Fans looking for the season opening game between the Detroit Red Wings and New Jersey Devils on typical regional broadcast outlets MSG Networks and Bally Sports Detroit will need to tune elsewhere for Thursday’s season opener. 97.1 The Ticket host Mike Stone isn’t happy about it.
The game will be exclusive to ESPN+ and Hulu, both subscription-based platforms owned by The Walt Disney Company. In discussing the game on the Thursday morning edition of Stoney and Jansen with Heather on 97.1 The Ticket, show co-host Mike Stone implored listeners to follow the action through the radio on the station.
Starting on Thursday, the price of ESPN+ subscriptions has increased from $9.99 to $10.99 per month, while the annual plan moved from $99.99 to $109.99. Additionally, several Hulu packages endured price hikes, including a 20% rise on the plan without advertisements, raising the monthly fee to $17.99. The timing of these price alterations coincides with the first streaming exclusive broadcast of the season, which will feature broadcasters Mike Monaco, Kevin Weekes and Emily Kaplan on the call.
“I’ll listen,” co-host Heather Park said on 97.1 The Ticket. “I don’t have either [service].”
“That kind of sucks,” Stone added. “The opener and you have to do that type of stuff. Well, at least you don’t have to do that type of stuff for the baseball playoffs.”
As part of its media rights deal with the NHL, The Walt Disney Company will broadcast 50 exclusive games on ESPN+ throughout the 2023-24 regular season. Furthermore, NHL Power Play on ESPN+, which is included in standard subscriptions to the platform, gives viewers the chance to watch over 1,050 out-of-market contests.
