Why are some NHL playoff games being called from an off-site broadcast studio?
Hockey fans in the United States might have noticed that something sounded different during TNT's broadcast of Game 1 between the Winnipeg Jets and St. Louis Blues on Saturday. John Forslund and Jennifer Botterill called that first-round playoff game from a studio in Atlanta.
It wasn't a first for an NHL postseason game on TNT or TBS. And it won't be the last. A Turner Sports source briefed on the networks' plans said Wednesday that three additional first-round games — Games 3 and 4 between the Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers and Game 4 between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators — will feature off-site broadcasters. A broadcast reporter will be at those games, the source said.
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Fully covering a game on-site — particularly in smaller Canadian cities — requires a significant financial investment, including the presence of a mobile production truck with technicians, plus the travel costs for on-air talent. Turner Sports' decision to not do so for some NHL playoff games has garnered online criticism.
Though rare, this arrangement has occurred before. Most recently, some Turner Sports broadcasts of opening-round games last postseason were called by a team from its Atlanta-based studios.
Then, as now, the source said, a combination of travel to Canadian cities and Turner Sports' heavy spring schedule were the primary reasons for the decision to go with remote announce teams. All Turner Sports games beyond the first round are scheduled to be broadcast on-site.
Warner Bros. Discovery, which owns Turner Sports, has U.S.-based producers share responsibilities for broadcasts of NHL, NBA and MLB games. This month, TNT and TBS are airing opening-round games for the NHL and NBA playoffs, in addition to a weekly MLB package. ESPN, the NHL's other U.S. broadcaster partner, is fully on-site for all playoff games. ESPN also broadcasts the NBA playoffs and a weekly MLB game.
Announcers calling games remotely is so lame, especially in the freaking playoffs. Would rather have TNT just show the Sportsnet feed. Brutal.
— Zach Halverson (@ZachHalverson) April 19, 2025
I'm sorry, but I find it very offensive that TNT, who I think is so much better top to bottom than ESPN, couldn't send Forslund and Botterill to Winnipeg. Remote broadcasts are so bush. Especially in the playoffs. ESPN will at least send their announcers. Shame on you TNT.
— Michael Silvers (@msilvers1979) April 19, 2025
Turner Sports' view, according to the source, is that, outside of Toronto and Montreal, travel to some Canadian markets presents logistical challenges, especially given the volume of other games its networks broadcast for three North American leagues.
Instead of deploying a production truck and a full crew to Winnipeg, Edmonton and Ottawa, the company has partnered with Canada's Sportsnet to assign 10 to 12 Canadian-based technicians to deliver a 'world' video feed of these games.
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The world feed is similar to what viewers normally see on TNT or TBS broadcasts, only the announcers call the game from Atlanta. What the announcers react to is happening in real time, and casual fans might not know they weren't called on-site if not for the broadcast's inability to show the play-by-play and color commentators during stops in action.
The NHL, NBA, and MLB used world feeds during the COVID-19 pandemic's earliest travel restrictions. National and regional broadcasters called games from studios instead of being on-site. NHL Network has done the same for some international hockey broadcasts.
In March, Fox Sports took a similar approach for a season-opening series in Tokyo between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs. The calls of those games came from the U.S., but the video feed was from Japan-based mobile production trucks.
Turner Sports hasn't taken this approach with NBA playoff games in part because that league's only Canadian-based team, the Toronto Raptors, has not qualified for the past two postseasons.
Unless the Oilers and/or Senators are swept in their opening-round series, any deciding game slated for TNT or TBS is scheduled to have a full on-site crew and broadcasters. Also, Game 3 in Montreal between the Canadiens and the Washington Capitals will air Friday on TNT, and broadcasters will be on-site.
(Photo of Winnipeg's Canada Life Centre: Cameron Bartlett / Getty Images)
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