Prior to last season, the NHL made history when it inked new seven-year media rights deals with both ESPN and TNT, reportedly totaling in excess of $1 billion. Following an exciting season of hockey that culminated in the Colorado Avalanche winning the Stanley Cup championship for the first time since the 2000-01 season, the rest of the league will try to prevent the formation of a bonafide dynasty through the winter months. The broadcast of the Stanley Cup Finals on ESPN, however, will not be repeated until next season, as the media rights deals rotate which network gets to broadcast the coveted best-of-seven series annually.
This year, Turner Sports’ coverage of the National Hockey League will be the exclusive home of the Stanley Cup Finals, marking the first time the network holds such a distinction. Last season, Turner Sports covered portions of first- and second-round matchups and finished its inaugural season by broadcasting an exclusive presentation of the Western Conference Finals between the Edmonton Oilers and Colorado Avalanche.
The network experienced a 58% increase in viewership from the previous year’s matchup between the Vegas Golden Knights and Montréal Canadiens broadcast on NBC Sports. Play-by-play announcer Kenny Albert was joined by analysts Eddie Olczyk, Keith Jones, and Darren Pang to bring viewers the live game action which was preceded by NHL on TNT Face Off.
The studio-based show traveled across the border to both Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta and Ball Arena in Denver, providing fans with insightful pregame and postgame coverage. The panel, which includes studio host Liam McHugh and analysts and former NHL players Paul Bissonnette, Anson Carter, Wayne Gretzky and Rick Tocchet, returns intact for its second season together. The group is ready for a chance to showcase their broadcast and promote the game of hockey on the game’s biggest stage at the end of the season.
“I’m very excited to cover the Stanley Cup Finals,” said McHugh, who joined Turner Sports after spending nearly a decade with NBC Sports. “This group is a special one; it’s one that I feel lucky to get to work with. It was a blast doing the Western Conference Finals, especially going to Edmonton with Wayne Gretzky and seeing the reaction there. Now we get to do it for all the marbles: to see who gets to hoist that Cup.”
From the moment the Colorado Avalanche won the Western Conference championship, the team at Turner Sports has been focused on improving its coverage of NHL games for the 2022-23 season, which began earlier this month with an exclusive Wednesday doubleheader. The group has a growth mindset amid an evolving media landscape and aspires to continue being voices that garner the trust and reliability associated with delivering news and giving informed opinions.
“What I love about this group is how we always think about, ‘Hey, how do we get better from last year?,’” expressed Tocchet, a three-time Stanley Cup champion with the Pittsburgh Penguins – one as a player and two as an assistant coach. “We’re not complacent…. There’s just so many storylines that we can tackle.”
Aside from the Stanley Cup Finals, Turner Sports will also broadcast the 2023 Discover NHL Winter Classic from Fenway Park in Boston, Mass. in a matchup between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins. Moreover, the network will broadcast several marquee matchups between rival teams – including tonight’s game between the New York Islanders and New York Rangers from UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y. – games that could have significant factors in determining which teams can make championship runs.
“With the product and trying to deliver it to the fans… constantly improving is definitely at the top of the list,” Bissonnette said, who is the co-host of the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast with Barstool Sports and a color commentator for the Arizona Coyotes. “….Agents might not be happy about the hard cap but… from a parity perspective in the league, I think we’ve got 10 teams with the possibility of winning the Stanley Cup.”
Authenticity is highly regarded and valued among media members; therefore, generating discussions in which the analysts can utilize their knowledge and expertise to accurately convey and translate what may seem like esoteric information to viewers is most optimal for the growth of the game and success of the program. While the show does not center itself around debates, there are occasionally disagreements – none of which are contrived – which affords viewers the opportunity to hear a broad range of perspectives and ultimately choose a side or form their own dissenting opinion on a subject.
“I think the best part of our show is [that] we don’t rehearse,” said Carter, who also works as a television studio analyst on MSG Networks. “What you see is what you’re going to get…. It’s fresh. If you were to rehearse, your first take is your best take and it usually goes downhill from there.”
Amid a media landscape where fans have augmented levels of jurisdiction over which programming they consume, along with when and where they do it, understanding and appealing to a target audience is ostensibly essential in maintaining success. Following in the footsteps of Inside the NBA with Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal, the panel has tried to differentiate itself in terms of their parlance and types of segments. For example, the show had Gretzky and Barkley face one another in a shootout during the show’s premiere last year. In the playoffs after Bissonnette lost a bet to his podcast co-host Ryan Whitney, he had his head shaved bald on national television in a segment that went viral on social media.
“Whether it’s a week before or the summer or even [on] a [gameday], one of the guys may be like” ‘Hey, let’s try this,’” Tocchet said. “We’re not afraid to try things and obviously the company we work for wants that; they welcome that. They don’t want to be overprepared, and I think that’s a big part of why this is successful.”
The key in being relatable to fans who may not be familiar with the parlance and nature of every discussion being had on the show will be to adjust the dialogue and simplify certain aspects of it – especially to prevent coming off as being arrogant regarding their roles. At its core, the purpose of studio programming within a live game broadcast is to preview a matchup, analyze it between periods when it is taking place and reflect on how the game was won or lost after the final buzzer. The team at Turner Sports realizes this goal and goes beyond it to make their program unique and a memorable watch for viewers worldwide whether or not they are dedicated hockey fans.
“We make mistakes out there and I think people kind of laugh about the mistakes,” Tocchet said. “….I think that’s something that we’ve tried to learn even from the NBA guys and their Emmy Award-winning show. We kind of watch them and how they do it. I think that’s the future of televising the game of hockey; [that is], trying to get that person who doesn’t know much about hockey.”
“A lot of people working on our show behind the scenes weren’t ‘Hockey people,’” Carter added. “They would ask a ton of questions that [we] would take for granted. [For] your non-traditional hockey fans though, those were legit questions… [some of which] we thought, ‘Yeah, that’s a no-brainer; every hockey fan gets it.’ We had folks in the studio who didn’t follow hockey in the past [and] they gave us a window into the audience we’re trying to tap into.”
Planning for each show extends far beyond the panelists and producers, as there is always the potential to come up with new ideas or talking points that could enhance the broadcast and that night’s game coverage. The best ideas for a given show, according to McHugh, can be sourced from a number of different areas, including those working as video editors and graphics coordinators tasked with creating the visual elements of the show. It is genuinely a group effort to cultivate a compelling and elucidative program at Turner Sports, one that captivates viewers and keeps them coming back for more.
“I think we’re a show that is willing to take some risks,” McHugh expressed. “We’re all-in as a group in the studio where once we decide we’re going to do something, we’re going full steam ahead… but we’re probably going to have a few laughs either way and maybe we’ll have some more if it’s a trainwreck.”
Sometimes, the conversation being had on the show does not directly relate to hockey but may be relevant in the world of sports or on an even larger scale. As a result, the panelists and crew at Turner Sports need to be ready to conform to potential breaking news or a change in the rundown that may alter the remainder of a given broadcast.
“I like what we’re doing because it’s something different every week,” McHugh said. “At the same point, we’re a show where if there’s something serious or something unpleasant, we don’t shy away from it either. It’s a show that’s willing to pivot.”
As the broadcast has cemented itself into the hockey landscape, Turner Sports has gradually gained greater trust from teams and players around the NHL, giving the network more of an ability to reach players and personnel. Whether it is being able to speak with stars, such as Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid or Igor Shesterkin, or members of various front offices and coaching staffs, it usually requires fostering some level of trust and respectability. One year after the launch of the broadcast, teams are ostensibly being more open to working with them to elevate the level of game coverage and maintain hockey’s positive growth trajectory.
“Being around the league so long, teams are so protective and not willing to give the access to players that we’re looking for,” Carter said. “….Now that they see we’re trying to do the right thing for our players, they’re granting us more access [and] I think as we continue to work on our broadcasts, we’ll continue to get more access.”
Highlighting the personalities of athletes engenders an enrichment in pathos between fans and teams, sometimes extending to the league as a whole. The panel, with its wide array of experience and vast hockey knowledge, could likely carry a successful show on its own but adding interviews and features with current players only makes the coverage more comprehensive and germane to each specific matchup. Hockey is surely an adrenaline-inducing sport filled with heart-pounding moments and dynamic action, all of which is seemingly amplified once the playoffs begin. Using these facets of the game to its advantage draws sports fans to the game and allows it to leverage its position in a marketplace infused with incessant amounts of choice and freedom in terms of content.
“You see these other leagues – in particular the NFL and NBA – they’re personality and star-driven,” Bissonnette said. “The more you can amplify that and show that off, the more you can grow the game…. I think hockey is catching up to the other leagues… based on a parity standpoint. You get to the Stanley Cup Playoffs – [and] I don’t think there’s anything else like it.”
Turner Sports continues its second year of a seven-year media rights agreement with the National Hockey League, bringing fans exciting matchups largely taking place on Wednesday nights, along with other select games throughout the regular season. Once the Stanley Cup Playoffs begin, the NHL on TNT will have coverage of the first three rounds leading up to the Stanley Cup Finals, of which it is the exclusive rightsholder for the first time. It is arguably the pinnacle of professional hockey and a source of motivation and fervor for those working on NHL broadcasts this year with Turner Sports.
“It stunk watching the Stanley Cup on another broadcast,” Carter said. “I’m not saying [the ESPN] broadcast was bad; I just wanted to be a part of it…. Just being on the road and being a part of it; that’s the best time of year. The weather’s great; the stakes are high; people are pumped up [and] all stakes are on the game. We’re crowning a champion and we’re going to be a part of it.”
