Ice Trey: ESPN, TNT, Sportsnet Join For NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Marketing
Monday, March 30, 2026 at 04:23PM By Barry Janoff
March 30, 2026: March Madness is quickly becoming April Madness, including the NCAA Div. I basketball Men’s Final Four, Div. I basketball Women’s Final Four, The Masters, WrestleMania 42 and the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The NHL today launched a multi-media campaign to support its post-season, scheduled to begin April 18, “You Just Have to Watch,” a first-time collaborative among media partners ESPN, TNT Sports and Sportsnet (Canada).
“This joint campaign is due to the incredible partners we have at ESPN, TNT and Sportsnet,” Casey Hall, NHL svp-marketing and innovation, said via the league.
“Their collaborative spirit and shared vision have been instrumental in expanding our reach, aligning our message and bringing the excitement of the Stanley Cup Playoffs to more fans than ever before.”
“You Just Have to Watch,” features a series of creative spots for the first three rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, with each network having its own version of the creative.
The first spot debuted today, “Fired Up.”
The NHL said the creative concept is “meant to show how intense, exciting and adrenaline-filled post-season hockey is. NHL fans know what playoff hockey is all about, but as new patrons walk into packed hockey bars in the creative, they too learn that the Stanley Cup Playoffs deliver unmatched entertainment.”
“We wanted this campaign to show new audiences that it only takes one game to get hooked on the intensity, energy and unpredictability of the Stanley Cup Playoffs,” Brian Iglesias, ESPN vp-sports marketing, said via the network.:
“By working collectively with the league and other broadcast partners, we were able to create a connective thread across every platform that tells this unified story in a powerful way.”
Two additional spots, “Overtime” and “Do Anything,” will debut ahead of the Second Round and Conference Finals, respectively.
The NHL said the creative concept is “meant to show how intense, exciting and adrenaline-filled post-season hockey is."
“The NHL continues to spearhead exciting ways to connect with fans, while drawing on the shared enthusiasm its broadcasters have for playoff hockey,” Drew Watkins, TNT Spots svp/creative director, said via the network.
“We were all pursuing a unified approach, while retaining the ability to fine-tune aspects of the creative to meet our respective network’s promotional needs.”
Each network owns post-production of one spot, with ESPN editing “Fired Up,” Sportsnet editing “Overtime” and TNT Sports editing “Do Anything.”
All creative was developed by Arts & Letters Creative Co.
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