The NHL opened its season with an increase for the first time in five years.
Wednesday’s Capitals-Blues NHL Opening Night game averaged a 0.42 rating and 724,000 viewers on NBCSN, marking the largest regular season NHL audience on cable since the 2017 Blues-Penguins opener (872K).
The Capitals’ win increased 11% in ratings and 14% in viewership from last year (Bruins-Capitals: 0.38, 633K), snapping a streak of four straight declines for the NHL season opener.
Even with the increase, the game topped only last year as the least-watched NHL opener since 2009 (Capitals-Bruins: 501K).
Later Wednesday night, Sharks-Golden Knights averaged a 0.23 (+15%) and 379,000 (+12%). Though up from last year, it was the second-least watched Opening Night game since 2011 (Penguins-Canucks: 342K).
Locally, Capitals-Blues scored an 8.8 rating in St. Louis, the market’s highest for a regular season NHL game on NBCSN. Washington D.C. chipped in a 1.9.
Sharks-Golden Knights drew a 7.1 in Las Vegas, the market’s second-highest for a regular season Golden Knights game on NBCSN. Local ratings in the Bay Area were not immediately available.
Keep in mind that the NHL faced lighter MLB postseason competition than a year ago, with the competing Rays-A’s AL Wild Card Game down 26% from last year’s A’s-Yankees matchup.
[Nielsen estimates from Programming Insider 10.3]
