Some predicted that the 2024 Stanley Cup Finals would not have big viewership given the presence of one of the National Hockey League’s non-traditional hockey market teams. But by the end of the NHL’s championship series between the Edmonton Oilers and the eventual victor, the Florida Panthers, Game 7 drew historic viewership — even compared to two of the other Big 4 North American professional sports.
Per the AP’s Stephen Whyno, this year’s final game of the Cup Final was the most-watched, non-NFL final game in North America since 2019. Whyno’s report came in response to the NHL revealing that over 16.3 million viewers across North America tuned in to see Florida’s 2-1 series clincher.
Seventh Heaven: 16.3 Million Viewers Watched Game 7 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final Across North America pic.twitter.com/amaY9BNcRf
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) June 25, 2024
The league states that the total count makes the game the second most viewed NHL game on record via their tracking data which dates back to the 2004 season. The series as a whole averaged 8.8 million viewers in North America, making it North America’s most-watched Cup Final since 2013 which featured the Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins.
ABC, which aired Game 7, and ESPN+ broadcasted the games in the United States while CBS, Sportsnet, and TVA Sports combined to air them to Canadian audiences. The series was popular north of the US border as Edmonton was attempting to become the first Canadian team since the 1993 Montreal Canadiens to win the Stanley Cup.
The Oilers also became the first team since 1945 to battle back from a 3-0 series deficit in the Cup Final only to lose Game 7 which just added more television drama to the Cup-deciding game. They also had Connor McDavid, widely considered the best player in the league, battling in his first-ever championship series while breaking some of Wayne Gretzky’s records along the way.
Other outside influences like the Oilers’ famous flasher, Florida’s viral shirtless kid, and McDonald’s Canada throwing their support behind the Oilers may have also led to more eyeballs seeing Cup-related content on social media throughout the set of seven games.
