ESPN and TNT have brought increased access to the NHL and exciting personalities through their U.S. rightsholder agreement so far. But more hockey-centered commentators would be a plus – and ditch remote broadcasts.
The 2025-26 NHL season is the fifth of a seven-year shared U.S. rightsholder agreement with ESPN and Turner Sports (now Warner Bros. Discovery Sports).
As a play-by-play broadcaster and writer, I want to evaluate the rightsholder deal past the midway point by examining what I believe should be implemented.
Here's what the rightsholders are doing right and could improve on:
Increased Access To The NHL
ESPN has exponentially increased access to the NHL.
By putting out-of-market and certain national games on the new ESPN App, the NHL has made a significant impact.
The previous out-of-market package, NHL.TV, was a separate streaming package available through an HD media player, with three different pricing options.
Regardless of the cost, ESPN addressed a few issues by integrating the NHL into its app.
It gives the NHL fan more value for their dollar while broadening the audience. One of the bigger critiques of streaming is that consumers often need multiple packages for the same sport. ESPN rectifies this issue by allowing subscribers to their service for other sports to access the NHL at the same price.
In doing this, ESPN reduces the cost to the consumer and introduces the NHL to fans of other sports. The integration of the ESPN App on Smart TVs makes its platform versatile, whereas NHL.TV was a media player only available on computers.
This investment in accessibility and growth is paying dividends. The NHL’s annual revenue is surpassing $6 billion, driven by media rights agreements with Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery, according to S&P Global. The current contracts have bolstered ratings, attendance and player spending. This has increased viewership to an average of 504,000 per game last season, with total in-person attendance reaching a record 23 million.
More Hockey-Centered Broadcasters
From a broadcasting perspective, there is one critique I have for ESPN’s coverage: there's a lack of hockey-centered play-by-play people.
ESPN recently released its 2025-26 NHL on ESPN commentators and reporters. This list included some very talented all-around broadcasters.
However, only one out of the seven play-by-play people has ever been a lead television broadcaster for an NHL team. This person is longtime St. Louis Blues broadcaster and current Los Angeles Kings voice John Kelly, who was added to the network ahead of the 2025-26 season.
There is no question that Steve Levy, Sean McDonough, John Buccigross, Bob Wischusen and other broadcasters do an excellent job on air. However, to elevate their product to the next level, ESPN should bring in more hockey-centered announcers for nationally televised games.
The Athletic does a yearly ranking of NHL broadcasts and their talent. TNT has a litany of influential names, including Kenny Albert, John Forslund, Josh Bogorad, Randy Hahn, Jim Jackson and Steve Mears.
However, a few top names still remain unclaimed for national games.
Ken Daniels is the longtime voice of the Detroit Red Wings. He has a deep knowledge of the game with a relaxed style of explanation on the air. His neutrality, even on local Detroit broadcasts, is something that would fit in well at ESPN. Daniels was ranked No. 1 by The Athletic in 2025.
Joe Beninati, who has a plethora of experience working on national broadcasts from 2005 to 2011, is another high-level talent who would fit in seamlessly at ESPN. His meticulous preparation and care for Washington Capitals games are attributes that would instantly enhance ESPN’s broadcasts.
The spotlight was on Beninati and his color analyst Craig Laughlin as the duo broadcast Alexander Ovechkin’s chase to eclipse Wayne Gretzky's all-time goals record. Beninati was ranked fourth by The Athletic in 2025.
Finally, Steve Goldstein oozes passion at the seams. The 21-year veteran of the Florida Panthers is lightning in a bottle behind a microphone.
Goldstein is known for his high-intensity, yet educational broadcasts. His signature phrases of “Let’s go home, baby,” with an overall infectious positivity have strong parallels to Mike Breen on the NBA side of ESPN. With more eyes on the Florida Panthers as the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions, Goldstein’s mere presence may drive ratings up for national games. Adding these three prominent voices would enable increased growth for ESPN and the NHL.
Analysts are excellent for the ESPN broadcasting crew, with big names adding their insight on the action. These commentators include Mark Messier, Kevin Weekes, John Tortorella, Ray Ferraro, Cassie Campbell-Pascall and P.K. Subban. The new acquisition of T.J. Oshie to the group adds a cherry on top of a star-studded lineup.
Through four years, ESPN has done a great job of growing the game through accessibility and sleek streaming options for fans and, in doing so, increasing revenue for the NHL and itself. With a few tweaks on the broadcast side, ESPN can increase its media impact going into the final three years of their agreement and beyond.
TNT Blasting On TV
Warner Bros. Discovery Sports has made some innovations to the standard NHL rightsholder experience.
A huge step forward was the addition of Paul Bissonnette, the life of the NHL on TNT party.
His rise to prominence came with his Barstool Sports podcast Spittin' Chiclets, one of the most recognizable brands in hockey media. His personality is reminiscent of Pat McAfee on ESPN’s College Gameday for NCAA Football and has added a livelier atmosphere to the world of hockey broadcasting. Bisonette's presence draws in hockey fans, young and old, to the NHL on TNT, making the viewing audience wait for his next insight or witty interview question.
I would be remiss not to mention The Great One, Wayne Gretzky, who is an occasional studio analyst for the NHL on TNT. Gretzky does a fabulous job imparting his wisdom on the viewer while meshing extremely well with other analysts, including Henrik Lundqvist and Anson Carter.
As a broadcaster, I appreciate the effort put in by the play-by-play and color crews. Putting Seattle Kraken commentators John Forslund and Eddie Olczyk together on neutral games allows for cohesion on air. The same goes with Kenny Albert and Brian Boucher, who have been together since the days of NHL on NBC. Brendan Burke, Mears and Bogorad add some young blood on the play-by-play side.
The Remote Issues
However, a glaring issue is the remote broadcasts.
In the 2024-25 playoffs, TNT had its broadcasters calling a handful of games in Winnipeg, Edmonton and Ottawa from the Atlanta studios.
This move was widely criticized and rightly so. It greatly decreases the detail and quality of a broadcast without an on-site crew. Sports Illustrated called remote broadcasts the “Worst Trend in Sports Broadcasting.”
Covering a game on-site requires a significant financial cost, including sending a mobile production truck with technicians, according to The Athletic's Rob Rossi. Also, a factor is the travel costs for the broadcasters and crew to smaller Canadian cities. This cost-saving and quality-decreasing move was widely criticized online.
Turner has a seven-year deal at $225 million a year with the NHL. There is no reason why every single TNT game shouldn’t have a full crew on site. When the crew is on site, the product is dramatically better, allowing for richer description, better quality audiovisuals and significantly fewer technical issues.
An NHL College Gameday
A further innovation for Bissonnette and the TNT crew would be for the studio hosts to take a page from ESPN’s College Gameday or Fox’s Big Noon Saturday and host their pre-game show on-site more often at certain points before and during the playoffs. Of course, it would be expensive, but growing the game costs money.
College Gameday and Big Noon Saturday are an experience for the fan. They show up at ungodly hours to get a spot when the pit opens at roughly 6:30 a.m., staying all day and perhaps all weekend for the headline game. This will provide TNT with a competitive advantage in the hockey broadcasting space.
With the talent behind the microphone, TNT should keep broadcasting on-site while expanding, not contracting, their excellent hockey productions.
The Future Is Now
The NHL is experiencing rapid growth under its split rightsholder deal with ESPN and TNT. Implementing these changes would do wonders to give both the NHL and its consumers a leg up into a potential Golden Era of Hockey Broadcasting.
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