The Columbus Blue Jackets are set to have Amazon Prime Video as one of the places fans can watch them this season, but not the only one.
Sources told 1st Ohio Battery on Monday that Prime will be one of the club’s broadcast distribution partners for the 2026-27 season, which begins October 1. The move is not expected to make Prime the exclusive home for Blue Jackets games, and the team is aiming to announce more details by the end of the week.
That lines up with what Blue Jackets Vice President of Communications Todd Sharrock said last week in an interview with Amy Juravich on WOSU’s “All Sides.” Sharrock said the team wants fans to keep having the same basic ways to follow the club.
"The key point is folks will be able to watch the games the way they have in the past," said Sharrock. "Whether that's through streaming, whether that is through their cable provider or satellite provider."
He also pointed to the team’s over-the-air setup, saying the club expects to keep that option in place.
"We've been able to offer up select games over the air. In different markets here (in Columbus), it was on The CW and ABC-6," he continued.
"Our intention is to do that again, but those details are being finalized. The league is involved in a certain element of that."
If that all gets finalized as expected, Blue Jackets broadcasts would be spread across streaming and local over-the-air outlets like The CW and ABC-6. The team also has two national TV games listed for this season, though that could change: November 10 on ESPN+ against the Florida Panthers and April 8 on TNT against the Philadelphia Flyers.
The broadcast picture has been shifting for months. It first came into focus this spring, when FanDuel Sports Network announced it was shutting down. Before that, the network had gone through several names under different ownership groups, including Bally Sports Ohio and Fox Sports Ohio, and it served as the familiar cable-style option for fans who wanted to watch Blue Jackets games.
The setup changed again this summer when the Blue Jackets, along with the Carolina Hurricanes, Minnesota Wild, and St. Louis Blues, entered a partnership with the NHL that puts the league in charge of production for broadcasts this season.
Under that arrangement, the league handles the day-to-day in-game production, while the Blue Jackets take on the business side of operating the broadcasts. That includes selling ads, creating their own content, and sharing production costs with the league. Those responsibilities had previously been handled mainly by FanDuel.
Dallas Stars beat writer Sam Nestler reported Monday that the Stars are planning to move their broadcasts to Prime, and later added that as many as five other teams - including the Blue Jackets - could be joining them. According to the source, Columbus is among that group.
For the Blue Jackets, the message from the team remains the same: keep the games available.
"I can assure fans our priority with all of this change is for people to be able to watch the games. That's full stop. That is the most important thing to us."
In Other News...
Blue Jackets Opening Night Countdown Brings Back A Goalie Number Fans Know
With opening night at Nationwide Arena getting closer, it is a good time to revisit a jersey number that has been tied to more than a few familiar faces in the Blue Jackets net. Number 31 has turned up on goalies with all kinds of backstories over the years, from draft picks trying to carve out a role in Columbus to veterans arriving with a chance to steady the crease. The number has become part of the teams history in a way fans can recognize right away.
Pascal Leclaire is one of the names that stands out in that run, along with others who followed and added their own chapter to the sweaters story. The list even reaches into more recent seasons, when Michael Hutchinson came over in a trade from Vegas and got his chance in Columbus, helping keep the number in circulation as the team continued sorting through its goaltending picture. With a new season about to start, the old jersey and the names attached to it are a reminder of how much turnover can live inside one number. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jackets Playoff Hopes May Come Down To One Lingering Line Issue
The Blue Jackets are heading into the 2026-27 season with a familiar kind of pressure hanging over the middle of their forward group. For all the talk about growth and upside, the real swing factor may be whether the second line can become something dependable, with Sean Monahan, Kent Johnson and Dmitri Voronkov all carrying the burden of giving Columbus the kind of steady offense that can support a playoff push.
There are options there, too, which is part of what makes the line such a fascinating question. Valeri Nichushkin and Conor Garland are among the names in the mix, and the Blue Jackets have enough talent to imagine a productive unit if the pieces fit. The problem is that this is the spot where consistency has to show up, because if the second line stalls again, it could leave the whole season leaning on a thread. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jackets Face One Big Adam Fantilli Contract Question
Adam Fantillis offseason status remains one of the few lingering items on Columbus checklist as the club moves toward training camp, but general manager Don Waddell isnt treating it like a crisis. Fantilli, the third overall pick in 2023, is still unsigned as the Blue Jackets work through the usual restricted free agent business, and the team has the cap room to make the deal work.
The real question is not whether Columbus can fit Fantilli in, but how the sides settle the structure of the contract. Negotiations have centered on the term and salary, with the Blue Jackets looking to lock in as much long-term commitment as possible while the rest of the details get sorted out. For a player the organization sees as part of its core, it is the kind of delay that matters mostly because it has not yet become one. [Read more 🡒]