Remote NHL Playoff Broadcasts: A Major Disservice to Hockey Fans

The NHL Playoffs are supposed to be the best time of the season for hockey fans. But one thing has put a major damper on the excitement so far.

The first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs has been a ride so far. With all four series in the West 2-2 and in the East 3-1 after four games, there have been no shortage of exciting storylines to follow.

That’s what the NHL Playoffs are supposed to be. Exciting. Exhilarating. Players have waited their whole careers for this moment.

The same can be said for the fans. They endure an 82-game regular season in the hopes that their team advances to the big dance.

So your team has made it to the playoffs? Great. You would think things would be all smooth sailing from here.

Well we’ve got news for you. It’s not. Especially if you are a fan of a team who doesn’t live in your team’s market. You may have come across a rude surprise when you finally found the channel your team is playing on.

A Rude Surprise

You sort through the listings. You find what channel your team is playing on. You and your friends are ready to enjoy an amazing night of hockey.

But then as the game starts, you notice something weird. The broadcast sounds distorted. The announcers seem far away from the action.

Is it your TV? Are you having issues with your carrier again? You try every trick in the book including resetting your box. It changes nothing.

What’s going on here? Turns out that rude surprise we were talking about wasn’t you at all. It was the actual broadcast.

Yes. In 2025 in the United States, we have games in the playoffs utilizing a remote broadcast. How is that possible?

If you’ve heard one of these broadcasts and then heard the same game with live announcers, the difference is complete night and day.

The fact that remote broadcasts are being utilized is completely unacceptable and a major disservice to the fans trying to watch the games.

The Dynamics of a Remote Broadcast

First and foremost, this takes nothing away from the broadcasters themselves who are calling these games. They’re put in an unusual position of having to call games from a TV monitor hundreds or even thousands of miles away from the game site.

The announcers make the best of a terrible situation. The onus is on the rightsholders who pay a ton of money to be able to carry the games. Why even jump in if you can’t provide live announcers?

That’s the first thing we need to discuss when it comes to the decision to have remote broadcasts.

Money

In the end, like most everything in life, the decision to have remote broadcasts comes down to one simple thing. Money.

But in this case, that is absurd. Let’s put some perspective into this.

This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.