The NHL’s viewership tear this postseason continued with a historic start to the Stanley Cup Final between the Golden Knights and the Hurricanes.
The opening game of the series on Tuesday in Raleigh averaged 4.8 million viewers on ABC, up a whopping 98% from the comparable contest last year on TNT Sports, and up 54% from the 2024 opener, also shown on ABC. Viewership peaked late in the third period at 5.5 million viewers as Vegas scored with less than four minutes remaining to claim the opener, 5–4. The broadcast was also the most-watched Stanley Cup Final opener since 2019, a Blues-Bruins series shown on NBC in a prior rights deal.
The NHL was always poised for a hefty increase in its television audience this year, though this figure represents yet another level in hockey’s accelerating boom period. ABC is airing the Stanley Cup Final this year on broadcast television in the annual rotation with TNT Sports, the league’s other national rights holder in the U.S., and providing a sizable boost in reach to viewers. The Vegas-Carolina matchup is also the first all-U.S. matchup in the 2023 Stanley Cup Final since 2023, giving the coverage two Nielsen-rated markets among the competing teams.
