or


[04/22/26 - 09:32 AM]
Record Setter! ESPN Opens 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs with Three Most-Watched First Round Games on Cable Ever, Excluding Game 7's
The Philadelphia Flyers-Pittsburgh Penguins matchup (Saturday, 8 p.m. ET) drew 2.1 million viewers, becoming the most-viewed First Round Playoff game ever on cable (excluding game 7's).
[via press release from ESPN]

Record setter! ESPN opens 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs with three most-watched First Round games on cable ever, excluding game 7's

· ESPN networks delivered its most-watched first two days of the playoffs in the current rights deal

Beginning the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs in record fashion, ESPN aired the three most-watched First Round games on cable (excluding game 7's), driving the network to its most-watched opening Playoffs start of the current rights era across its entire five game slate. The record-breaking opening weekend continued the momentum of its strong regular season viewership.

The Philadelphia Flyers-Pittsburgh Penguins matchup (Saturday, 8 p.m. ET) drew 2.1M viewers, becoming the most-viewed First Round Playoff game ever on cable (excluding game 7's). Minnesota Wild-Dallas Stars (Saturday, 5:30 p.m.) with 1.9M viewers, and the Boston Bruins-Buffalo Sabres matchup (Sunday 7:30 p.m.) with 1.7M viewers, became the second and third most-viewed First Round games ever on cable (excluding game 7's). All three matchups were up substantially year-over-year vs. ESPN's First Round game 1 average last year, with Flyers-Penguins +173%, Wild-Stars +147% and Bruins-Sabres +118%.

Adding to the successful weekend, Ottawa Senators-Carolina Hurricanes (Saturday, 3 p.m.) also delivered big with 1.3M viewers and +63% vs. ESPN's First Round game 1 average last year. Utah Mammoth-Vegas Golden Knights (Sunday, 10 p.m.) performed well with 1M viewers and +27% from last year.

In total, the five games averaged 1.6M viewers, delivering the most-watched opening Playoffs weekend of the current rights era. Year-over-year through one weekend, ESPN is +141%.

For the 2025-26 regular season, the NHL on ESPN networks scored new highs, delivering the most-watched season of the current rights deal (760K average viewers, +30% YoY), surpassing each season since the rights returned to ESPN in 2021-22.

- 30 -





  [april 2026]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
   


· SHOWATCH
(series past and present)
· DEVWATCH
(series in development)
· MOVIEWATCH
(tv movies and mini-series)




most recent ratings | view all posts
[09/04/26 - 11:49 AM]
ABC News Wins Friday Night and Late Night
"20/20" posted double-digit gains week to week in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49, hitting 6-week highs in both measures.
[09/02/26 - 12:01 PM]
Top 10 Most-Watched Prime Original Films & Series for the Week of August 24
"Reacher," "Sterling Point," "Off Campus," "Ride or Die," and "The Traitors" led all original series worldwide.
[09/02/26 - 08:37 AM]
New Mexico State at Florida State Delivers The CW's Most-Watched Sports Broadcast in Network History
Viewership peaked at 2.4 million total viewers from 9:15-9:30pm ET as the Florida State Seminoles defeated the New Mexico State Aggies 34-17.
[09/01/26 - 04:00 PM]
2026 Little League Baseball World Series Delivered Largest Audience Since 2015
The Championship Game between Curaçao and Henderson, Nevada, averaged 2.9M viewers on ABC, up 21% year over year.

[09/01/26 - 03:16 PM]
FOX IndyCar Continues Viewership Momentum
950,000 viewers watched Arrow McLaren driver Pato O'Ward deliver the first of two victories from the Milwaukee Mile Sunday on FOX.
[09/01/26 - 03:01 PM]
FOX Saturday Baseball Is No. 1 Among All Networks
3,161,000 viewers tuned-in for a two-game slate highlighted by the Yankees' 9-2 win over the Red Sox in most of the country.
[09/01/26 - 02:54 PM]
ESPN Delivers Top Games in College Football's Week 0
4.9 million viewers tuned into the North Carolina Tar Heels defeat the TCU Horned Frogs in Dublin, Ireland.
[09/01/26 - 02:28 PM]
Players Era Volleyball Showcase Serves Second Most-Watched Volleyball Telecast Ever on FOX
1,040,000 viewers watched Nebraska beat Texas Sunday afternoon on FOX.
[08/26/26 - 12:01 PM]
Top 10 Most-Watched Prime Original Films & Series for the Week of August 17
"Reacher," "Sterling Point," "Ride or Die," "Off Campus," and "The Traitors" led all original series worldwide.
[08/26/26 - 08:00 AM]
Fever-Sky on "Sunday Night Basketball" on NBC and Peacock Is the Most-Watched WNBA Regular-Season Game Since Opening Weekend of League's Inaugural 1997 Season
The game peaked at 3.82 million viewers.
[08/25/26 - 03:10 PM]
ESPN Delivered Its Second Most-Watched MLB Little League Classic Ever!
The audience peaked at 2.2 million viewers during the 9:45 p.m. ET quarter-hour.
[08/25/26 - 03:03 PM]
FOX Saturday Baseball Stays Hot with 3,079,000 Viewers, Most-Watched MLB Telecast of the Week on Any Network
The network's coverage reached a peak audience of 3,779,000 viewers from 9:45 - 10 PM ET.
[08/25/26 - 02:20 PM]
FOX Sports Scores Landslide Win with Freedom 250
Coverage reached a peak viewership of 3,482,000 viewers from 2:30-2:45 PM ET.
[08/25/26 - 12:58 PM]
"Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" Dominates During Show's Summer Run - Jumping Over Last Year's Average by +9%
The series also stands as Wednesday's No. 1 primetime program among Total Viewers in each of its five weeks.
[08/25/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of August 17 - "Outer Banks" Strikes Gold at No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
"My Brilliant Career" traversed the Australian bush to land at No. 2 on the English TV list with 4.7 million views.