ESPN Unveils ‘Red Zone’ Style NHL Program ‘Frozen Frenzy’
NFL fans have long raved about the Red Zone channel that highlights scoring plays and big moments from every National Football League game.
Hosted by Scott Hanson, the channel has become a Sunday ritual for millions of fans around the country.
While other sports networks including NBA TV and the MLB Network air live shows that break into games as the action is occurring, no other major league has copied the Red Zone format- until now.
Here Comes ‘Frozen Frenzy’
On the ESPN NHL Opening Night conference call, coordinating producer Linda Shultz revealed that the network will be unveiling an NHL version of Red Zone.
“I have not mentioned Frozen Frenzy. Frozen Frenzy is something that is going to happen on October 24th. I will shamelessly plug that anyone interested in hockey should check this out on ESPN2 on October 24th,” she began.
While ESPN will air a traditional triple header of hockey games on October 24, Frozen Frenzy will take place on ESPN2 and ESPN+.
After working with the league on scheduling, all 32 teams will hit the ice on the same day. The puck drop times will be staggered by 15 minutes and at one time 11 games are expected to take place concurrently.
“We worked all summer long to figure this out with our programming team and with the league. All 32 teams will play that night. They will play on a staggered puck drop every 15 minutes, so at some point during the night, there will be upwards of 11 games going on, and Bucci will be there to cover it all in the studio and bouncing around, and you will see every goal, you will see every power play, you will see every hit. We will just bounce around in what we’re calling Frozen Frenzy,” Schulz explained.
Will it Work?
For hockey fans, Frozen Frenzy sounds like a dream come true. The question remains, however, will ESPN be able to pull this off?
Hockey, unlike football, does not feature a series of stops and starts. This may make it difficult for producers to anticipate when the action will be occurring in each hockey game.
Still, the ability to check in on every NHL team is an exciting possibility. I guess we will have to wait and see.
How to Watch
Frozen Frenzy will air on October 24th beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+. ESPN2 will then join the action at 8:00.
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