The perils of remote broadcasting were on full display during Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs second round, in which the Vancouver Canucks held a 4-2 lead over the Edmonton Oilers in the third period.
And for those who weren’t aware that such a thing was still happening in 2024, AA’s Andrew Bucholtz did a deep dive and looked at TNT’s use of remote announcers for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Here was the main takeaway from Bucholtz’s reporting/findings:
Awful Announcing has confirmed through sources that TNT Sports has had the play-by-play announcer and analyst for some games in Canada calling those from their Atlanta headquarters and has used remote production for some of their games. However, they have had a reporter and producer on the ground for each Canadian game.
It’s hard to put the blame afoot on Alex Faust and Jennifer Botterill, who are merely trying to do their jobs, considering the circumstances that make it incredibly hard to do so. By not being in Canada on Sunday night, the announcing duo didn’t realize until nearly three minutes into the third period that the Oilers had started the final 20 minutes of the contest with a different goalie.
It wasn’t until 17:10 that Botterill mentioned that Calvin Pickard had replaced Stuart Skinner in goal.
It took almost 3 minutes of game time for TBS/TNT announcers to notice the Oilers started the 3rd period with a new goalie.
The perils of remote broadcasting (https://t.co/PeHF9ddpUi). pic.twitter.com/dx6vJWoWFB
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 13, 2024
And since hockey is one of, if not the hardest, sports to do play-by-play for—just ask Al Michaels—it stands to reason that this is an impossibly difficult situation for Faust and Botterill, who are both very good at their jobs, to succeed in.
Despite having a reporter and producer on-site, as confirmed by AA’s original reporting, the lack of announcers on-site still raises concerns. A missed goalie switch, for example, became a major talking point, even though the Oilers ultimately lost. And while Pickard’s shutout in the final 20 minutes kept Edmonton in the game, allowing them to close the gap to 4-3, it shouldn’t be that much of a talking point in the first place.
It just goes to show that having a reporter on-site can’t fully compensate for the immediacy and awareness that in-arena announcers bring.
Based on the reactions on social media, not everyone was acutely aware that remote broadcasts were still a thing of today—and not something of yesterday.
Wait a minute. A national network/NHL partner is pinching pennies by using remote broadcasters? During the playoffs?? Embarrassing and shameful. Surprised this is OK with the NHL https://t.co/OotESceD98
— Mark Joseph Boyle (@Mark_J_Boyle) May 13, 2024
They really calling NHL Playoff games remotely?
That should make every viewer feel some type of way. It’s almost impossible https://t.co/09jAq07eEU
— Chase Daniel (@ChaseDaniel) May 13, 2024
The potential for mistakes are much higher on a remote call-things like this (although someone off-air needs to be responsible), but in the midst of game play, things that happen off the puck aren’t noticed. Those things, seemingly small, can add up to a lesser sounding… https://t.co/hodBvzWb00
— Phil Giubileo (@philgpbp) May 13, 2024
Send. Broadcasters. To. The. Games. In. Person. https://t.co/ArWSLBnHDN
— Adam Bradford (@Adam_Bradford14) May 13, 2024
How the NHL allows their major partners in the U.S. to not have a play by play crew live in the building is just pathetic. https://t.co/ekByxSSA7F
— Dustin Nielson (@nielsonTSN1260) May 13, 2024
It’s embarrassingly cheap for Turner to do this. It’s the 2nd round of the playoffs, not a random regular season opener in Sweden! https://t.co/giF2YEBN3L
— Mookie Alexander (@mookiealexander) May 13, 2024
There is zero reason to do a REMI broadcast at this level of the sport or the season. Was wondering how this happened, but if NO ONE is on site it makes perfect sense. Good grief, work a deal with CBC/Sportsnet or something. https://t.co/gvaIIhQyPI
— Duke Keith (@dukekeith) May 13, 2024
We know why networks use remote broadcasting, as it offers clear cost-saving benefits. But as this incident demonstrates, it can come at a price. The Stanley Cup Playoffs deserve top-notch broadcasting, and it’s hard to give viewers just that when announcers call the game from a studio and not in-person.
If this trend continues, incidents like Sunday will happen again, and likely more often than not. And we shouldn’t blame the announcers here; given the circumstances, there’s only so much they can do.
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