STAMFORD, Conn. – Aug. 11, 2020 – The first-ever NHL Qualifying Round delivered significant viewership gains across the platforms of NBC Sports when compared to the 2019-20 NHL regular season, according to Nielsen and digital data by Adobe Analytics.
Due to the pause in play in March caused by the pandemic, the NHL relaunched with the Qualifying Round on August 1 to determine seeding for the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs, which begin today. These were the first-ever NHL games to be played in August and many of them were midweek afternoon games. Despite the uncommon programming windows and blackouts in local markets for all games on cable, viewership exceeded comparable regular-season games.
“Everyone involved in the NHL relaunch should be commended for putting on a spectacular Qualifying Round amidst unprecedented conditions,” said Sam Flood, NBC Sports Executive Producer and President, Production, NBC and NBCSN. “The viewership confirms that hockey fans were starving for their favorite sport and that the quality of the competition and the skills of the players were as good as ever.”
Following are viewership highlights for the 33 games of the Qualifying Round:
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