The Columbus Blue Jackets announced today that beginning with the 2026-27 National Hockey League season, all Blue Jackets game broadcasts will be simulcast across television and radio platforms. Under the new format, the television broadcast audio feed will be carried on the club’s radio network.

Television play-by-play announcer Steve Mears and color analyst Jody Shelley will now provide the call on both platforms. Shelley has become a regular presence on national league broadcasts on TNT and Amazon Prime’s weekly coverage across Canada.

Mears, who is a former NHL Network studio host, has called NHL games on both radio and TV since 2006, providing national play-by-play for numerous high-profile events, including the Stanley Cup Final, All-Star Games, outdoor games, and the IIHF World Junior Championships. 

The contract of radio play-by-play broadcaster Bob McElligott was not renewed.  Dylan Tyrer, who has served as a host on CBJ radio for the past seven years, will continue in that role for radio broadcasts. 

“Bob McElligott has made significant contributions to the Blue Jackets organization on the air and in the community over the past 17 years,” said club Vice President of Business Intelligence & Broadcasting Marc Gregory.

“Bob’s voice was at the heart of many of our club’s unforgettable moments and helped shape memories that will live on for years to come. We sincerely thank him and wish him nothing but success moving forward.”

The Blue Jackets join six other NHL teams that simulcast their broadcasts with the television feed also carried on radio. Those teams are the Buffalo Sabres, Carolina Hurricanes, Dallas Stars, Los Angeles Kings, New York Islanders, and St. Louis Blues.

All of this comes at a time when the Blue Jackets, as well as the Hurricanes, Blues, and Minnesota Wild lost their regional sports networks after last season and replaced them NHL Productions.

That arrangement creates a new financial structure where, reportedly, the teams will pay NHL Productions to produce the broadcasts, rather than receive a guaranteed check from their RSN as they did previously.

The Blue Jackets did not indicate in their press release how the radio broadcast will be handled when the local television coverage is pre-empted by a national broadcast or who might replace Shelley when he is committed to a nationally-covered contest.