Ice Hockey At The Winter Olympics Is Feeling The 'Heated Rivalry' Effect
The puck has been dropped on men’s hockey at the 2026 Winter Olympics and the Heated Rivalry effect can be felt all the way in Italy.
The queer romance show took television by storm in November and December, seemingly attracting a whole new audience to ice hockey just in time for the Milan Cortina Olympics. New fans likely won’t see an intense love affair between a Canadian and a Russian hockey star on the ice, but that doesn’t appear to be keeping them away.
Female interest in hockey is up 20% in the past 60 days and now sits 30% higher than early-2022 levels around the Beijing Olympic Games, according to data Zeta Global shared with SheKnows, which analyzed aggregated, real-time behavioral signals from roughly 245 million U.S. consumers.
Heated Rivalry, which was produced for the Canadian-streaming service Crave and streamed on HBO Max in the US, topped the streaming platforms most-watched lists throughout its run, pulling in a wide-spanning, predominately female audience.
The viral TikToks of young fans lusting after Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander might convince anyone that Gen Z girls were the main demographic enjoying the show. You wouldn’t be wrong. Data also shows that engagement with the sport of ice hockey among this cohort—women under 35—has gained momentum in recent months. November through December there was a roughly 8–11% increase month over month, followed by a dramatic 71.5% spike December though January, which coincides with the December 26 season finale of Heated Rivalry.
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Gen Z girls aren’t the only ones who tuned in to watch Heated Rivalry’s gripping sex scenes and enemies-to-lovers trope, nor are they the only women now flocking to the sport.
Even before Heated Rivalry, women ages 35 to 65 had a significant interest in ice hockey. However, Zeta Global’s year-over-year data between 2025 and 2026 shows female hockey interest increasing across all cohorts, including an approximate 24.69% increase among ages 18 to 24, a 19.74% increase among ages 25–49, a 23.74% increase among ages 50 to 64, and a 27.19% increase among ages 65+. This means there was an increase across all age groups, and we’re guessing that Ilya and Shane have at least some part to play in that.
Of course, ice hockey has always attracted a female audience, and it’s impossible to say that Heated Rivalry is the only factor contributing to increased interest in the sport. However, one can draw some conclusions based on the recent virality of the show.
Anecdotally, the evidence is there. Social media is filled with videos of Olympic ice hockey games set to the tune of t.A.T.u.’s “All the Things She Said,” a song that soundtracks a pivotal scene with Shane and Ilya in the show. Last week, Time Magazine spoke to fans who bought tickets to see women’s ice hockey games in Milan after watching the show. Even Olympics organizers have leaned in to the Heated Rivalry effect by choosing actors Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie, who play the show’s lead protagonists, to carry the Olympic flame in Italy in January.
And don’t worry longtime ice hockey fans, the relationship between the Olympics and Heated Rivalry seems to be working both ways. Per Variety, Warner Bros. Discovery is experiencing significant viewership gains for the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics across its European streaming and pay-TV platforms, with Heated Rivalry emerging as one of the most-watched entertainment titles among Olympics viewers. Looks like everyone’s a winner at the end of the day.