NHL opens season with record viewership in United States, Canada

Fans are tuning into the NHL in record numbers -- in French and English, in Canada and the United States, nationally and regionally, on television and online.

Demand pent up when the start of the 2020-21 season was delayed until Jan. 13 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The vast majority of fans have been at home and unable to attend games in arenas. The NHL and its broadcast partners have been creative with scheduling and promotion.
This is the result.
"NHL fans are incredibly passionate," said Justin Byczek, senior vice president of programming and rights management at NBC Sports Group. "I think after a really successful bubble Stanley Cup Playoffs, people are ready to get back to hockey."
The NHL paused the 2019-20 season March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus. The League returned with a 24-team tournament without fans in the stands in bubbles in Edmonton and Toronto from Aug. 1-Sept. 28.
As the NHL planned the 2020-21 season, it worked with the NHL Players' Association and its broadcast partners to navigate countless complications and create an engaging format and schedule.
"There were tons of models and tons of following the bouncing ball -- or the vulcanized rubber, I should say -- as things changed," Byczek said. "But I think the unique process and this unique set of circumstances really allowed us to take a step back and do things a little bit differently than we had in the past."
Each team is scheduled to play 56 intradivision games this season, with the divisions realigned temporarily due to Canada-United States border restrictions and the need to reduce travel. The format includes the Scotia North Division, the first all-Canadian division in NHL history, and features rivalries.

NBCSN opened with a tripleheader on Jan. 13. The Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins played at 5:30 p.m. ET and averaged 972,000 viewers in the United States, making it the network's most-watched regular-season game ever.
"We would never think of dropping a puck at 5:30 Eastern in a normal year," Byczek said.
Afterward, the Tampa Bay Lightning unveiled their Stanley Cup championship banner and played the Chicago Blackhawks, and the Colorado Avalanche played the St. Louis Blues. Combined, the three games averaged 774,000 viewers, making it the network's most-watched multigame opening night.
That same night, the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs averaged 2.1 million viewers on Sportsnet in Canada, making it the most-watched regular-season game aired exclusively on the network, and 919,000 viewers on TVA Sports in Quebec.
Afterward, the Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks averaged 1.1 million viewers on Sportsnet in Canada. The two games became the most-watched regular-season doubleheader in Sportsnet history.

"It's clear from our record-breaking opening night numbers that Canadians were ready to see NHL hockey back in action," said Bart Yabsley, president of Sportsnet. "We are thrilled with the way the season has started and are honored to have the responsibility of delivering the best possible hockey coverage to Canadians on a nightly basis during such a challenging and uncertain time.
"We hope hockey fans from coast to coast are gathering around their viewing devices and that the shared experience of rooting for their favorite teams is providing a much-needed sense of community."
Louie-Philippe Neveu, general manager of TVA Sports, pointed out Quebec is in lockdown with an 8 p.m. ET curfew, and fans are excited about a Montreal team with new faces and higher expectations.
"I think people were happy to get hockey back during a season when we're used to having hockey," Neveu said. "The [2020 postseason was] in a different season than we're used to, so to have hockey back in winter in Quebec was something that people were waiting for."
Across North America, opening night reached more than 11.4 million viewers, up 52 percent from last season and the most since the start of the 2014-15 season.
It was just the beginning.
"Hockey Night in Canada" debuted with a doubleheader Saturday. An average of more than 2.8 million Canadians tuned into CBC, Sportsnet and TVA Sports to watch the Maple Leafs play the Ottawa Senators and the Canadiens play the Edmonton Oilers, 13 percent more than last season's average audience.
Combine opening night with the Maple Leafs-Oilers game Wednesday, and the first two Wednesday nights of the season on Sportsnet averaged more than 1.4 million viewers, 54 percent more than last season's first two Wednesday nights on Sportsnet.
The first game on NBC this season was between the Penguins and Washington Capitals on at noon ET Sunday. It drew an average of more than 1.7 million Americans, 42 percent more than the first game on NBC last season. It was the most-watched regular-season non-outdoor game on NBC in almost three years.
It also helped promote four games on NBCSN on Monday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The first 11 games across NBC Sports this season averaged 526,000 viewers, 14 percent more than the first 11 games did last season.
"We'll continue to look for opportunities where we can package more hockey together, and look, so far, so good," Byczek said.
Regional networks have posted impressive numbers. Just a few examples:
When the Vegas Golden Knights and Anaheim Ducks played each other to open their seasons Jan. 14, it was the third-most watched game on the Golden Knights' network, AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain. It outperformed last season's opening night telecast on the Ducks' network, Prime Ticket, by 62 percent.
The Lightning's first game on Fox Sports Sun, against the Blackhawks on Jan. 15, drew 36 percent more than last season's average, while the Florida Panthers' first game on Fox Sports Florida, against the Blackhawks on Sunday, drew 30 percent more than last season's average.
The Blues' first three games on Fox Sports Midwest drew 34 percent more than their first three games last season, when they were defending champions for the first time.
Fans are watching on all their devices. Nine of the top 10 most-streamed games on NHL.TV have come this season, and average streams per game are up 99 percent compared to last season.
"They're not in the stands, but they're really there, and we can see it as well on other platforms," Neveu said. "Our website, the top 10 video views every day are highlights from the Canadiens, so the interest is really high."