Blue Jackets Hockey Network Breakdown: Prime Video, OTA Games and What’s Confirmed – The Hockey Writers – Columbus Blue Jackets

A long awaited piece of news for Columbus Blue Jackets‘ fans is finally here. We now know the framework for how in-market viewers will watch the team this season.

On Wednesday, the NHL and the Blue Jackets announced that they have entered into an agreement with Amazon Prime Video to be the exclusive streaming provider. In addition, the league and team are partnering to produce and distribute games via the newly-created Blue Jackets Hockey Network.

We will recap pricing under Prime Video and how the subscription service would work. We’ll discuss the on-air talent and also talk about what games are included and what needs to be ironed out.

What Blue Jackets Hockey Network Actually Is

The Blue Jackets Hockey Network is the team’s new home for in-market games that used to be televised on FanDuel Sports Network. It is a team and league regional network. It is not considered a national package. Fans in the Blue Jackets’ territory, which includes most of Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky will have the option to watch in-market games through the network.

Here is a breakdown of how you can think about the network:

• The Blue Jackets have two national games this season, one on ESPN+ (Nov 10 vs. Florida) and one on TNT (April 8 vs. Philadelphia.) That means their other 82 games (subject to change based on exclusive games) can be watched on the Blue Jackets Hockey Network.
• Those 82 games will be available for in-market fans on Prime Video which require a separate subscription.
• Cable and satellite details will be released before the start of the regular season.
• A select number of games will be available over the air. The dates and stations have not been released as of yet.

The Blue Jackets are one of six teams that are aligned with Prime Video for the upcoming season. They join the Ducks, Hurricanes, Stars, Wild and Blues. All of these teams went through the same failure of the regional sports model.

What you see on TV should be similar to what you’ve seen before but with some enhancements to graphics, replay and production thanks to the NHL taking the lead.

How Much Prime Video Package Costs

In-market viewers who want to watch the Blue Jackets Hockey Network on Prime Video can opt into the subscription regardless if they are a member of Amazon Prime or not. The cost of the subscription itself is the same.

The cost of the package is $19.99 per month or $99.99 for the season. Prime members would pay this on top of their existing cost for membership. Non-Prime members can sign up for a free Amazon account and then elect to buy the Blue Jackets Hockey Network package as a standalone option. The same pricing applies.

Going with this option will also allow in-market fans the ability to watch at home or on the go through the Prime Video app.

Of note, the Ducks and Stars are not charging a separate subscription fee. But the Hurricanes, Blues and Wild are charging the fee like the Blue Jackets are.

What Else Is Known

We now know who the on-air talent will be for the games. It was known previously that Steve Mears and Jody Shelley would handle the play-by-play and color commentator roles on both TV and radio.

There will be a few familiar faces to Blue Jackets’ fans for who will be seen on the broadcasts. Brian Giesenschlag will be the host, Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre will be the pre/postgame analyst while Dave Maetzold will be on the ice-level reporter and host.

Out-of-market fans who want to tune into the games won’t have to change anything from the recent past. The games will still be available on the NHL Power Play on the ESPN app or NHL Center Ice.

Blue Jackets Sr. Vice President and COO Cameron Scholvin reiterated that accessing the games in a similar way to the past was their top priority.

“Our priority is to make sure our fans have access to our games on television in all of the ways they have been accustomed to in the past and this new venture ensures that will happen,” Scholvin said. “Whether you have watched games through a cable or satellite provider or on a streaming service, you will continue to be able to do so.”

What Is Still Not Known

There are a few details that remain outstanding. Here is a quick listing of those items. Clarification is expected in the near future.

• Cable/satellite lineups and channel numbers. The network is expected to start up this fall.
• The list of providers that will carry the Network (YouTube TV, Fubo for example.)
• The games that will be over the air and the channels they’ll be shown on.
• The exact launch date of the Prime add-on.
• If the pre/postgame shows will stream in a similar manner to the games.

Initial Thoughts

The model will be business as usual for those outside the Blue Jackets market. That was expected throughout this process.

It’s for the fans in-market that will feel the most from this news. Based on initial fan reaction, most see that the price point isn’t much different than what it was under FanDuel. But many are excited to see that the potential upgrade to Prime and how the NHL production will impact what it looks like. Still, some wonder why they have to pay a separate fee for the subscription especially if they already have Amazon Prime.

The big key will be which providers ultimately have the Blue Jackets Hockey Network as an option. Most fans will ultimately judge this move by the ease they can find their team and what their ultimate cost is.

This has the potential to be good given Amazon Prime’s involvement. But it is still too early to tell until all of the details are known. Stay tuned.