4 Nations Face-Off final gets massive ratings across North America

The 4 Nations Face-Off final was a hit on the ice for viewers across North America.

The championship game of the best-on-best international tournament between the United States and Canada on Thursday was watched by 16.1 million viewers in North America, with 9.3 million viewers in the United States and 6.3 million in Canada.

It was the second-most watched hockey game in the past decade behind Game 7 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final, which the Florida Panthers won 2-1 against the Edmonton Oilers. That game drew 16.3 million viewers.

The U.S.-Canada game from TD Garden in Boston, which Canada won 3-2 on an overtime goal by Connor McDavid, is the most-viewed non-NFL game ever on ESPN+.

The broadcast also topped every U.S. cable telecast, except for NHL, college football and election coverage.

It reached one of every four Canadians on Sportsnet platforms.

"I mean, it's incredible,” said Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar, who played for Canada. “I just hope everybody enjoyed watching the game. It was a lot of fun for us to play in.

“I think it's a huge and awesome lead-up to the Olympics hopefully next year. They did a really good job of putting it on. It was exciting hockey. Everybody really put everything they had into it passion-wise, and it was a lot of fun."

Overall, the seven-game, best-on-best international tournament which also included Sweden and Finland, averaged 6.5 million viewers across North America, which is up 256 percent from the World Cup of Hockey 2016.