As the Stanley Cup Playoffs are set to commence this weekend, ESPN is working in collaboration with Arts & Letters to launch The ESPN Chirpline. This phone hotline will enable fans to leave messages where they can chirp about topics related to the National Hockey League, some of which include missed calls, roster moves or animus towards opponents. Specific chirps could be featured on ESPN social media channels and live radio and television programming throughout the tournament proceedings as well.
Fans can call 1-844-4CHIRPIN and follow the prompts to take part in the hotline with playoff action beginning around the league. The hotline also involves SportsCenter anchor and ESPN commentator/host Steve Levy, who will be anchoring studio coverage alongside Mark Messier and P.K. Subban throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Levy narrated a promotional video for the ESPN Chirpline that the network released on Friday morning describing how the initiative works and encouraging fans to participate.
“There’s a heightened fandom during the Stanley Cup Playoffs – any NHL fan will tell you so,” Brian Iglesias, vice president of sports marketing at ESPN, said in a statement. “With The ESPN Chirpline, we’ve taken inspiration from those gloriously over-the-top 90s hotline commercials and turned it into an authentic and engaging way for fans to let out all their emotions that come with the intensity of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.”
ESPN is in the midst of its fourth season under a seven-year media rights deal with the NHL reportedly worth $400 million per season. The network will broadcast matchups throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs, including 16 first-round games through the first six days on ESPN and ESPN2. Teams such as the Carolina Hurricanes, Vegas Golden Knights and Los Angeles Kings will be on the airwaves throughout the early proceedings as they look to finish victorious with the Stanley Cup championship.
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