Warner Bros. Discovery Sports says that its first-round NHL playoff broadcasts on TNT and TBS reached an average of 959,000 viewers, setting a new record as the all-time most-watched first-round of the NHL playoffs on cable.
The record breaks last year’s first-round mark of 768,000 average viewers across ESPN, ESPN2, TNT, and TBS, which was also an NHL cable viewership record.
Viewership for NHL first-round games on TNT and TBS was up 18% this year compared to the networks’ first-round ratings in 2022.
On Sunday, TNT’s Game 7 telecast of the Florida Panthers’ comeback victory over the Boston Bruins scored 3.2 million viewers, the most-watched NHL first-round game ever on a cable network. The epic Game 7 peaked at 4.1 million viewers on TNT.
In the Western Conference, the Seattle Kraken’s win on Sunday against the defending champion Colorado Avalanche drew more than 2 million viewers on TNT—making it the most-watched late-window game ever recorded in the NHL’s first round.
![The University of Alabama showed off renovations to Bryant Denny Stadium Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020. Sports Illustrated covers decorate the walls inside the new press box. [Staff Photo/Gary Cosby Jr.]](https://frontofficesports.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/USATSI_15005835_168422351_lowres-scaled-e1779297429645.jpg?quality=80&w=300)
