The NHL Is Finding Fans Who Weren’t Looking for Hockey

Like most sports properties, the National Hockey League (NHL) has gone to great lengths to attract new demographics in recent years. 

Appealing to new demographics is important for every organization. But for the NHL, a league in the midst of a generational shift, it was absolutely vital. With superstars like Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby in the final chapters of their careers, and without an obvious heir, the NHL had to make a concerted effort to create entry points into the sport for different types of fans.

In last season’s Stanley Cup Playoffs, that effort bore fruit. Through the first two rounds of the playoffs, TNT Sports reported female viewership was up 66%, and ESPN reported a 106% increase, with plenty of that audience coming from women aged 18 to 34 – an incredible result. 

“Hockey is a particular challenge because sports fans tend to follow something that they themselves have participated in,” said Linda Schulz, VP of production at ESPN who oversees studio and event production for NHL games. “And hockey is one that is not as commonplace for people to have actually strapped on skates.”

A New Gateway to the Sport

As the 2026-7 season kicks off, the obvious question is: what is bringing in these new demographics? The answer is a combination of factors with one common denominator: culture. 

The Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, which became a global cultural platform, were a good illustration of this. The return of NHL players to the Olympic stage, 12 years after their last appearance in the 2014 Sochi Games, helped propel the league to its best regular-season average viewership since 2012-13 – and the momentum carried over into the playoffs. 

“The Olympics were a cultural moment,” said Stephen McArdle, the NHL’s chief operating officer. “We know that Olympic viewership does appeal to those demographics, to that female demographic, and so I think the Olympic bump that we saw was really in part influenced by that female Olympic audience.”

The same audience was influenced by the viral popularity of two hockey-romance TV shows: “Heated Rivalry” on HBO Max and “Off Campus” on Amazon’s Prime Video. The numbers appear to bear this out:

• NHL’s official TikTok account experienced an 83% increase in followers after Heated Rivalry’s debut.

• The league’s X account saw its average new daily follower count increase by 114%. 

• There was a 21% year-over-year increase (between December 2024 and 2025) in search term volume around the NHL and hockey. 

“We know that fictional series are gateways to our sport,” said McArdle. “We know that they open doors to an interest in hockey, and it’s incumbent upon us to make sure that new audiences that are coming through those doors feel welcomed as they come in, and also that we help them find their way through the door.” 

The Crossover

To help more audiences find their way into the sport, the NHL and the players’ association (NHLPA) intend to push players into pop culture. “I’m looking to have our players cross over with things they have interest in,” said Cristin Hayes, the NHLPA’s head of Marketing. One crossover of note happened this summer, when San Jose star Sharks’ Macklin Celebrini, whose parents played high-level soccer, partnered with Airbnb on a fan experience tied to the FIFA World Cup. 

Another soccer-related crossover is the NHL’s new strategic partnership with FC Bayern Munich. Part of the league’s long-term international strategy, the collaboration is meant to accelerate the growth of hockey in Germany by creating innovative fan engagement opportunities, including co-branded digital content and social media campaigns. 

On social media, the NHL has leaned into YouTube Shorts and TikTok to attract Gen Z hockey fans. TikTok, where many of the league’s top videos are viewed by more women than men, has proven effective in drawing in more young fans and driving tune-in to the league’s broadcast partners across markets. 

“Leagues are targeting international expansion and younger audiences through digital content and strategic partnerships,” said Nicole Greene, VP of business and technology insights at research and advisory company Gartner. “If the NHL can use TikTok for what it’s best at – as a short-form, discovery-first channel within a multichannel strategy, prioritizing platform-native short videos – that can help build its brand strength.” 

Scaling Cultural Relevance

Building brand strength in sports is no longer only about what happens on the ice or field. It also depends on where a sports property sits within popular culture. Recognizing this, leading rights holders are finding ways to connect their sports with other cultural touchpoints, from major events and entertainment to other sports, using content to bring those intersections to life and create new entry points for audiences.

AI-powered content creation platforms can help rights holders make those connections part of their everyday content strategy, turning crossover clips, personality-driven interactions, and behind-the-scenes moments into platform-native assets for every channel. The result is a richer content experience that can bring new audiences into the sport, and keep them there. After all, as Heated Rivalry showed, sometimes the biggest story isn’t just what happens on the ice.