The NHL opened its 2026-27 season with mixed television results, as ESPN saw a slight decline on Opening Night while TNT posted a significant year-over-year increase on the second night of the season. ESPN’s Tuesday tripleheader averaged 747,000 viewers, down 3% from the 768,000 average for last year’s Opening Night. The decline came amid considerably…
Adobe has expanded its presence in sports by becoming the NHL’s official creative, marketing and AI partner, adding the North American ice hockey league to a growing portfolio of sports properties. Announced ahead of the start of the 2026 NHL regular season, the partnership will give the league and all 32 NHL franchises access to…
DAZN is expanding its North American local sports rights strategy, becoming the exclusive direct-to-consumer (DTC) streaming platform for locally available Los Angeles Kings NHL games from the 2026-27 season. The agreement has been reached through a partnership with Angels Broadcast Television (ABTV), the Kings’ local television broadcaster. DAZN will provide live and on-demand coverage of…
Disney+ and the National Hockey League (NHL) have agreed a five-year broadcasting partnership covering Sweden and Finland, with live NHL coverage set to move onto the streaming platform from the 2026-27 season. The agreement will deliver 160 regular-season games to subscribers across the two Nordic markets, including 50 fixtures scheduled in prime viewing windows. The…
FC Bayern Munich and the National Hockey League (NHL) have launched a multi-year strategic partnership aimed at expanding ice hockey’s reach in Germany while strengthening Bayern’s presence across North America. The cross-sport agreement brings together one of European football’s most recognisable clubs and North America’s leading professional ice hockey league through a series of commercial,…
The NHL’s strong commercial performance is set to deliver a historic financial boost to its players. Under the league’s collective bargaining agreement, NHL players are expected to receive approximately $170 million in additional compensation for the 2025/26 season, marking the largest escrow rebate in league history. The NHL operates under a revenue-sharing model that splits…
The National Hockey League is preparing for a major expansion move in the United States, with Texas emerging as the next potential market for a new franchise. At the centre of the project is Everton FC owner Dan Friedkin, who has secured exclusive rights to develop a new NHL team in the state. texas becomes…
The NHL’s playoff momentum is turning into a major media success story in the United States. Both ESPN and TNT Sports delivered record-breaking second-round viewership numbers, signaling a sharp rise in audience interest across the league’s current broadcast cycle. ESPN averaged 2.2 million viewers during the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, marking a…
The National Hockey League has posted record-breaking television audiences during the opening round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, highlighting hockey’s growing momentum across North America. According to league figures, first-round playoff games averaged 1.2 million viewers in the United States, representing a 68% increase compared to the roughly 500,000 viewers recorded during the same…
The NHL is enjoying a sharp rise in viewership, with first-round playoff ratings delivering one of the strongest performances in recent years across major broadcasters. TNT Sports averaged 1.2 million viewers per game across its platforms—TNT, TBS, truTV and HBO Max—marking a 68% increase compared to last season and its most-watched first round since acquiring…
