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TNT Sports Caps Its Most Watched NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs with Its Most Watched Conference Final Ever
Five-Game Montreal-Carolina Eastern Conference Final Averaged 2 Million Viewers, Up 41% vs. 2025
2026 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Across TNT, TBS, truTV & HBO Max Averaged 1.4 Million Viewers, Up 50% vs. 2025 Through Conference Final
Bleacher Report's B/R Open Ice Posts Its Most Socially Viewed Postseason Ever
TNT Sports saw its best Stanley Cup Playoffs ever, culminating coverage of the 2025-26 season with its most watched Conference Final on record, a five-game Montreal/Carolina Eastern Conference Final series that averaged 2 million viewers, up 41% vs. 2025 (Florida/Carolina).
The record-setting series helped propel TNT Sports' overall coverage of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs to an average of 1.4 million viewers across TNT, TBS, truTV and HBO Max, up 50% from 2025 through the Conference Final. Audience growth was fueled by strong engagement across key demographics, including Women 2+, which surged 63% compared to last season.
The Eastern Conference Final delivered multiple historic milestones, highlighted by Game 3 on Monday, May 25, when Carolina's Andrei Svechnikov scored the overtime winner in front of the largest audience ever for a Conference Final game in NHL on TNT history. The telecast peaked at 2.6 million viewers and averaged 2.3 million viewers.
Additional Conference Final highlights include:
Game 1 (May 21): Peaked at 2.1 million viewers, averaging 1.7 million viewers, up 33% vs. 2025
Most-watched Conference Final Game 1 on TNT Sports in four years
Second-most watched Game 1 Conference Final on cable ever featuring a Canadian team (EDM/COL on TNT Sports in 2022)
Game 2 (May 23): Peaked with 2.5 million viewers and averaged 2 million viewers, up 58% vs. 2025
Most-viewed Conference Final Game 2 on cable featuring a Canadian team
Game 4 (May 27): Peaked with 2.5 million viewers and averaged 2.1 million viewers, up 30% vs. 2025
Most-watched Conference Final Game 4 on TNT Sports
Most-watched Conference Final Game 4 ever on cable featuring a Canadian team
Game 5 (May 29): Peaked with 2.2 million viewers and averaged 1.8 million viewers, up 15% vs. 2025
Most-watched Conference Final Game 5 on TNT Sports
Most-watched Conference Final Game 5 ever on cable featuring a Canadian team
TNT Sports' social platforms, including Bleacher Report, House of Highlights and B/R Open Ice, also delivered more than 800 million views of hockey content during the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, with B/R Open Ice posting its most socially viewed postseason ever.
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