NHL, ESPN, TNT Sports and Sportsnet Launch Joint Marketing Campaign for 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs

The NHL and its U.S. and Canadian broadcast partners have announced a collaborative marketing campaign ahead of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, which begin April 18.

The campaign, You Just Have to Watch, features three spots across the first three rounds of the playoffs, with each network producing its own version. The first spot, Fired Up, debuted today. Overtime will debut ahead of the Second Round and Do Anything ahead of the Conference Finals. ESPN is editing Fired Up, Sportsnet is editing Overtime, and TNT Sports is editing Do Anything. All creative was developed by Arts and Letters Creative Co.

This joint campaign is due to the incredible partners we have at ESPN, TNT Sports and Sportsnet, says Casey Hall, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Innovation, NHL. 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.

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, says Brian Iglesias, Vice President, Sports Marketing, ESPN. 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.

The Stanley Cup Playoffs are among the most intense and exciting events in all of sports, says Adam Bower, VP, Marketing and Creative, Rogers Sports and Media. Our collaborative approach to this year's campaign with the NHL and its other broadcast partners reflects a shared commitment to growing the game across North America and telling a unified story on hockey's biggest stage.

The NHL continues to spearhead exciting ways to connect with fans, while drawing on the shared enthusiasm its broadcasters have for playoff hockey, says Drew Watkins, SVP, Creative Director, TNT Sports. 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.

LINK:	https://www.sportsvideo.org/2026/03/31/nhl-espn-tnt-sports-and-sportsn...
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