Final NHL game NBC (props to Olczyk)

[Stlblue50]

I’m sure most are at very least happy the NHL is moving away from NBC. Their overall presentation and handling of the on air “talent” was terrible. How Pierre was allowed to announce a playoff game every night in the first 2 rounds and every marquee/Finals games for what felt like 20 straight years is insane!!

So back to my main point, I wanted to give a shoutout to Eddie-O. Yes he’s a Hawks homer (especially on local broadcasts) and can be a bit annoying but he of course understands the Blues/Hawks rivalry and you can tell he has a bigger respect for the Blues because of that. I’m sure most caught his perfectly placed Kadri burn last night. With around 4 minutes left there was a little scrum and he talks about not being selfish and putting your team down a guy. Then goes on a detailed Kadri rant about how selfish that his was and it was one of the main reasons CO didn’t advance. He also did the same thing at the end of game 6 of CO-VG. It was nice to hear props to Olczyk for that!

Anyways I’m excited for a change and curious what ESPN will do.

Click to read more...

 

[Brian39]

I switched over to the NBC coverage after my NHL.TV feed of the Canadian broadcast concluded. That NBC room felt like a funeral. They know that some of them aren't getting hockey jobs soon and I think that they generally liked working together. I like a lot of the on-air talent, so I felt bad for them. But I'm thrilled that NBC is no longer a rights holder. Their 10+ year insistence of catering to the casual fan was brutal to watch and (IMO) was a misguided strategy to drive ratings. I'm very excited about the new networks even though I will miss some of the on-air talent.

 

[The Note]

I hope Tappen and McHugh can get on with TNT or ESPN in some fashion, I liked their studio coverage. As strange as it is, I thought Sharp was really good too. Had a player's perspective that was actually fresh and insightful unlike the rest of the dinosaurs they regularly had there. I am excited to see what ESPN (for all their faults) can do with a second go round with NHL rights. I hope TNT doesn't just try to copy-paste their Inside the NBA show and try to force a bunch of people without the personalities of Shaq/Barkley/Johnson/Smith to do that show though I am interested to see what they come up with.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

I hope Tappen and McHugh can get on with TNT or ESPN in some fashion, I liked their studio coverage. As strange as it is, I thought Sharp was really good too. Had a player's perspective that was actually fresh and insightful unlike the rest of the dinosaurs they regularly had there. I am excited to see what ESPN (for all their faults) can do with a second go round with NHL rights. I hope TNT doesn't just try to copy-paste their Inside the NBA show and try to force a bunch of people without the personalities of Shaq/Barkley/Johnson/Smith to do that show though I am interested to see what they come up with.

I think Tappen and Sharp are both hot commodities. They'll get gigs fairly easily, I'd expect.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

Other than Pierre, I generally liked everyone left at NBC hockey (after they canned JR and Milbury).

 

[Brian39]

I think Tappen and Sharp are both hot commodities. They'll get gigs fairly easily, I'd expect.

ESPN has already unveiled their 24 person hockey broadcast team that includes a number of studio personalities. I think they are probably done hiring, because they put together a spiffy graphic to announce their hockey department. ESPN has a huge number of in-house people with hosting experience, so I don't know that they will be looking to fill that role with an outside hire.

TNT has already hired Ed Olczyk, Keith Jones, Kenny Albert and Anson Carter from the existing NBC crew, so I kind of doubt that they will be looking to add more voices from NBC and become NBC 2.0 while ESPN goes a different direction.

Both should get jobs, but I don't know if they are going to be able to get a National US gig right away.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

ESPN has already unveiled their 24 person hockey broadcast team that includes a number of studio personalities. I think they are probably done hiring, because they put together a spiffy graphic to announce their hockey department. ESPN has a huge number of in-house people with hosting experience, so I don't know that they will be looking to fill that role with an outside hire.

TNT has already hired Ed Olczyk, Keith Jones, Kenny Albert and Anson Carter from the existing NBC crew, so I kind of doubt that they will be looking to add more voices from NBC and become NBC 2.0 while ESPN goes a different direction.

Both should get jobs, but I don't know if they are going to be able to get a National US gig right away.

Think Tappen is still at NBC. She does other things for them besides hockey.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

ESPN has already unveiled their 24 person hockey broadcast team that includes a number of studio personalities. I think they are probably done hiring, because they put together a spiffy graphic to announce their hockey department. ESPN has a huge number of in-house people with hosting experience, so I don't know that they will be looking to fill that role with an outside hire.

TNT has already hired Ed Olczyk, Keith Jones, Kenny Albert and Anson Carter from the existing NBC crew, so I kind of doubt that they will be looking to add more voices from NBC and become NBC 2.0 while ESPN goes a different direction.

Both should get jobs, but I don't know if they are going to be able to get a National US gig right away.

I was considering regional jobs (especially for Sharp). It surprises me that Tappen hasn't landed something.

I keep thinking the NHL Network will continue to exist, but isn't it tied to this deal too? I had been thinking of that option as a possible landing spot.

 

[ort]

Yeah, overall NBC kinda sucked at covering the NHL, but change is still tough.

I remember also finding ESPNs coverage lacking back in the day, so we may not end up in a much better place.

I remember hating Patrick Sharp at first, because, yeah, it's Patrick ****ing Sharp, but he's great on camera and is a good analyst and actually remembers playing with most of these guys, so he brought a lot to the table. A lot more than many ex-NHLers.

 

[StLewis11]

Agree on Sharp, he was very good as an analyst. I will miss Tappen on hockey. As another poster mentioned, she does other things for NBC & is still under contract there, so she'll be staying there, unlikely she'll move to another network to try to stay in hockey.

 

[TheDizee]

thank god nbc's coverage is gone

ESPN is a joke too, but atleast we will get to hear this gem again



I Still say Steve Levy + Darren Pang is the best TV broadcast combo in NHL history.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

Yeah, overall NBC kinda sucked at covering the NHL, but change is still tough.

I remember also finding ESPNs coverage lacking back in the day, so we may not end up in a much better place.

I remember hating Patrick Sharp at first, because, yeah, it's Patrick ****ing Sharp, but he's great on camera and is a good analyst and actually remembers playing with most of these guys, so he brought a lot to the table. A lot more than many ex-NHLers.

I was on the fence about him until the Game 7 coverage. Someone asked him a question about his experience with the Blackhawks Cup runs. It was a perfect opportunity for him to show his ego a little bit and reminisce about how great they were. He shut it down, didn't really answer it and said something like, "Tonight is about the St Louis Blues." You could see perfectly on his face that he knew no Blues fans wanted to listen to stuff about the Blackhawks. I realized he got it, and I could respect him. He also does a good job with his analysis.

 

[Stlblue50]

thank god nbc's coverage is gone

ESPN is a joke too, but atleast we will get to hear this gem again



I Still say Steve Levy + Darren Pang is the best TV broadcast combo in NHL history.

Oh man they better not try and get cute trying to be fresh by altering or creating a new game intro song. That’s perfection right there!

 

[Brian39]

Oh man they better not try and get cute trying to be fresh by altering or creating a new game intro song. That’s perfection right there!

They have been using that song unchanged as the theme ton NHL In the Crease and they have confirmed that they will be using the theme song during their live game broadcasts. I can't imagine they would publicly acknowledge the popularity of the song like that just to change it. I'm sure it will eventually be changed/updated, but not for the first year.

 

[BadgersandBlues]

There are just some things that bring back awesome childhood memories, and that song is one of them.

 

[Stlblue50]

I switched over to the NBC coverage after my NHL.TV feed of the Canadian broadcast concluded. That NBC room felt like a funeral. They know that some of them aren't getting hockey jobs soon and I think that they generally liked working together. I like a lot of the on-air talent, so I felt bad for them. But I'm thrilled that NBC is no longer a rights holder. Their 10+ year insistence of catering to the casual fan was brutal to watch and (IMO) was a misguided strategy to drive ratings. I'm very excited about the new networks even though I will miss some of the on-air talent.

First off, how did you get to watch the Canadian broadcast live for an NBC game?

I ask because it’s so much better then NBC! I went back and watch the intros and parts of the Canadian national games for the Blues run and they put so much more effort into everything! From the random intermission stories/videos to camera angles and presentation.

 

[Brian39]

First off, how did you get to watch the Canadian broadcast live for an NBC game?

I ask because it’s so much better then NBC! I went back and watch the intros and parts of the Canadian national games for the Blues run and they put so much more effort into everything! From the random intermission stories/videos to camera angles and presentation.

VPN telling NHL.TV that I'm in another country. I'd rather do that than use my paid service to watch the NBC broadcast. If the NHL ever decides to ban me from paying for NHL.TV (soon to be ESPN+) then I will simply fully pirate content. I have zero guilt considering I both have a cable provider and pay the full cost of NHL.TV.