ESPN will be broadcasting the opening night of the NHL on Tuesday. In an ambitious attempt to encourage viewers to tune in, MLB announcer Kevin Brown launched a short promo for NHL opening night during a baseball game between the San Diego Padres and the Chicago Cubs. But his colleague Ben McDonald didn’t respond the way Brown expected….
Beginning with the 2021–2022 season and running through the 2027–2028 season, ESPN owns the broadcast and streaming rights to the NHL — a deal worth billions of dollars. It’s exciting news for everyone working at ESPN — except MLB broadcaster Ben McDonald.
NHL promo during MLB game
Last night, during the Padres–Cubs game, Kevin Brown and Jessica Mendoza joined McDonald on the broadcast. After a commercial break, Brown mentioned Tuesday’s NHL opening night, where ESPN will be airing the matchup between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Florida Panthers. He asked McDonald if he thought the Panthers could pull off a three-peat, winning the Stanley Cup for the third time in a row.
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Ben McDonald hilarious response
But instead of hyping the game and potentially drawing more viewers to his network, McDonald tried to shut down the conversation.
“Uh, if you say so. I mean, good luck to them. Are you asking if I’m gonna be watching?” McDonald said.
“No, you’ll be watching, of course, because you work for ESPN. You’ll be watching Friday night,” Brown responded, trying to get McDonald back on track.
But McDonald stood his ground:
“There is zero chance I’ll be watching. I’m just gonna be honest with you,” he replied.
”Where will you be?” asked Brown.
“I will be somewhere, but there’s zero chance I’ll be watching,” McDonald said, ending the NHL promo right there.
Fans reaction
Fans of both hockey and baseball were left perplexed:
“It’s crazy that any baseball fan could say they don’t want to watch hockey when they watch the most boring sport in the entire world,” one person wrote on X.
“I’m not saying you’ve got to watch or enjoy it, but openly saying you do not give a flying f*ck about the product the company you work for is putting out is nuts,” another commented.
“Great for the national broadcaster of the NHL to have their hosts say this,” a third added.
You can watch the hilarious clip below.
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