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 and began play during the league's 2021–22 season.[1] Throughout their history, Kraken games have been televised on Root Sports Northwest and radio broadcast primarily on KJR-FM.
Former Hartford Whalers and Carolina Hurricanes broadcaster John Forslund serves as the team's television play-by-play announcer.[2][3] J. T. Brown is the Kraken's primary television color analyst.[4] In August 2022, the team hired Eddie Olczyk to be a television analyst alongside Forslund and Brown. Olczyk maintained his job at TNT as the lead color commentator and called the Kraken's games as his schedule allowed.[5] 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 fellow analyst 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.[6] 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.[7][2] Former NHL player and Vancouver Canucks broadcaster Dave Tomlinson served as Fitzhugh's color analyst for the Kraken's first two seasons,[8] before resigning in August 2023 to take a new broadcasting job in Canada.[9] 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.[10] 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.[11]
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.[12] 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.[13][14]
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.[15]
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.[16] 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.[17] 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.[18]
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.[19]
| 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 |
| 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:[20]
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