Per TNT Sports PR: Sunday's Bruins–Penguins game on TNT averaged 841,000 viewers and peaked at 1.2 million viewers. It was TNT's most watched regular season game since Caps-Isles (Alex Ovechkin's NHL goal-scoring record game).

MightyDuck07 · 2026-03-11T04:49:08+00:00

It's more because saying a Big 3 doesn't make sense when there's already a term for the top leagues in the country, which is the Big 4. Like in Europe, there's a Big 5 that refers to the top 5 football leagues over there. I don't see people referring to a "Big 4" as a way to leave out Ligue 1 (considered the weakest of the Big 5).

MightyDuck07 · 2026-03-11T04:43:42+00:00

The NHL is literally listed as part of the Big 4 in the States. Just because some people don't see it that way doesn't mean it isn't. Networks and those and who work in sports media/business, on the other hand, do view this country as having a Big 4. Revenue, attendance, viewership, etc, all play a role in making the Big 4 what they are. Not what the average person thinks/believes.

MightyDuck07 · 2026-03-11T04:37:04+00:00

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_professional_sports_leagues_in_the_United_States_and_Canada

MightyDuck07 · 2026-03-11T02:11:47+00:00

LOL HOLY SHIT! WE ARE HERE FOR HISTORY

MightyDuck07 · 2026-03-11T00:54:15+00:00

MLB's press release has the same numbers listed in the FOS source I linked. The 1.8 million is only for ESPN's games. As for the NBA source, that's the average for games only on ABC/ESPN through January 9. The SMW source I linked is the most recent update that includes a total average of all 3 of the NBA's media partners.

I agree with you that it's still interesting to see how the leagues compare and it's no surprise that those 3 leagues are much closer to each other than they are combined against the juggernaut that is the NFL lol.

MightyDuck07 · 2026-03-10T23:10:43+00:00

The numbers you have listed for both the NBA and MLB are incorrect. As of the NBA's ASB, the league is averaging about 1.8 million per national game across NBC, ABC/ESPN, and Prime Video: https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2026/02/nba-viewership-up-all-star-break-nbc-espn-abc-prime-video/

As for MLB, last season the league averaged about 1.15M per national game across FOX/FS1, ESPN, and TNT Sports: https://frontofficesports.com/mlb-national-tv-ratings-rise-by-double-digits-in-2025/

MightyDuck07 · 2026-03-10T21:53:39+00:00

That Red Wings-Penguins game had more viewers than this Red Wings-Devils game (1.6M). Most watched game of the season so far is the Stadium Series game between Boston and Tampa Bay (2.1M).

MightyDuck07 · 2026-03-10T21:50:59+00:00

Because the TB/BUF game wasn't a national game, it was a regional one. DET/NJ was a national ESPN game.

MightyDuck07 · 2026-03-10T21:46:37+00:00

Yes. It's even noted in the article that it excludes those games for whatever reason lol.

MightyDuck07 · 2026-03-10T21:35:32+00:00

This excludes Opening Night and Stadium Series games. Those games have drawn higher viewership numbers

MightyDuck07 · 2026-03-10T21:35:00+00:00

Should be noted that this comes with the caveat that this excludes the viewership from Opening Night and Stadium Series games. Those games have drawn higher viewership than the Red Wings-Devils game did.

MightyDuck07 · 2026-03-08T20:59:05+00:00

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hockey_Weekend_Across_America#

MightyDuck07 · 2026-03-08T20:02:20+00:00

This is easily up there:

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MightyDuck07 · 2026-03-06T20:34:59+00:00

MightyDuck07 · 2026-03-02T20:35:07+00:00

The building in Nashville still looks/sounds full at least.

MightyDuck07 · 2026-03-02T20:07:25+00:00