TVA retains French rights for NHL games, gets big boost from the Habs

Summer TV has been an even tougher sell than usual this season. While viewers typically drop off slightly, production shutdowns have meant fewer draws for audiences. However, then came a game-changer: sports.

Hockey has been back for just under two weeks, but already the post-season is drawing viewers to screens like no summer before. This is especially true in the Quebec market. TVA Sports found that after the first three games in the best-of-five series between the Montreal Canadiens and the Pittsburgh Penguins, the games drew an average of 772,000 viewers per minute. The highest audience was for the third game, which had an AMA of 818,000 viewers.