Sportsnet ripped for bizarre Stanley Cup promo using AI to turn announcers into babies
Perhaps the Sportsnet braintrust ran out of material to pump up a much-anticipated Stanley Cup final.
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Or perhaps they were sticking with the idea that lame attempts at humour were both in keeping with some of the jocularity the crew is known for and somehow endearing to a national audience awaiting the best-of-seven repeat showdown between the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers.
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But whatever Sportsnet was thinking in using a bizarre artificial intelligence social media post seemed like a spectacularly bad idea.
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Unless, of course, the idea was to go the parody route to mock their own on-air talent, which seems to be the end result.
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If you missed it, on Wednesday afternoon, some seven hours before the emotional and much-hyped puck drop in Edmonton for the series opener, Sportsnet dropped a social media bomb on X.
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And by 'bomb' we mean an intended promo piece that did the opposite and bombed.
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'Oh Baby, the Stanley Cup Final sequel is here,' the post proclaimed, followed by a baby emoji and a trophy emoji.
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Oh Baby, the #StanleyCup Final sequel is here! 👶🏆
The Sportsnet panel gives us their tiny keys ahead of Game 1.
📺 Panthers vs. Oilers TONIGHT at 7:30pm ET / 5:30pm MT on Sportsnet | Visual by @JunkBoxAi pic.twitter.com/aQ2MWVx2wt
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 4, 2025
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What followed, was a 66-second clip with the voices of Ron MacLean, Elliotte Friedman, Kevin Bieksa and Kelly Hrudey over AI-created characters that were — you guessed it — babies.
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While it may have caused the odd chuckle, an attempt at irreverence was instead immature at best. In particular, there were a couple examples of the commentators tripping over there words and another where Friedman was, shall we say, all chocked up.
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'Just stop with this crap,' Olbermann posted on X.
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