The 4 Nations Face-Off fights its way to the top of the ratings
Sock ’em robots match a hit with viewers
[Editor’s Note: This piece does contain profanity. Reader discretion is advised.]
Remember when some guy named Terence initially dismissed the 4 Four Nations Face-Off as a quick money grab and would flop hard on the ice? I have never made such a miscalculation in the 19-year run of T Dog Media as I did last week, including when this space predicted The Jay Leno Show as a weeknight strip in primetime was a good idea and would be a massive hit, and we all know how that turned out.
Saturday night’s USA-Canada game in Montreal turned out to be a smash hit on and off the ice, with 4.4 million viewers tuning in to ABC with a 1.3 rating in the adult 18-49 demo, making it the most-watched hockey game this season beating the ill-fated Winter Classic by a wide margin. Even though it fell short of beating TNT’s much-maligned NBA All-Star game Sunday (4.7 million), it did outperform NBA All-Star Saturday night (3.4 million – a record low), which featured a Bulls player in the dunk contest who couldn’t dunk (of course), summing up the problems the NBA has had this season attracting an audience. In all, 10.1 million viewers in North America – the U.S. and Canada – watched the game Saturday night.
U.S.-Canada was also on opposite the Michigan St.-Illinois NCAA basketball game on Fox (which featured the Illini missing 19 shots in the second half – sadly, this is what I watched instead) and the Boys’ CPS High School Championship game on WCIU, in which Kenwood prevailed over Curie.
The SNL50 celebration on NBC and Peacock – marking the 50th anniversary of the iconic Saturday Night Live, was the most-watched program of the weekend with 14.8 million viewers – a rare victory for an entertainment show given this isn’t the case during the NFL season. Fox’s Daytona 500 coverage also outdrew the NBA All-Star Game with 6.7 million viewers, pushed into primetime due to an earlier rain delay.
The first 4 Nations Face-Off match on February 12 pitting Canada and Sweden was off to a terrific start, averaging 1.05 million viewers for TNT/TruTV with USA-Finland on ESPN doing even better the next night with 1.55 million viewers, setting the stage for the showdown Saturday night.
The action was hot right from the start, given the tense relationship between the two countries since President Trump returned to office. As expected, Canadian fans booed the U.S. national anthem (this would’ve happened no matter who the President of the United States was.) When the puck dropped, all hell broke loose with THREE fights in the game’s first NINE seconds – stunning, given fights don’t usually happen in international play. It signaled these players weren’t fucking around – they meant business!
The U.S. won the hotly contested game 2-1. The final round-robin game between the U.S. and Sweden drew 1.8 million for TNT/TruTV Monday evening (Sweden won 2-1) and a Canada-Finland game earlier in the day drew 700,000 viewers on the same networks, as it was the President’s Day holiday with a lot of people off of work and school. The 4 Nations Face-Off has been almost unanimously praised by critics and fans (with a few exceptions, coming from those who don’t like the sport) and for local hockey fans, a welcome respite from a dreadful Blackhawks season. And yes, even this writer is now on board and had to do the rare CYA special to save face.
The championship game of the 4 Nations Face-Off takes place when Canada meets the U.S. team at the TD Garden in Boston on Thursday night for the title, airing on ESPN and ESPN+ in the U.S. and Sportsnet and TVA in Canada. It’s going to be a must-see TV to be sure.
With the NHL returning to the Olympics next year, and a World Cup Of Hockey and another 4 Nations scheduled in subsequent seasons, it is safe to say the NHL has permanently shelved the All-Star Game. The NBA should consider doing the same.