Record Breaking Viewership Number For Four Nations Finale Shows Major Win For The NHL
The Four Nations Face Off was incredible for the NHL and the sport of hockey, and now the ESPN viewership number confirms that.
Over the past two weeks, the Four Nations Face Off took the sporting world by storm, and with the political backdrop of the Canada vs. USA rivalry, this felt like the biggest event in sports.
That came through in the viewership numbers for the round-robin phase of the tournament, with 4.4 million people in the United States and 10.1 million overall in North America watching the United States 3-1 win over Canada.
Given everything that was happening around the tournament, it was expected to be a bigger number for the Four Nations Finale on Thursday, and according to ESPN's John Buccigross, that number has already been shattered.
According to a post on social media, he claims that an incredible 9.3 million people in the US tuned into the Finale on ESPN, making it the highest watched game on ESPN in the history of the NHL.
Assuming that Canada even comes close to the 5 million people that tuned into the first matchup (with the number likely to be higher than that) on Sportsnet, that would mean that at least 14 million people tuned in to watch this game live, which would be the biggest win possible for the NHL.
With hockey set to see the NHL's return to the Olympic Games in 2026 and the return of the Hockey World Cup in 2028, this will give the league genuine momentum, and if those new fans keep tuning in as NHL play returns on Saturday, it will be great news for the league.
Overall though, it's hard to see this tournament as anything but a huge win, and if Gary Bettman can capitalize on this momentum, we may be seeing the sport grow in popularity even more, especially if the front office of the NHL can continue to improve upon their marketing moving forward.
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