Television ratings in the United States for the Stanley Cup Final rematch between the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers declined from their matchup a year ago in the NHL’s best-of-seven title series.
An average of 2.5 million viewers watched on TNT, with 2.8 million tuning in Tuesday night for the Panthers’ series-clinching Game 6 victory in Sunrise, Florida. The overall number on cable was down from 4.17 million last year, when the title series (which went seven games) was on traditional over-the-air TV on ABC, and the lowest for a Stanley Cup Final since the Montreal Canadians faced the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2021.
The share of viewers increased 15% from TNT’s first Stanley Cup Final in 2023, when the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Panthers. Social media engagements on NHL content were up 32% over the course of the NHL playoffs, which began on April 19.
An average of 3.8 million viewers watched the Stanley Cup Final in Canada on Sportsnet. The 1.8 million on average for the playoffs, when the 16-team field included five Canadian franchises, was a 6% increase from a year ago.
Ratings for the Stanley Cup final were significantly lower than the 4 Nations Face-Off in February, a four-team tournament for Canada, Finland, Sweden and the U.S. that marked the return of international competition featuring the NHL’s best players for the first time since 2016.
The 4 Nations Face-Off final between Canada and the U.S., played at Boston’s TD Garden, was watched by 9.3 million TV viewers in the U.S. and 10.7 million in Canada. The tournament’s six round-robin games averaged 4.6 million in North America.
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