The Boston Bruins lost to the Edmonton Oilers Thursday night in a game that aired exclusively on ESPN+. 98.5 The Sports Hub Toucher & Rich host Rich Shertenlieb wasn’t thrilled it was a streaming-exclusive.
“Here’s the legitimate gripe about the game last night: I was at a restaurant, and they had no idea how to get it on,” Shertenlieb said. “So if you’re a bar, and you’re just usually someone who flips the game on on cable, ESPN+ is just not an option unless you thought ahead about that. I understand if you’re home and trying to find it, and it does suck that you have to pay extra to watch it since they’re trying to grow the game.”
Shertenlieb then lamented the fact that one of the NHL’s biggest stars — Connor McDavid — was playing against one of the league’s premier franchises — Boston — and it was only available to ESPN+ subscribers. He believed television scheduling like that is the reason why the NHL remains in fourth place in the “Big 4” discussion.
“All I know is that I went to ESPN.com on the computer, and the game was running,” Fred Toucher said. “I didn’t do anything. I went to the front page, and it was on. So for me, it was easier than turning on NESN. I went to see if the game was still going on, and it was playing.”
“But you’re watching it on your computer,” Shertenlieb countered. “That’s the thing. Getting the ESPN+ on your TV is the issue. It’s just the way TV is now, and we’ve got to get used to it. It just does suck that they’re charging you extra for right now for a league that could have used this as a marquee sales job for all things NHL.”
