The NHL announced on Tuesday that it was taking over the production of local telecasts for at least four clubs starting this September. As of now, the Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jackets, Minnesota Wild, and St. Louis Blues are turning over the productions, which are being centralized for ease of operation. They're doing so because their previous television carrier, the Main Street Sports Group, which operated the Bally Sports channels, which then became the FanDuel Sports Network, is shutting down.
The NHL also made it clear that other clubs may be added to that list ahead of the 2026-27 season With that, the Anaheim Ducks reportedly decided that they would terminate their agreement with their own streaming partner, Victory+, which also shows Dallas Stars games. Fans, understandably, seem skeptical. A quick look at the social media chatter around this announcement seems to be focused, in particular, on a quote from NHL president of events and content Steve Mayer.
"We want to make sure that the Minnesota Wild are talking about the NHL, the stars of the league," Mayer said to the Sports Business Journal. "Many times, we find that these broadcasts are local in nature. We’re going to try to nationalize them a bit.
If you're a Blues fan, for example, you don't want to hear about Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid. You want to hear about why the Blues' third line is actually one of the best third lines in the league. Local broadcasts are popular specifically because they talk about the team the local fans like, almost always in glowing terms.
The idea of seeing a highlight involving a team you don't care for when they could be talking about your team's backup goalie is anathema to what has long been the NHL fan experience. But from the NHL's point of view, this is only a good thing, and if fans can be a little open-minded — or at least slowly get used to it over the course of a season — then there's a real opportunity to grow the game.
Blue Jackets Announce Broadcast Deal With NHL Productions The Blue Jackets have announced a new broadcast deal with the NHL. Think about the most popular sports in North America, and consider how they present their national broadcasts. For the NFL, there's no local broadcast for the Miami Dolphins or anyone else.
Miami get the focused local broadcast, but the halftime shows consequently don't focus on the Miami game any more than they do for fixtures