ESPN’s inaugural ‘Frozen Frenzy’ was a big ratings success
The numbers are in and ESPN’s first-ever “Frozen Frenzy”— the NHL equivalent of “NFL Red Zone” hosted by John Buccigross and Kevin Weekes — was an overwhelming success.
Per ESPN PR, the “Frozen Frenzy” tripleheader averaged 432,000 total viewers and attracted 195,000 viewers in the 18-49 demographic — up 11% and 10%, respectively, from last season’s NHL on ESPN coverage.
The one-night spectacle also peaked with 918,000 viewers across both the ESPN and NHL networks around 9:15 ET.
The “Frozen Frenzy” whip-around show also averaged 196,000 viewers with 57% of that audience (113,000 viewers) in the 18-49 demographic, 12 points higher than what NHL on ESPN broadcasts averaged last year.
NHL on ESPN viewership is up 26% to 616,000 average viewers through the same number of games as last season, and the broadcasts are up 29% in the 18-49 demographic, averaging around 294,000 viewers.
The Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1 win over the Washington Capitals, which served as Game 1 of the tripleheader ahead of the Chicago Blackhawks-Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers-Vegas Golden Knights matchups, was the NHL’s most-watched regular-season game featuring a Canadian team over the last six-plus seasons.
In total, 16 NHL games were broadcast from 6:07 p.m. ET to 1:48 a.m. ET with the road team winning 10 of them. It marked just the second time in league history that all 32 teams played on the same day.
There were 102 goals scored, 93 different goal scorers, 944 shots on goal and 6.4 goals scored per game. It was the eighth time in NHL history that 100 or more goals were scored in one day and just two shy of the single-day record of 104.
Per NHL PR, there was never more than a 10-minute window without a goal scored.
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