff]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

For one, make the game affordable for out of market fans.

Or just let me watch the damn games. I'm out of market and half the time the
Flames games are blacked out. I'm watching the game no matter what, not sure why the NHL doesn't want my out of market ad revenue from watching it on TV.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by Hockey-and_stuff

Or just let me watch the damn games. I'm out of market and half the time the
Flames games are blacked out. I'm watching the game no matter what, not sure why the NHL doesn't want my out of market ad revenue from watching it on TV.

Right? And then they bitch about illegal streams. Maybe don't force a good part of your viewership to use them.

[Teroy]

Originally Posted by flame4life

A second beef is the NHL's blackout policy. I miss the days when Blackout only meant the local city in an effort to get people in the area. That I totally agreed with! Take my current location, Phoenix ... When Coyotes were here, they blacked out the AZ games - totally get that and I respected that. Now that Coyotes have moved and there is no team, it would be awesome marketing if you didn't black out any games ... instead, since the Coyotes have moved, I am blacked out of all VEGAS KNIGHTS games, and all UTAH HOCKEY CLUB games. That doesn't even make sense.

I totally agree. Many Flames games are blacked out here in B.C.