Steve Mears and Bob Errey will not return to the Penguins broadcast on SportsNet Pittsburgh

The new era of Pittsburgh Penguins television broadcasts, which begins on October 2 when AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh switches to SportsNet Pittsburgh (SNP), will have an impact again in the broadcast room.

A source confirmed to the Tribune-Review on Friday that AT&T SportsNet play-by-play announcer Steve Mears and longtime color commentator Bob Errey will not return this season.

Rink reporter Dan Potash has been retained by SportsNet Pittsburgh and will remain a member of the broadcast team.

Earlier this week, Penguins owner Fenway Sports Group revealed it was buying AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh from Warner Bros. Discover. Shortly thereafter, a name change to SportsNet Pittsburgh was announced.

While the SNP’s day-to-day operations will be moved to the New England Sports Network (NESN), Penguins fans can expect consistency when it comes to the club’s current presence on cable television , this will not change.

The fate of many behind-the-scenes professionals such as producers, camera operators or sound technicians is still undecided.

Uncertainty also surrounds potential replacements for Mears and Errey, although Penguins Radio Network play-by-play announcer Josh Getzoff would be a logical choice. Errey played in the NHL from 1983 to 1999. A member of the Penguins from 1983 to 1993, he won back-to-back Stanley Cup championships with the club in 1991 and 1992. Errey began working as a television commentator skin image for the Penguins in 2004.

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Since 1986, regional broadcasting has been a focus for the Pittsburgh Penguins, with the same network airing every local game since then. AT&T Sportsnet, formerly and better known as Root Sports Pittsburgh, was home to the Penguins from consecutive Stanley Cups in the early 1990s to back-to-back titles in 2016 and 2017. The same network has chronicled the careers of Penguins legends like Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. We saw two series saviors raise the holy grail of hockey. We witnessed the end of an era when Marc-Andre Fleury was selected by the Vegas Golden Knights in the expansion draft.

Despite all the legendary moments the network has aired since securing the rights to the Penguins nearly 40 years ago, owner Fenway Sports Group has decided to leave the channel as this has become a pandemic in North American sports in general and the region. level. sports network (RSN).

Fenway Sports Group buys local chain

RSN operates under the AT&T Sportsnet banner following Bally Sports’ bankruptcy declaration in February 2023, when its parent company, Diamond Sports Group, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Diamond Sports owes four MLB teams $140 million in interest and the filing also caused uproar in NHL circles, as 12 teams are affiliated with Bally Sports like RSN. Commissioner Gary Bettman is keenly aware of what is happening outside of hockey on this issue and has echoed what the league is monitoring:Look, we’re at a point where the business model is evolving to distribute games locally for all sports, and that’s a problem that we’re going to have to deal with not just in the short term but also in the long term. .”

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman on the growth of local sports broadcasting.

It seems that the solution is not necessarily easy to find. However, the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights struck gold (no pun intended) with their plan. They recently partnered with Scripps Sports to make their games available on television for free to fans in Nevada and their other broadcast areas. This marks a change in how teams can transmit games via cable and otherwise, as the Knights (and hopefully other teams as well) can decide how and how much to broadcast their games .

Fenway Sports Group, new owners