Thursday’s overnight estimates indicate that 4,472,000 Canadians watched Sportsnet National’s coverage of Canada’s overtime victory in the 4 Nations Face-off final. Add up all the digital windows and, according to Sportsnet, the big game was watched by an average-minute-audience of 5.7 million viewers, peaking at 7.3 million when Connor McDavid scored the overtime winner.
Clearly, Canada was primed to celebrate this win over the United States. Almost everyone — an estimated 4,449,000 overnight viewers — stuck with the 22-minute post-game interviews and celebrations. Another 870,000 kept watching past midnight on the extended version of Sportsnet Central prime.
Sportsnet claims that the 4 Nations Face-off victory was the second-most watched hockey game ever on the network.
In the United States, a record-breaking 9.3 million viewers watched ESPN’s feed of Thursday’s championship game. That makes it the most-watched non-Olympic hockey game in the modern era. It also tops the biggest NHL draw in the US, the 2019 Game 7 Stanley Cup final between the Boston Bruins and the St. Louis Blues. That game, won by the Blues (with Jordan Binnington in net) drew 8.9 million viewers.
Also in the US, BetMGM Sportsbook says the 4 Nations final was the most bet-on hockey game in the gambling site’s history. A spokesperson told US News that, “Canada winning was a good outcome for the sportbook.”
