NHL Panthers, Heat Seeing Big Viewership Gains Early In Season

Television ratings for both the NHL Panthers and the Heat "have soared through the early portion of the season" on FS Florida and FS Sun, respectively, according to Wells Dusenbury of the South Florida SUN SENTINEL. The Panthers "have seen a 24 percent spike through 14 games" on its RSN, while Heat viewership "is up 41 percent year-to-year" for the team's first five broadcasts. Both clubs also are "experiencing a surge in streaming viewership on the Fox Sports Go app," with the Panthers up 19% and the Heat up 29%. The Panthers and Heat are "capitalizing on the excitement from an aggressive offseason approach" -- the Panthers hired Stanley Cup-winning coach Joel Quenneville and signed G Sergei Bobrovsky, while the Heat signed G Jimmy Butler to replace the retired Dwyane Wade ( South Florida SUN SENTINEL, 11/6 ).