If this is the future of NHL broadcasts, I’m on board.
A new hockey season is just around the corner, and with it comes a change many have been hoping for.
Since 2005, hockey fans have only known NBC’s exclusive coverage of the NHL. That all changes for the 2021-22 season and beyond, as ESPN and TNT now share media rights to NHL broadcasts for the next seven years. No longer will hockey fans have to suffer through NBC’s inability to cover and market the sport of hockey — nor hear from the likes of Mike Milbury — ever again.
We’ve yet to officially see ESPN’s side of the broadcast, but on Thursday, hockey fans got their first look at what TNT is bringing to the table with a Philadelphia Flyers versus Boston Bruins preseason game. The result? A refreshing but incredibly glitchy — and oddly enjoyable — mess!
Things started pretty well for TNT, with the debut of their minimalistic scorebug and graphics package, which caught the eye of many hockey fans.
Once intermission rolled around, hockey fans saw more of the changes in store for their viewing experience on TNT, as well as some of the growing pains. TNT intermission analysts — Liam McHugh, Anson Carter and Rick Tocchet — were seated off-center at the desk. For the majority of the first intermission segment, Tocchet’s mic was off and the audio levels were out of sync.
And yet, everything came together for one brief, shining moment as Tocchet demonstrated exactly what NHL players should do to stop being cross-checked in a hilarious off-desk skit.
TNT even has a rules analyst — former NHL referee Dan Koharski — on the air as well, much like the NFL has for their broadcasts.
After the first intermission, however, is where the real problems began.
Throughout most of the second period, TNT’s broadcast either glitched out terribly — looking at times distinctly like a VHS tape from the 1990s — or completely stopped working entirely.
Things seemed to be mostly resolved by the start of the third period, but that is definitely a rough showing by TNT from a technical side.
And yet, when working, TNT’s broadcast felt like a breath of fresh air after years of NBC’s stagnant showings. Yes, TNT’s glitches weren’t a good first step forward, but I’m willing to give them a bit of leniency here because it’s the preseason and everyone is working the rust off.
I already like the chaotic energy McHugh, Carter, and Tocchet bring to the intermission shows, though it would be nice to see more women on the desk outside of being contributors. It’s early returns for sure, but so far I have yet to have an inclination to mute the intermission show and listen to something more entertaining.
Honestly, right now my biggest quibble with TNT’s broadcasts is that the current team of Kenny Albert and Eddie Olczyk with Keith Jones in between the benches are all voices we’ve heard on NBC broadcasts before. They are great at their jobs, yes, but it really would have made the moment-to-moment action feel refreshed with some new or up-and-coming voices.
For all of the glitches, mishaps, and slight objections, I’m already having more fun with TNT’s broadcasts than I ever did with NBC. Sure, it’s still early and things can easily unravel from here, but I see a lot of potential for the NHL on TNT group to grow into the kind of broadcast hockey fans have been wanting for years.
Over the years, NBA on TNT has set the bar high for fun and informative broadcasts. While hockey still has a long way to go to reach that point, Thursday’s first broadcast from TNT was a fresh start for a sport that needed it the most.
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