Article link: https://theathletic.com/4562811/2023/05/31/nhl-broadcast-rankings-tv-2023
The ratings are based on fan reviews both by local Kraken fans and by fans of other teams who can watch Kraken broadcasts on ESPN+ or other streaming services. I’ve copied the Kraken section below, but the article is worth reading for the results for the other 31 teams as well.
>Local ranking: 1
>National ranking: 1
>Last season: 2 (tied)
>The results: The Seattle Kraken already had a star-studded broadcast, headlined by John Forslund, who is universally recognized as one of the best play-by-play broadcasters in the sport.
>Then the Kraken doubled down by adding another big-name broadcaster in Olczyk this past summer. It was a massive swing and it worked. The Kraken find themselves in the top spot of our 2023 broadcast ranking.
>“Adding Eddie Olczyk has taken a very good broadcast and made it great,” said one respondent.
>A three-person play call is notoriously difficult to pull off, but to their credit, Olcyzk, Brown and Forslund found quick chemistry in their first year as a trio and earned rave reviews, leading the way in overall score in the results from both local Kraken fans and fans of other teams.
>“(They offer) exciting commentary, effective hockey education and entertaining banter,” wrote one Kraken fan. “It’s like they are sitting on the couch next to you and your friends, trash-talking each other.”
>While adding Olczyk to the Kraken regional broadcast has earned significant plaudits from Kraken fans, a number of our fans noted that the move has lessened Brown’s impact.
>“Brown gets a little overshadowed when Eddie O is on the broadcast,” one fan noted, “but he’s a star.”
>The praise for the Kraken broadcast was very nearly universal among our respondents, and what criticism was levied at the broadcast was less about presentation or quality or tone and more about the accessibility of the ROOT Sports broadcast itself — which has been a significant challenge for the Kraken.
>“You can’t dang watch it without a crazy expensive cable package,” noted one fan. “I don’t even have cable to begin with!”
>Also earning significant praise from our respondents is analyst Alison Lukan, who features prominently on ROOT Sports’ intermission broadcast.
>“Alison is fantastic at describing the intricate parts of hockey strategy that, as a newbie to the sport, I really appreciate,” said a Kraken fan.
by SiccSemperTyrannis
11 Comments
Really not surprising at all. I know a lot of Kraken fans on here don’t really like Eddie, but I just don’t see it. Him, John, and JT have such a good rhythm with each other, and the subtle ways that John and Eddie shit on each other is so funny. We are so fortunate to have them.
I love our broadcasts. Every game that we had to watch with a national broadcast crew felt like a significant drop in quality. And not just because they noticeably favored the opponent even when we were winning.
I had no idea how good the coverage was until forced to watch ESPN or TNT
Never had a problem with our broadcasts. We have a great team. I just hate having to buy a whole other streaming package to be able to watch it. Get on a less fly by night service than Fubo, or give us some stand alone streaming options pleez!
Only problem is that root sports is really hard to get access to without cable or something
It’s my favorite broadcast team, too. Followed closely by Ken and Mickey over on the Wings broadcasts. I believe they won second, too.
Have loved it all year. Very enjoyable commentary that made me like the team even more. I do think Root has the second worst scoreboard graphic in the league though (Bally’s abomination of course takes the number 1 title there) but I can overlook it with how good the rest of the broadcast is. Really wish they would make it look more like TNT’s or NBC’s though.
No mention of the radio broadcast team, which I fully believe deserves a top spot as well.
We are incredibly spoiled with the Root Sports team as a whole, but especially with Kraken broadcasts.
I wish there were more ways to get access to the channel, but will continue to subscribe to Fubo to get it. Worth every penny to me.
Happy to see the Kraken crew get recognized for their excellence
If only Root sports was available on anything other than Fubo. Fubo sucks balls tremendously
Hey hey whadaya say?? THATS KRAKEN HOCKEY BABY!