Jamie Rivers has been named the lead analyst for Bally Sports Midwest’s presentation of St. Louis Blues hockey. The former Blues defenseman has been featured on the team’s studio coverage for over a decade, making approximately 27 appearances last season. Additionally, Rivers has been the fill-in analyst for games analyst Darren Pang has had to miss due to obligations with the NHL on TNT. He will now join play-by-play announcer John Kelly in the broadcast booth, a circumstance he did not expect but is avidly looking forward to.
“It’s an opportunity I’ve wanted for a long time,” Rivers told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in an interview. “With Darren Pang here, I never thought this opportunity would come to fruition because, look, ‘Panger’ is one of the best in the business. He’s been doing it forever.”
Rivers is taking the role after Pang decided to leave the Blues broadcasts following 14 years with the team, which featured a Stanley Cup championship in 2019 and various playoff appearances. He is set to join the Chicago Blackhawks television broadcasts as its new analyst, following reported frustration with Bally Sports Midwest in contract negotiations and uncertainty about the future of the regional sports network.
The promotion comes at a time when the National Hockey League could look to void contracts with the Bally Sports-branded RSNs due to Diamond Sports Group’s commencement of voluntary Ch. 11 bankruptcy proceedings. Throughout the Major League Baseball season, the company has relinquished its media rights for the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks, both of which are now being broadcast by the league through its new local media department. MLB Commissioner Robert D. Manfred Jr. divulged in a court hearing that Sinclair Broadcast Group Chairman David Smith used bankruptcy as a negotiation tactic if the league did not grant it coveted direct-to-consumer broadcast rights.
As Diamond is within an extended exclusivity period to devise a reorganization plan in accordance with its creditors, there is a chance the Sinclair subsidiary could lose broadcast rights around the National Basketball Association (NBA) and NHL. When this happened in baseball, though, the local television broadcasters have remained on the air with the league covering at least 80% of the lost media rights revenue to maintain competitive balance. The St. Louis Blues television broadcasters are employed by Bally Sports Midwest, while its radio announcers are employed by the team.
If the NHL seeks emergency relief from these contracts, it is not known how it would affect the league as a whole. In a statement by a member of the league’s outside counsel, it was stressed that the NHL prefers to have clarity on the situation by the start of the preseason on Sep. 23.
As it pertains to radio, Rivers has agreed to a deal with 101 ESPN where he will try to do as many editions of The Fast Lane as he can throughout the hockey season. Rivers currently co-hosts the afternoon drive program alongside Anthony Stalter and due to advances in broadcast technology, will be able to contribute while on the road.
“We have such a great time on our show,” Rivers said. “The radio station is just a bunch of phenomenal people. We’re working alongside the TV people, [and] there’s a kinship [and] a family atmosphere.”
While there has been a rotation of analysts in the broadcast lineup in past years, the duo of Kelly and Rivers will be slotted to call all of the games broadcast on Bally Sports Midwest this year. Jack Donovan, the general manager of the regional sports network, favors a consistent on-air product and recognized that Rivers would bring a professional, knowledgeable perspective on the air. He also provides versatility in working as a color commentator and being able to interview players akin to Pang, which will be utilized throughout the 2023-24 regular season
“He was the lead candidate from the get-go, but it was a very big job and there was very big interest,” Donovan said. “We had candidates from not only all over St. Louis, but all over the U.S. and Canada. Some had Blues connections and some did not, [but] there were a lot of people who raised their hand and wanted the job.”
