Phillies

Some Notes on Taryn Hatcher’s NBC Sports Philadelphia Exit

By Kevin Kinkead

Published: Feb 20th, 2026 · 12:46 PM EST

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Taryn Hatcher hasn’t been on NBC Sports Philadelphia for months. That’s because her contract expired near the end of 2025, as we and others reported on Thursday:

Taryn has been out of contract since the end of 2025 and is technically a free agent. https://t.co/igwTw1G3NF

— Crossing Broad (@CrossingBroad) February 19, 2026

The reason the news came out only this week is because NBC Sports Philadelphia sent out a press release outlining their spring training coverage and Hatcher’s name wasn’t on it. So fans began to ask questions, and Jeff Blumenthal at the Philadelphia Business Journal and Rob Tornoe at the Inquirer reported that Hatcher won’t be coming back this season. Tornoe wrote that the position was eliminated entirely.

I heard the story a bit differently, that there was chatter of Hatcher returning in some capacity, but with certain stipulations, for instance, freelance work that would have allowed her the flexibility to pursue some other things at the same time. There was no agreement on a return, though I wouldn’t say the door is closed entirely on her working with NBCSP again in some capacity. Folks in the know said it was a typical contract expiration, and outside of two sources saying that decision makers were looking for more “investment” from Hatcher in the Phillies role, I didn’t get the sense that there was any animosity or conflict behind the scenes.

Now, some bullet points, in no particular order:

• NBCSP currently has 0 sideline or field reporters. No Hatcher, who had been there since 2018. No Molly Sullivan, no Dei Lynam, no Leila Rahimi, no Leslie Gudel, no Serena Winters, no Katie Emmer, etc. They have Ashlyn Sullivan hosting Flyers and reporting from Eagles practice and games, and Amy Fadool hosting Sixers coverage. But this current group of on-air talent is the smallest its ever been.
• I got mixed results when asking if NBC plans to replace Hatcher. The general thought was that the Phillies see a lot of value in the role because it’s a 3rd mic that showcases the ballpark, works crowd angles, and brings that “feature” component to the broadcast. Without a Hatcher, or Gregg Murphy, or anybody really, you’re not getting the in-stadium interviews and John Kruk banter and whatnot, which some fans like and others dislike. You’re also losing somebody in the dugout pregame and an interviewer after the game, so the gig has always been much different than some NFL reporter getting two sentences of canned crap from Nick Sirianni as he runs into the locker room at halftime.
• Hatcher only did the home Phillies games in 2025, so if they do fill the position it’s likely they only have a field reporter at CBP for 81 games, plus playoffs.
• She’s currently doing a lot of influencer content on her personal socials, promoting DraftKings, for instance. More often than not, television talent isn’t allowed to do individual side deals while under contract, but those restrictions loosen up significantly for part-time / freelance / per diem workers.
• Sources at NBC Sports Philadelphia were really annoyed with the departure of Jim Salisbury and Corey Seidman, or, more specifically, annoyed that management let those two get away. Funny enough, Salisbury just returned to the station this week and that news was well received, so they bring back some crucial baseball knowledge. Maybe Jim ends up taking Hatcher’s place sitting there next to Topper in the dugout before the games.
• People over there seemed to be miffed in general about some of the staffing decisions that have been made behind the scenes. Separately, it was pointed out to me that the person running the website “basically just stopped working” before taking another job. That management gig now belongs to Brooke Destra, who was previously a digital content creator and laid off back in 2021. LinkedIn says she returned in 2022.
• The Phillies, Sixers, and Flyers do have a say in hiring, firing, and contract decisions pertaining to their broadcasts, and that was the case here. As one person explained it to me, the teams “have a seat at the table” but pick and choose when to really push for specific decisions to be made. That’s typically when it comes to play-by-play and color commentary, the main broadcast roles, while I’ve been told they are more deferential with sideline and field reporter choices, which oftentimes skew to NBC executives.
• NBC Sports Philadelphia shares ownership with the Flyers and the Phillies have a 25% stake in the network, which is good through 2041. Comcast also partnered with the Sixers on a new South Philadelphia arena following the contentious Market Street pursuit, so all three of these teams are connected to the network beyond simply having broadcast rights. These longstanding relationships factor in when they get together to talk about the broadcasts.
• NBC Sports Philadelphia is notoriously slow in making and announcing personnel decisions. A good example is when Bill Clement sent an angry email to former executive Sean Oleksiak years ago asking him what the fuck was going on (paraphrasing). I also heard that the Phillies were annoyed with how late they were informed of NBC’s decision to lay off Gregg Murphy during the pandemic.

As you probably know, NBC has been trimming for years across their regional sports network portfolio, which now consists of four stations following the 2023 sale of NBC Sports Washington to Wizards and Capitals owner Ted Leonsis, and the 2024 ceasing of operations for NBC Sports Chicago.

NBC Sports Philadelphia welcomed a new VP of Content in 2024, Alex Matcham, who sources told Crossing Broad has been overseeing a bare bones product with the larger RSN future in doubt. There’s been speculation going on for years now that the four remaining stations will eventually be shut down and/or the games moved onto Peacock or something similar, but consider that Philadelphia is Comcast’s backyard and the first RSN was Comcast SportsNet way back in 1997, so it makes sense that if the stations do go at some point, Philly would probably be last.

And this is a unique market with sports fandom that you don’t find elsewhere, which sustains a niche network going on three decades now. NBC Sports Philadelphia is one of the legacy RSNs and has always had a stronger foundation than the myriad similar networks that have already been sold or folded.