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List of Seattle Kraken broadcasters

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The Seattle Kraken are a professional ice hockey team based in Seattle. The Kraken compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and began play during the league's 2021–22 season, making them the newest team in the NHL. Throughout their history, Kraken games have been televised on Root Sports Northwest and radio broadcast primarily on KJR-FM.

Man holding microphone
John Forslund has been the Kraken's play-by-play announcer for all three of their seasons.

Former Hartford Whalers and Carolina Hurricanes broadcaster John Forslund serves as the team's television play-by-play announcer.[1][2] J. T. Brown is the Kraken's primary television color analyst.[3] In August 2022, the team hired Eddie Olczyk to be a television analyst alongside Forslund and Brown. Olczyk would maintain his job at TNT as the lead color commentator and would call the Kraken's games as his schedule allowed.[4] Alison Lukan is a studio analyst for Root Sports Northwest who filled in for Brown for a few games during the 2021–22 season and did the same for Olczyk and Piper Shaw for the 2022–23 season onward. Nick Olczyk joined her as a TV, radio, and mobile app contributor for the 2022–23 season.[5] Everett Fitzhugh serves as the team's primary radio play-by-play announcer. He is the first Black full-time play-by-play announcer in NHL history.[6][1] Former NHL player and Vancouver Canucks broadcaster Dave Tomlinson served as Fitzhugh's color analyst for the Kraken's first two seasons,[7] before resigning in August 2023 to take a new broadcasting job in Canada.[8] In 2021, Fitzhugh tested positive for COVID-19 prior to the Kraken's first-ever regular season road trip; on radio broadcasts, TV announcer John Forslund and veteran KJR broadcaster Ian Furness filled in on play-by-play duties.[9] The telecast for the Kraken's February 17, 2022, game against the Winnipeg Jets had Fitzhugh on play-by-play and Brown on color commentary, comprising the first all-Black broadcast booth in NHL history.[10]

Kraken games were televised regionally on Root Sports Northwest for the team's first three seasons. On April 25, 2024, the Kraken signed a deal with Tegna, owners of Seattle NBC affiliate KING-TV and independent KONG, to air their games throughout their territory, with streaming handled by Prime Video.[11] For radio, Kraken games are broadcast on KJR-FM 93.3 and KJR 950 AM, the flagship stations of the Kraken Audio Network. During a schedule conflict, some games may be heard on 96.5 KJAQ.[12][13]

Television[edit]

Woman wearing headphones
Alison Lukan has been an ice-level reporter with the Kraken for all three of their seasons.

In their first season, the Kraken averaged a 0.96 Nielsen rating for games broadcast on Root Sports Northwest. By comparison, the Vegas Golden Knights averaged a 1.87 rating in their first season for games broadcast locally on AT&T SportsNet.[14]

From the beginning of their second season through mid-January 2023, the Kraken averaged a 0.68 rating, in the lowest third of the 23 United States NHL markets for which Nielsen ratings were available, despite a much better record than their first season at the same point.[15] The team launched a new show, entitled What's Kraken?, on the over-the-air station KCPQ, to broaden fan support during the 2022–23 season.[16] Seattle's high percentage of "broadband only" homes, without cable or satellite TV service, and the unavailability of Root Sports Northwest on most over-the-top media services, contributed to the low ratings.[17]

During their second and third seasons, the Kraken averaged a 0.7 rating for their October games on Root Sports Northwest. Shortly before the 2022–23 season, Comcast moved Root Sports Northwest to a higher-priced tier of service, due to the high cost and low demand for the channel.[18]

Seattle Kraken television broadcasters
Year Channel Play-by-play Color commentator(s) Ice level reporter Studio host
2023–24 Root Sports Northwest John Forslund J. T. Brown (rinkside on home games when E. Olczyk in booth; color commentator for other games)
Eddie Olczyk (select games)
Nick Olczyk (select games) 		Piper Shaw (most games)
Jen Mueller (select games)
Alison Lukan (select games) 		Ross Fletcher
2022–23 Root Sports Northwest John Forslund J. T. Brown (rinkside on home games when E. Olczyk in booth; color commentator for other games)
Eddie Olczyk (select games)
Nick Olczyk (select games) 		Piper Shaw (most games)
Jen Mueller (select games)
Alison Lukan (select games) 		Ross Fletcher
2021–22 Root Sports Northwest John Forslund (most games)
Everett Fitzhugh (select games) 		J. T. Brown
Alison Lukan (select games) 		Piper Shaw (most games)
Jen Mueller (select games)
Alison Lukan (select games) 		Ross Fletcher

Radio[edit]

Seattle Kraken radio broadcasters
Year Flagship Station Play-by-play Color commentator(s)
2023–24 KJR-FM Everett Fitzhugh Al Kinisky
2022–23 KJR-FM Everett Fitzhugh Dave Tomlinson
2021–22 KJR-FM Everett Fitzhugh (most games)
John Forslund (Games when Fitzhugh was sick with COVID-19)
Ian Furness (Games when Fitzhugh was sick with COVID-19) 		Dave Tomlinson

The Kraken Audio Network also includes the following stations outside Seattle:[19]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Clark, Ryan S. (January 26, 2021). "Seattle Kraken hire John Forslund and announce TV broadcast deal". The Athletic. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  2. ^ McIntosh, Andrew (January 26, 2021). "NHL's Seattle Kraken signs multiyear TV broadcast rights deal". Puget Sound Business Journal. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  3. ^ Wyshynski, Greg (June 21, 2021). "Brown to retire, join Kraken as television analyst". ESPN. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
  4. ^ "Eddie Olczyk joining Kraken's TV broadcast team". The Seattle Times. July 18, 2022. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
  5. ^ Morse, Dan (August 16, 2022). "Alison Lukan & Nick Olczyk to join Kraken broadcast team this season". Davy Jones Locker Room. Vox Media. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
  6. ^ Douglas, William (August 7, 2020). "Kraken set to have first Black full-time NHL team play-by-play announcer". NHL.com. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  7. ^ Patrick Johnston (October 23, 2021). "From the Canucks to the Kraken: Dave Tomlinson jumps back into radio". The Province. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  8. ^ Baker, Geoff (August 17, 2023). "Search for new Kraken radio analyst gears up in wake of Dave Tomlinson departure". The Seattle Times. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
  9. ^ Stone, Larry (October 15, 2021). "KJR's Ian Furness savors long-awaited opportunity during broadcast of Kraken's first victory". The Seattle Times. Retrieved November 4, 2021.
  10. ^ Clark, Ryan S. (February 9, 2022). "How J.T. Brown and Everett Fitzhugh became the NHL's first all-Black broadcast duo". The Athletic. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  11. ^ "Kraken leaving ROOT Sports for new TV and streaming deals". The Seattle Times. April 25, 2024. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
  12. ^ "The Seattle Kraken and Climate Pledge Arena Announce Regional Partnership with iHeartMedia Seattle". PR Newswire (Press release). Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  13. ^ Baker, Geoff (March 3, 2021). "Sports Radio KJR named Kraken flagship station". The Seattle Times. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  14. ^ "Sports Media: NHL sees local ratings dip in return to full season". Sports Business Journal. May 9, 2022. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
  15. ^ "Kraken ticket demand and fan experience on the rise". The Seattle Times. February 4, 2023. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  16. ^ "Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle Kraken and FOX 13 announce new media partnership". FOX 13 Seattle. January 23, 2023. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  17. ^ Baker, Geoff (January 24, 2023). "Exploring why Kraken's TV ratings haven't caught up to improved play". The Seattle Times. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  18. ^ Baker, Geoff (December 5, 2023). "To grow fan base, Kraken should ditch ROOT Sports and show TV games for free". The Seattle Times. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  19. ^ "Kraken Affiliate List". iheartradio.com. April 12, 2022. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  20. ^ @KPUG (July 20, 2022). "We're officially an affiliate of the @SeattleKraken! KPUG will be your one stop shop for all Kraken news, broadcast…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  21. ^ "KONP to air Seattle Kraken NHL games". MYClallamCounty.com. October 6, 2021. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
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