Why Social Media Numbers Matters For The NHL

Hello everyone,

In case you missed the news on X/Twitter, I have joined The NHL Zone team primarily as a writing, video, and data contributor. Alongside Braylon, I will continue The NHL Zone’s commitment to analyzing sports media data on the NHL. But instead of looking at the silver screen, I’ll be delving into the numbers on the screens in our pockets.

Why does looking at the league’s social media presence matter? While TV viewership is the most important factor in understanding the growth and health of a sports league, not everyone can watch a game on any given night, whether weekdays or weekends. And for a casual or diehard hockey fan, how do those who miss a game most likely get updates on their team? Through social media. 

When the NHL switched its United States broadcast rights from NBC to Turner and ESPN in 2021, it was a game-changer for the league. Not only was it a massive shift for how hockey fans in the United States would be able to watch the sport on TV, but for how the league would be exposed to millions of eyeballs that most likely had never seen a hockey game or given the NHL a thought. The NHL on TNT and NHL on ESPN tapped into the powerhouse that is Turner/ESPN’s combined social media presence.

Looking at Instagram statistics – Instagram is the second most downloaded social media app in the United States – Bleacher Report, House of Highlights, ESPN, and SportsCenter all have a combined 138.6 million followers. Here’s how that breaks down:

ESPN: 26.7 million

B/R: 22.1 million

HoH: 51.4 million

SC: 38.4 million

Before Turner/ESPN gained the rights to broadcast the league, NHL content posted on those platforms was sparse. Although there’s no official reason why it was that way, from a business perspective, the thought process is clear: there’s no incentive to post the NHL if the league doesn’t air on those networks. 

Why share something that only broadcasts on NBC, features the NBC logo, score bug, and announcers that won’t have viewers tune their TVs to your channel?

While NBC did have a dedicated Instagram account for the NHL on NBC titled the same on the app, it had 455k followers before the rights transfer – a drop in the bucket compared to the four mentioned above – and turned into “NBCSPORTSBET” swiftly after the NBC no longer carried the league. Again: if you don’t own the rights to something, why post about it?

The only caveat is the NFL for Turner, as it doesn’t hold the rights to air any games. But the NFL is king in the United States, and it would be foolish not to post about the most popular sports league in the U.S.

The NHL is the smallest of the four major U.S. sports and eighth in the most popular competitions behind the college football playoffs, regular season, college basketball regular season, and March Madness.

The league wants to catch up to those numbers, and having Turner/ESPN feature hockey will boost popularity and coverage. But it hasn’t been easy so far.

Comparatively, NHL/hockey posts don’t get the same engagement and likes as NBA or NFL content. That’s a given, but it’s not only because of its smaller fanbase but because those following those accounts just aren’t used to seeing that kind of content on their feed. As of this piece, ESPN’s Instagram put up Owen Tippett of the Philadelphia Flyers’ highlight-reel goal vs. the Dallas Stars 20 hours ago. It currently has 76.2 thousand likes with 289 comments, with some of the most popular ones saying:

“espn posting hockey ?????”

“You know it’s filthy when ESPN posts about hockey”

“Flyers on ESPN???!!!! WOW”

“omg do i need to start watching hockey”

The post directly above it, a collaboration with NBA on ESPN and SportsCenter that focuses on Anthony Edwards’ performance vs. the Memphis Grizzlies put up 17 hours ago, has 305.9 thousand likes and 1.9 thousand comments.

And none of those comments include anything of the sort listed above.

In the years before 2021, followers of those four accounts have seen nothing but NFL, NBA, MLB, and other miscellaneous sports Turner/ESPN owns the rights to on its feed. And now that hockey is on the scene, three years into this partnership, it’s still a shock to many.

That’s not to say either company has tried to make NHL content the norm on its accounts. Turner has done a tremendous job with its coverage of the NHL on social media, as it features two dedicated accounts: “br_openice” and “nhlontnt” that solely put up hockey content not just on Instagram but to every prominent social media platform (TikTok, Facebook, X/Twitter, and Threads).

The same Owen Tippett goal published to ESPN’s Instagram was also posted by Bleacher Report in collaboration with the NHL and B/R Open Ice, and as of its upload 20 hours ago, has amassed 113.3 thousand likes and 492 comments. The comment section is also much less reactive than ESPN’s, although there are a few standouts of those who seemingly don’t follow the game:

“hockey players are a different breed of athletes” 

“Coming from a ***** that don’t know **** bout hockey that was ode”

“I haven’t seen a Hockey highlight on this page in forever didn’t even know yall cover the NHL lol”

But while Turner has solidified itself with B/R Open Ice and NHL on TNT as a place for hockey fans to find high-quality content, ESPN’s social media coverage of the NHL is a bit more confusing. There is no “NHL on ESPN” Instagram, Facebook, X/Twitter, or Threads, but only a TikTok and YouTube account that boasts game highlights, clips, and other ESPN-hockey-related content. The TikTok account has seen raging success, too: as of January 19, it has 875.0 thousand followers and 65.2 million likes. So why aren’t there any other ESPN on NHL pages?

There is no official reason I could find as to why there aren’t ESPN-related accounts akin to what B/R is doing when there’s ESPN FC, ESPNW, ESPN Bet, ESPN College Football, NFL on ESPN, NBA on ESPN, ESPN F1, ESPN MMA, and ESPN Ringside accounts for those sports, respectively. 

While one might think that it’s because there’s already the competition of B/R Open Ice and NHL on TNT, Turner also curates dedicated accounts to soccer, gambling, college football, the NFL, NBA, and gaming.

Whether or not ESPN will establish its own “NHL on ESPN” accounts is to be determined, but if it hasn’t done so three years into the contract and with the Stanley Cup Finals airing on ABC this season, I doubt there will be. 

It’s a shame that there isn’t, given the fact that B/R Open Ice and NHL on TNT have both seen success since the two were created – Open Ice and NHL on TNT have 273.7 thousand combined followers on Instagram as of this being published – with high-quality hockey content posted daily. Having dedicated NHL on ESPN accounts would also allow ESPN and SportsCenter to collaborate with other league/sport-specific pages, which is what Open Ice and NHL on TNT have done with Turner’s accounts whenever there’s a crossover between hockey and other sports. 

However, although I’m all for more NHL content being pushed on these platforms, Turner/ESPN are also in a bind when it comes to posting hockey. Engagement is low, and if an incredibly difficult highlight-reel goal that is rarely done across the entire league in a night let alone a week of hockey can’t even crack 100,000 likes, it’s understandable from a numbers perspective why hockey isn’t as prevalent on these accounts: if you’re not drawing high numbers, you’re not going to be featured.

Given the cards the NHL dealt itself from the NBC days to its current situation, the social media presence of the NHL and hockey on Turner/ESPN is like a forest still growing and tending to its young trees. However, other leagues are thriving ecosystems of content because they planted their seeds long ago. 

But as the proverb on time goes, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is today.”

It should be noted that although the NHL is playing catch-up to other leagues and sports on social media, it is gaining new ground and fans.  TV viewership is up across both ESPN and TNT this season, and social media can be attributed as a main factor driving that force.

For now, the NHL should hope that players continue to generate highlight-reel goals like Owen Tippett’s that incentivize Turner/ESPN to post more hockey. And, with more posts, comes more engagement and eyeballs on hockey.