Anaheim Ducks get 11 national broadcasts on TNT and ESPN

New US NHL television rights holders TNT and ESPN have released their national broadcast schedules for the 2021-22 season. Beginning this year, the look of these national broadcasts looks different than what we saw in the past with NBC, with the Anaheim Ducks getting 11 total national broadcasts between the new networks.

TNT will air three Ducks game nationally this season: December 15th at 7 PM against the Seattle Kraken, January 19th against the Colorado Avalanche, and March 23rd against the Chicago Blackhawks. All games are at Honda Center and all are at 7 PM Pacific. TNT announced their complete broadcasting lineup two days ago which will be led by Kenny Albert and Eddie Olcyzk and supported by Brendan Burke and Darren Pang, and Keith Jones with ice-level analysis. Jennifer Botterill, Jackie Redmond and Tarik El-Bashir will also contribute to the telecasts. The studio team will be hosted by Liam McHugh with Wayne Gretzky, Anson Carter, Rick Tocchet, and Paul Bissonette serving as analysts.

The ESPN broadcasts are where things get interesting. The Ducks will have just one game on the main ESPN channel this year: a Freeway Faceoff matchup against the Los Angeles Kings on April 19th. However, Anaheim will have seven games on the streaming service ESPN+, which is being pushed hard for these telecasts. Notably, the Ducks will be featured in ESPN+’s first national broadcast of the season on Friday, October 15th against the Minnesota Wild.

The seven ESPN+ games are as follows:

10/15: Minnesota Wild at Anaheim Ducks

11/2: New Jersey Devils at Anaheim Ducks

11/5: Arizona Coyotes at Anaheim Ducks

12/7: Anaheim Ducks at Buffalo Sabres

12/17: Arizona Coyotes at Anaheim Ducks

3/10: Nashville Predators at Anaheim Ducks

3/25: Seattle Kraken at Anaheim Ducks

In addition to these national games, ESPN has announced that more than 1000 out-of-market games will be available on ESPN+, essentially replacing NHL TV. So if you’re a Ducks fan who lives outside of the Southern California market, ESPN+ may be a good investment.

For in-market fans, Bally Sports will host the local broadcasts.