Gray Media will broadcast nearly a dozen St. Louis Blues hockey games on its newly-acquired ABC affiliate in St. Louis and in 10 other markets during the NHL season as part of an expanded deal with the professional hockey team announced on Monday.
The package, branded “Thursday Night Blues,” will begin October 22 with the Blues hosting the Vegas Golden Knights and continue through March 25, when the team faces the New York Islanders.
In St. Louis, the games will air on KMOV (Channel 32, ABC), the secondary digital sub-channel of KMOV’s main signal that includes ABC programming recently acquired by Gray Media. The broadcasts will also be distributed to other Gray-owned stations across the Midwest, making the games available to more than 4.8 million television households within the team’s regional broadcast territory, the broadcaster said in a statement.
The agreement extends a partnership between Gray and the Blues into its third year and doubles the number of over-the-air games offered through the broadcaster compared with last season.
“Our priority in building a robust distribution strategy for Blue Note+ is to provide our fans with wide access and multiple viewing options that enables them to watch Blues hockey on their preferred platform,” Chris Zimmerman, the team’s President and CEO of Business Operations, said in a statement.
Gray will carry simulcasts of the team’s Blue Note Plus (stylized as Blue Note+) productions, which will also be available through the team’s existing distribution arrangements. The additional television markets include Kansas City, Springfield and Cape Girardeau/Paducah; Quincy and Peoria; Topeka; Cedar Rapids, Davenport and Ottumwa; and Evansville. Gray also plans to syndicate the games to one of Morgan Murphy Media’s television stations in Joplin.
The broadcasts will feature play-by-play announcer Chris Kerber and game analyst Joey Vitale, along with studio host Andy Strickland and analysts Bernie Federko, Jamie Rivers and Cam Janssen. Pre-game and post-game programs will remain exclusive to Blue Note Plus and will not be included in the over-the-air simulcasts.
The agreement also includes the return of a weekly Blues program and regular team features during newscasts on KMOV’s main CBS affiliate feed (Channel 4).
In a statement, KMOV General Manager J.D. Sosnoff said the expanded agreement will provide additional opportunities for local viewers to watch Blues games without a paid streaming subscription.
“Airing these 10 Thursday night games on First Alert 4 on ABC solidifies our station as the number one broadcast destination for sports in St. Louis,” Sosnoff said, using the branding for KMOV’s ABC feed. “Gray Media and the Blues have built a tremendous relationship together, collaborating on innovative programming that puts the fans first. We have a winning team both in front of and behind the camera and continuing to grow this partnership is a huge win for Blues hockey fans in the communities we serve.”
The 10-game package includes matchups against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche, Vancouver Canucks and San Jose Sharks, among other teams. Blue Note Plus (stylized as Blue Note+) is scheduled to televise 73 Blues games during the 2026-27 regular season, while the team’s radio broadcasts will continue on WXOS (101.1 FM, ESPN Radio) and the Blues Radio Network.
The deal is the latest involving Gray Media and a premium sports team or league. Last month, the broadcaster inked a deal with DAZN to offer more than a dozen locally-televised games from the Cleveland Cavaliers on its stations there. It also has simulcast or broadcast production deals to offer locally-televised games from the Phoenix Suns, St. Louis Cardinals, Washington Nationals and Cincinnati Reds.
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