As Warner Bros. Discovery slowly moves out of the regional sports network business, the Pittsburgh Penguins are making changes to their regional broadcasts on SportsNet Pittsburgh, their new television home. The move to a team-owned RSN ends a 27-year tenure of being televised on networks owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Fenway Sports Group owns the Pittsburgh Penguins, along with RFK Racing, the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool F.C. With the Penguins, it will be utilizing another one of its assets – New England Sports Network (NESN) – to manage the daily operations of the new RSN.
SportsNet Pittsburgh will take the air on October 2 and will function as the primary television broadcaster of local Penguins NHL games throughout the 2023-24 season. Fans of the team will be able to watch the contests via cable, satellite or a streaming provider, and they will be treated to a brand new sound.
The team has hired Josh Getzoff as its new play-by-play announcer, who was most recently working on the radio broadcasts for eight seasons. During that time, he served as the pregame and postgame show host before moving into the play-by-play role to serve as a backup to Mike Lange. Getzoff previously worked as the sports director of FOX Champaign and anchored nightly sportscast segments for its news program. The Ithaca College graduate is a Pennsylvania native and is being afforded the chance to serve as the television voice of his hometown team.
“Getting to call games in the NHL and for the Penguins is an honor and something I’ll never take for granted,” Getzoff said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. “It’s the coolest job in the world! Pumped for the opportunity to bring Pens hockey to our awesome fans. I love this city and Pittsburgh is our home. Let’s have some fun.”
Steve Mears, who has spent the past six seasons as the team’s television voice on AT&T SportsNet, is moving to the radio side to join Phil Bourque in the broadcast booth. Over his years broadcasting hockey, Mears has called games for the World Junior Championship and served as the primary voice for NHL International. Additionally, he spent time with NHL Network and hosted studio programs such as NHL Live and NHL Now. He will now make his return to the radio broadcasts after previously serving as an on-air host for the network and PensTV.
“Very excited to get to work on having a terrific Penguins radio broadcast with my good friend [Phil Bourque],” Mears said on X. “It’s going to be a fun season.”
Bourque has worked with the Penguins Radio Network since retiring from professional hockey in 2000 and is a longtime colleague of Pittsburgh native Paul Steigerwald. For the upcoming season, Steigerwald will retain his role as the host of the pregame and postgame shows on the radio, marking his 44th season with the organization.
On the television side, no announcement was made about hiring a new color commentator since the team announced the departure of Bob Errey. The former NHL forward and Olympic gold medalist has been in the role since the departure of Eddie Olczyk after the 2002-03 season and is approaching his 20th season as a fixture on the broadcasts.
The Penguins have opted to bring in a new rinkside reporter for the 2023-24 season with versatile experience across the industry. Hailey Hunter, a former golf reporter for NBC Sports and PGA TOUR Entertainment, will assume the position ahead of the season’s opening faceoff. Hunter previously worked in the NHL as the team reporter and in-arena host for the New York Islanders during their inaugural season at UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y. She grew up the daughter of former NHL forward Tim Hrynewich, who played 55 games for the Penguins between 1982 and 1984.
“I grew up watching hockey on TV with him as a kid and rooting the team on,” Hunter said in a post on X. “Covering an NHL team as a reporter/host on TV has been my dream since I first decided I wanted to go into sports broadcasting. I cannot wait to immerse myself in the Pittsburgh sports community and get to know all of you Penguins fans!”
The role was previously held by Dan Potash, who is now moving into the studio to host pregame and postgame coverage on Sportsnet Pittsburgh. As part of the new broadcast arrangement, the coverage will include hour-long editions of these programs in addition to more extensive coverage of the team. The new era of Penguins hockey on the air begins on October 2 when the Penguins visit the Ottawa Senators for preseason action from the capital city.
