Last week, the NHL released its national TV schedule for the upcoming season. The Boston Bruins, along with the Pittsburgh Penguins, topped the list with 20 national broadcasts. All 20 Bruins’ nationwide broadcasts will air on traditional linear TV — ESPN, ABC or TNT — with none exclusive to streaming-only services like Hulu, ESPN+ or Disney+.
That is especially notable in the context of the NHL’s new TV schedule: ESPN will carrу 100 exclusive games, with 53 airing on ESPN or ABC, while the others will be available via streaming-only services. TNT will add 72 regular-season games, as well as the Stanley Cup Final.
So why do the Bruins share the top spot as one of the NHL’s most nationally televised teams?
Being an Original Six Team Isn’t Enough
At first glance, the answer might seem obvious: Boston is an Original Six team, one of the league’s oldest and most recognizable franchises. However, the distribution of national broadcasts suggests the team’s history alone doesn’t explain the Bruins’ place at the top.
The Bruins had 17 national TV appearances last season. This year, that number has jumped to 20. The New York Rangers are next with 18, while the Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Blackhawks each have 17.
Boston’s heritage remains an important part of its popularity among fans, but the contrast becomes clearer when looking beyond the Original Six brands. Last season proved this.
According to the Sports Business Journal, NHL games across ESPN, ABC and TNT averaged 546,000 viewers during the 2025-26 regular season, the league’s best average since the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season.
The Bruins were regularly part of that audience.
When the Bruins Play, Viewers Show Up
Last season, Boston played in five of the 10 most-viewed NHL games, leading all NHL teams. The Stadium Series game between the Bruins and the Tampa Bay Lightning on Feb. 1 became the most-viewed NHL regular-season game since the Bruins-Blackhawks Winter Classic night in January 2019, with around 2.1 million viewers on ESPN.
That night, Tampa staged an improbable comeback from a 5-1 deficit to win 6-5 in a shootout. The game also featured a fight between Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy and Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman, giving the broadcast another hard-to-ignore moment.
Another highly watched Bruins game came on April 5 against the Philadelphia Flyers, drawing 1.2 million viewers on TNT. The game became the most-viewed regular-season game broadcast on TNT in its history, excluding the Winter Classic broadcast.
The Bruins Are Giving Networks What They Want
Boston opens the season on Sept. 29 against the Rangers on ESPN. The upcoming season, the Bruins play six nationally broadcast games against Original Six teams and 10 against Atlantic Division rivals. On Dec. 1, TNT will show the game against the Colorado Avalanche, featuring the retirement of Patrice Bergeron’s No. 37.
The Bruins remain one of the NHL’s most recognizable brands, but history alone does not keep a team on national television. Viewers do, and Boston keeps them watching.
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