Wayne Gretzky, Other NHL Analysts, Sign New Long-Term Deals With Warner Bros. Discovery Sports

By Jon Lafayette
( Broadcasting & Cable )
published

New hockey season faces off Oct. 11

NHL on TNT
The ‘NHL on TNT’ studio analysts have signed long-term deals. (Image credit: TNT)

Warner Bros. Discovery Sports said it signed studio analysts Wayne Gretzky, Paul Bissonnette, Anson Carter and Henrik Lunqvist to new multi-year extensions as it sharpens its skates getting ready for its third season of NHL on TNT coverage.

Brian Boucher, who was a goalie in the National Hockey League for 13 years, joins the NHL on TNT team as an ice-level analyst during games, joining play-by-play announcer Kenny Albert and analyst Eddie Olczyk.

Play-by-play announcer Brendan Burke, analysts Darren Pang and Jennifer Botterill and reporters Jackie Redmond and Tarik El-Bashir are also part of the WBD Sports announcing team that was nominated for an Emmy for its coverage of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

WBD notes that TNT’s viewership for the NHL rose 30% over its first two years compared to hockey telecasts during the 2020-21 season, when NBC Sports had rights to the NHL.

TNT will start this season’s NHL coverage on October 11 when No. 1 draft choice Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks take on the Boston Bruins.  The game will also stream on the new Bleacher Report Live tier of Max.

The Blackhawks-Bruins game will be followed by the Los Angeles Kings hosting the Colorado Avalanche.

Jon Lafayette
Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.