NHL Playoffs Could Use Season's Top TikTok Squads

The NHL's Stanley Cup Playoffs are well under way, but one of the main storylines is that TV ratings are down considerably with a field with many small market and/or Canadian clubs. Over on our sister site, TVREV, I recently wrote about how this could be a cue for the NHL to just become a post-cable entity. But one of the other notable elements of this year's playoffs: Several of the teams netting the most TikTok views this season are not in the field.

• Data from Tubular Labs shows that while the top two NHL teams by TikTok views – the Washington Capitals and Toronto Maple Leafs – made this year's playoffs, nine of the top 15 teams (and three of the top five) by TikTok views aren't present.
• It's not an end-all, be-all, but TikTok views can be informative around which teams are generating excitement among younger fans both locally and beyond, in ways that can resuscitate TV ratings for the league (or at least create more optimism around its streaming and digital properties).
• Notably, the betting favorites going into the playoffs – the Dallas Stars and Florida Panthers – all generated less than 15 million TikTok views all season, with the Stars at only 6.9 million.

Of course, a matchup between popular teams like the Capitals (No. 1 by TikTok views) and Colorado Avalanche (No. 9), could help turn things right around from a TV and digital audience standpoint.

Want to discover more about social insights like these? Get in touch with an analyst at The Measure today.