NHL National Viewership Sees Sharp Decline in 2022-23 Season

When the NHL signed its exclusive broadcasting rights over to ESPN and TNT, it was objectively a positive step for the league. Making the game more accessible to fans is key in the process of growing the league's popularity.

Plus, the NHL made $225 million from its deal with Turner and $400 million per season over 7 years with ESPN, totaling its bottom line around $3 billion. Which can't possibly hurt.

In 2021-22, the NHL saw its average viewership jump over 50% on a per-game basis, proving that the deal Gary Bettman and company struck was a smashing success.

Fast forward to this season, and that same success has not persisted. According to Mark Burns and Austin Karp, the NHL's viewership this season is down 22% on average.

This sharp decline has many folks speculating as to why. Some reasons include:

- regional blackouts
- poor scheduling; too many games on some nights, too few on others, non-staggered start times, etc
- virtual board ads
- meaningless games (see Toronto and Tampa Bay, who both have their playoff positions basically set)
- poor marketing

...and many other possible reasons.

The Bally Sports-bankruptcy news could play a role as well, although that's a more recent development, so it's tough to point to that as a major theme.

Burns' report is a considerable blow to the 'growth' upon which Gary Bettman and NHL owners have become so dependent. One has to wonder if this isn't turned around, Bettman's days could be numbered...

Source: Mark Burns

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