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.