Only days after Pittsburgh Penguins owner Fenway Sports Group completed their long-reported acquisition of AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh from WBD Sports (and promptly renamed the network just “SportsNet Pittsburgh”), they changed their commentators.
Earlier this month, long-time Penguins’ TV analyst Bob Errey told Josh Yohe of The Athletic that he and play-by-play voice Steve Mears found out this week they’re both out:
Longtime Penguins player and broadcaster Bob Errey was on vacation in Europe last week and returned to Pittsburgh to some unpleasant news.
Errey was informed on Wednesday evening that he will no longer be the color commentator during Penguins TV broadcasts —a position he has held for the entire Sidney Crosby era before starting his broadcasting career as the Penguins’ radio color commentator during the 1999-2000 season.
Errey told The Athletic that his broadcast partner since 2017, Steve Mears, will also not return.
Just a few days before the Penguins’ Sept. 24 preseason opener, and slightly more than a month ahead of their regular season opener, we know what the new broadcast will look like. On Tuesday, SportsNet Pittsburgh announced three hires for their on-air talent team for Penguins telecasts. The three hires include Josh Getzoff as play-by-play announcer, Hailey Hunter as rinkside reporter and Dan Potash as studio host.
Getzoff, who has called Penguins games on the radio for the past eight seasons, will be the team’s new play-by-play announcer on television for the 2023-24 season. Getzoff has also worked as a pre-and postgame show host and analyst during his time with the Penguins.
Hunter joins the SportsNet Pittsburgh broadcast team as the rinkside reporter for the Penguins’ 2023-24 season. She most recently covered golf for NBC Sports’ Golf Channel and PGA Tour Entertainment, and was a reporter for the 2022 Winter Olympics. Before that, she was the team reporter and host for the New York Islanders during the 2021-22 season.
Potash, a veteran sportscaster in Pittsburgh, will become the new lead studio host for Penguins telecasts on SportsNet Pittsburgh for the 2023-24 season. The network will also be expanding its pre-and postgame coverage.
SportsNet Pittsburgh will kick off its coverage of the 2023-24 season with the Penguins’ preseason game against the Ottawa Senators on October 2 in Nova Scotia.
[NHL]
