By: Salil Karkhanis
The 4 Nations Face-Off final brought in massive viewership across North America as Team USA and Team Canada battled for the championship. The game, held Thursday at TD Garden in Boston, drew 16.1 million viewers, with 9.3 million in the United States and 6.3 million in Canada.
This made it the second-most watched hockey game of the past decade, trailing only Game 7 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final between the Florida Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers, which reached 16.3 million viewers.
Canada secured the victory 3-2 in overtime, with Connor McDavid scoring the game-winner. The game was also a streaming success, becoming the most-watched non-NFL event ever on ESPN+ and ranking among the top U.S. cable broadcasts outside NHL, college football, and election coverage.
In Canada, the game was even more significant, with one in four Canadians tuning in through Sportsnet platforms.
“I mean, it’s incredible,” said Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar, who played for Team Canada. “I just hope everybody enjoyed watching the game. It was a lot of fun for us to play in. I think it’s a huge and awesome lead-up to the Olympics next year.”
The tournament, which also featured Sweden and Finland, averaged 6.5 million viewers per game, marking a 256% increase from the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. The high viewership makes fans hopeful for future strong public interest in international hockey and sets the stage for future best-on-best competitions, especially with the 2026 Winter Olympics on the horizon.
