I kid the folks at Rogers Sports and Media. That headline is just our little joke here at brioux.tv. Please don’t raise my cable bill.
Still, if the last Canadian team left in the hunt for the Stanley Cup loses Game Five of the third round Friday night, Rogers-owned Sportsnet’s biggest draw will be gone. And all those, “It’s our game” ads will, once again, make Canadian viewers wince, curse upstart Vegas and ignore the final round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Then again, if the Habs win, the land is strong. It is a road game, which seems to help this round.
Here is how the first four games in the series have gone, audience-wise:
Game Four Wednesday, May 27
CBC’s Total overnight, estimated viewership for the fourth game between the Montreal Canadiens and the Carolina Hurricanes was an average minute audience ages two-and-up of 1,328,000. Over on Sportsnet National+ the take for the 8 p.m. start was 1,078,000. We don’t have the specific number from french language TVA but lets be conservative at 1.5 million. Call it close to 4 million, with other digital numbers adding to the final tally.
A Toronto Blue Jays game earlier in the day against Miami on Sportsnet National drew an estimated 568,000.
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Game Three Monday, May 25
An overnight, estimated 1,676,000 was the AMA for Game Three on CBC Total. Another 1,433,000 was the estimated take on Sportsnet National, so 3.1 million before factoring in TVA (add approx 1.5, and, again, that is a guess).
Game Two Saturday , May 23
After the Canadiens impressive victory in Game One, an overnight, estimated AMA of 1,652.000 on CBC Total and 1,576,000 on Sportsnet National combined for 3,228,000. Again, we don’t have TVA’s overnights, but add 1.5 million (it was likely higher) and that 4.7+M (and possibly 5 million combined) would make this the most-watched Stanley Cup game in Canada of the 2026 playoffs so far.
Game One Thursday, May 21
CBC Total scored 1,697,000 estimated, overnight viewers and Sportsnet National added 1,132,000 as viewers enjoyed Montreal’s only victory so far in Round Three of the Stanley Cup. Rust vs rest proved a challenge for the Hurricanes in this series opener. The ‘Canes have shed any sign of rust ever since this one off game.
How are hockey fans responding in the US during the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs? Very well. Through rounds one and two, ESPN and TNT report that ratings were up 55 per cent compared with last year reaching an average of 3.3 million American viewers per game. The biggest draw stateside was Montreal’s seven game series versus the Buffalo Sabres, with Game Seven scoring an audience in the states of eight million viewers. In Canada, that same seventh, second-round game drew the largest combined English/French audience for a second round series since 2015.
Game Five in the Third Round between the Montreal Canadiens and the Carolina Hurricanes is set for 8 p.m. Friday night on CBC, Sportsnet, TVA and in the US TNT, HBO Max, truTV.
