Columbus Blue Jackets: TV Broadcast Plan Imminent, Limited National TV Slate Revealed

In just over two weeks, the Columbus Blue Jackets will begin ramping up their on-ice activities. That is when they will travel to Detroit to participate in this year’s prospects tournament.

The team will be in Detroit from Sept. 12-15 in advance of the start of training camp. Camp itself will open on Sept. 16 with the usual off-ice activities, including physicals. The players will then take the ice on Sept. 17.

Until then, there is still much to address from a news perspective. One of the biggest off-ice storylines remaining is where fans can watch the Blue Jackets this season and when those details will be announced. That is where we begin this week’s News & Rumors.

TV Details Expected Soon

Blue Jackets Vice President of Communications Todd Sharrock appeared on “All Sides with Amy Juravich” on Thursday to discuss several topics, including the organization’s side of the story regarding the non-retention of Bob McElligott and Jeff Svoboda. Juravich interviewed Sharrock, along with The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline and Jody Shelley.

During that conversation, Sharrock shared some details on what fans can expect and provided a potential timeline for when TV information will be released.

“We’re anticipating, last word I heard was hopefully by Labor Day,” Sharrock said. “But the key point is folks will be able to watch the games the way they have in the past. So whether that’s through streaming, whether that’s through their cable provider or satellite provider. Aaron (Portzline) mentioned the last couple of years, we’ve been able to offer up select games over the air in different markets here. It was ABC 6, FOX 28 (that) carried a game, so we were able to do that. Our intention is to do that again, but those details are being finalized. The league is involved in a certain element of that.”

Despite the many questions that have lingered about the upcoming TV situation, Sharrock had one clear message for Blue Jackets fans everywhere.

“I can assure fans our priority with all of this change is for people to be able to watch the games. That’s full stop. That is the most important thing to us,” Sharrock said.

When the Blue Jackets do release the full details, Sharrock mentioned that a robust plan will be in place that will outline where to find the games.

This aligns with what has been expected with the new TV setup. Fans will be able to watch the Blue Jackets the same way they have before through their provider. There will be streaming options and some over-the-air options on a game-by-game basis. 82 of their 84 regular season games, for now, will be available through the new setup.

As for the Blue Jackets’ other two games…

Very Little National TV Exposure

The NHL announced this week the national exclusive games that will appear on both TNT and the ESPN family of networks. The Blue Jackets have just two national games on their schedule, subject to change. More could be added later based on future circumstances, especially if the team is in the playoff chase.

The Blue Jackets will appear on ESPN+ on Nov. 10 against the Florida Panthers. They will also appear on TNT against the Philadelphia Flyers on Apr. 8.

Now consider this. Every other Eastern Conference-based U.S. team appears on national TV a minimum of 10 times. Even Montreal (6) and Toronto (3) appear more on national TV this season than the Blue Jackets. That is a very wide gap and a reminder of the stark reality of how TV partners pick and prioritize games.

Ratings are king. The Blue Jackets are in one of the smallest TV markets. Couple that with a six-year playoff drought, and this is the result. It might feel like a slight, especially given the huge disparity between them and the rest of the Eastern Conference. Even with Zach Werenski winning a Norris and Adam Fantilli being one of the best young players in his draft class, that is not enough to overcome their other challenges.

It’s simple. Win. The Blue Jackets need to start giving national providers reason to show them more. Need a comparison? Consider the Florida Panthers before their Stanley Cup runs and now. TV reacts to winning and ratings. Until the team starts showing more success, things like this will continue to happen.

Side Dishes

• The Blue Jackets announced changes to their Hockey Operations on Thursday. Trevor Timmins is now the Director of Amateur Scouting. Ville Siren is now the Director of European Scouting. Previously, they were co-directors of Amateur Scouting. Scouting has been an area of scrutiny of late given how things have worked out. The team kept the same leaders but defined their roles moving forward.
• The team also said that Mike Vogt has left the organization for family reasons. Tom Bourdon is now up from the Cleveland Monsters and will take over in Vogt’s role. Chris Strickland will serve as an assistant athletic trainer and physical therapist.
• The Blue Jackets also had six games this season change start times. Nov. 10 against Florida is now 7:30, 12/26 against Washington is now 8:00, 12/27 against Edmonton is now 6:00, 2/18 against Vegas is now 10:00, 4/6 against Washington is now 7:45, and 4/8 against Philadelphia is now 7:30.
• Fans can now preorder Jeff Rimer’s new book “It Doesn’t Get Any Better Than This.” He will also have two public book signings. Sept. 17 at Byers Imports and Sept. 18 at Barnes and Noble on Olentangy River Road. Save the dates.

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