NHL's hockey romance-themed audiobooks disappear online after opening week of the season

NEW YORK (AP) — A series of audiobooks the NHL launched recently to connect with fans of the hockey romance genre was no longer available online this week.

“Hot for Hockey” episodes about the Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes, among other topics, were on Spotify last week when the season began. A Spotify search for the name of the series now leads to an error message. The NHL said the episodes were meant to be a limited-time offering.

“This was one small way to give a playful nod to something that’s clearly going on in the cultural zeitgeist — among many different marketing activations," the NHL said in a statement to The Associated Press on Wednesday. “We were very proud to partner with real hockey authors, illustrators and voice actors in the space. As a start-of-the-season concept, these were matchup-specific posts designed to run during our opening games in the first week.”

The league said marketing is now focused on the “Hockey Hits Different” campaign and other initiatives.

Commissioner Gary Bettman last week in Philadelphia called the hockey romance genre a cultural phenomenon, with viewers of “Heated Rivalry” and “Off Campus” taking interest in the sport in large numbers over the past year. “Heated Rivalry” in particular was credited with introducing waves of new fans to hockey.

“We have a number of marketing campaigns that we’re going to be using directed at various audiences,” Bettman said. “I will tell you the data was overwhelming in terms of new fans that we acquired last year who first were introduced to hockey either through ‘Off Campus’ or ‘Heated Rivalry.’ And if new people want to come and be a part of game, we’re thrilled to have them.”

The playoffs last year saw a surge in ratings, driven by women. At one point, TNT Sports reported female viewership was up 66% and ESPN 106%, with plenty of that audience coming from 18-to-34-year-olds.

Bettman and other officials said the hockey romance genre was one part of that growth, along with the Olympics in February — when the U.S. won both men's and women's gold — and the successful 4 Nations Face-Off in the winter of 2025.

“To the extent people find it interesting or are entertained or excited about and that acts as an impetus to them to take greater interest in the game, I think that’s great for the growth of the game,” Bettman said.

Bettman said hockey romance is extraordinarily popular but also “not necessarily everybody’s taste.”

“Not all of it is suitable for every audience or every age group,” Bettman said. “But for the people who are connected to it, they’re also connecting to hockey and I think that’s great.”

The “Hot for Hockey” campaign did not seem to garner positive interest. Instead, it has been criticized, with “ The IX Sports ” PWHL senior writer Melissa Burgess calling it a misstep from the beginning.

“If the NHL is trying to reach the female fan base, which is obviously what this is an attempt to do, there are so many better and stronger ways to do that,” Burgess told the AP. "Honestly, it’s the best thing the NHL could do is scrap it, put it in the past and make it a distant memory.”

Burgess said the league misunderstood what the audience wanted, adding, “They’re not looking for the hockey, they’re looking for the romance.”

AP Hockey Writer John Wawrow in Buffalo, New York, and AP Sports Writer Dan Gelston in Philadelphia contributed to this report.

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