NHL Ticket Sales Are Up, and It Could Be Because of “Heated Rivalry” Fever
- - NHL Ticket Sales Are Up, and It Could Be Because of “Heated Rivalry” Fever
Toria SheffieldFebruary 2, 2026 at 12:00 AM
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Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie in 'Heated Rivalry,' an NHL game
Sabrina Lantos/HBO MAX; Getty
SeatGeek recently claims that NHL ticket sales are up compared to the same period last year
The online ticket marketplace said that the jump seemingly coincided with the premiere of the hit HBO show Heated Rivalry
The series follows two male hockey players who become involved in a passionate secret romance while competing for dominance on the ring
NHL ticket sales are up — and it may be because of the show Heated Rivalry.
A recent blog from SeatGeek, an online ticket marketplace, compared NHL ticket purchase trends from three separate weeks between November 2025 and January 2026 with the same weeks from the previous year.
SeatGeek stated that the number of average tickets sold per game “increased by 24%” between week one and week two in late 2025 — noting that the first episode of Heated Rivalry aired between the two periods. Ticket sales also remained significantly higher during the third week analyzed.
The site said they found no similar increase over the same period as the previous year.
SeatGeek also said that average ticket prices showed a jump after Heated Rivalry aired, “rising from $127.84 in Week 1 to $142.40 in Week 2.”
Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie in 'Heated Rivalry'
Courtesy Bell Media
They added that there has also been a “surge” in first-time ticket purchasers — meaning in people who have seemingly never bought tickets to a game before — and in solo purchasers.
“Heated Rivalry has certainly piqued interest in hockey and the NHL,” said SeatGeek’s Director of Category Marketing and Endorser Marketing, Chris Leyden, per the blog.
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“We are seeing it both in terms of more people on SeatGeek shopping for NHL tickets, as well as a pretty notable increase in single ticket buyers as more people check out a game, often for the first time ever,” he added.
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While the NHL has not commented on the SeatGeek findings, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman recently told Hockey News that he watched the entire first season of the show in one sitting.
"It's a wonderful story," he said, adding, "The content — particularly for young people — may be a little spicy, so you have to balance that out with how you embrace it.”
The wildly popular HBO show follows two male professional hockey players — and intense rivals — who become involved in a passionate secret romance. The series quickly became a sensation and catapulted its two stars, Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie, to national fame.
The show is based on a 2019 book of the same name by author Rachel Reid. In a December 2025 essay for Maclean’s, Reid discussed the “unlikely” success of a queer sports romance.
“It was unlikely that this show would become a runaway hit, but I’m glad people are enjoying it so much,” she said. “I hope the success of Heated Rivalry encourages publishers to not only seek out queer romances, but to promote them far and wide.”
on People
Source: “AOL Sports”
