The NHL has officially joined the world of streaming.
Amazon Prime Video's new National Hockey League broadcast Main Monday Night Hockey – the league's first exclusive national broadcast package with a digital-only streaming service in Canada – began Monday night.
It's part of a new deal that has seen Amazon acquire the rights to stream all NHL regular season domestic games on Monday nights for the next two seasons through a deal with Rogers.
The first streaming broadcast featured a game between the Montreal Canadiens and the Pittsburgh Penguins, in which the Penguins defeated the Canadiens 6-3.
Some followers are already reacting positively.
A 'simplistic' and focused broadcast
Jordon Johnson, a self-described “hardcore” Montreal Canadiens fan, was watching the game Monday night.
He described the broadcast as “high quality” and “simplistic.”
The panel's focused discussion between periods was also a highlight for Johnson, who says broader discussions about the league can affect his watchable experience.
“I'm used to a big broadcast team that talks a lot about every team and every game,” he said. “This one felt very geared toward this game.”
The Amazon Prime broadcast primarily featured a three-person panel consisting of former NHL player Mark Messier, broadcaster Adnan Virk, and Blake Bolden, a former Premier Hockey Federation/Nationwide Ladies's Hockey League (NHWL) player. Other analysts, including Andi Petrillo, appeared throughout.
A 'work of the future'
Amazon Prime Video is also working with the NHL in other ways.
Earlier this month, the platform debuted. MATCHUP: Within the NHL, to Documentary series that follows some of the league's biggest stars at different stages of their careers.
“I think the behind-the-scenes stuff is very smart and popular,” said David Hardisty, associate professor of advertising and behavioral sciences at the University of British Columbia's Sauder School of Business. “There are a lot of people who are die-hard fans and just want more.”
He described the NHL's partnership with Amazon as a “play for the future.”
“I think the NHL has made a bet that it is worth reducing the audience, some angry fans now, in exchange for increasing their younger audience.”
It has never been more complicated or expensive to watch NHL hockey as the multi-year broadcast deal with Rogers ends. To watch all games of the 2024/2025 season, fans will need to subscribe to Sportsnet, TSN, TVA and Amazon Prime.
In addition to Amazon Prime, hockey fans will need to subscribe to Sportsnet, TSN and TVA if they want to watch every NHL game this season.
Hardisty points to MLS' Season Move deal with Apple TV as a potential model the NHL could mirror in the future. The deal allows Apple TV subscribers to access all MLS games, including the playoffs.
Amazon's decision to acquire Monday night NHL broadcasts has fueled speculation that the platform will bid for the Canadian streaming rights to all NHL games when they become available after the 2025-26 season.
When asked about NHL streaming rights, Mark Shopiro, head of Prime Video Canada, said he “cannot speculate on future deals.”
Professional sports and streaming
In addition to increasing its ice time by streaming hockey, Amazon has already made its presence known on the playing field. The platform is entering its third season as the home of streaming NFL games on Thursday nights.
last season, Thursday night football averaged 11.86 million viewers, a 24 percent year-over-year increase, according to Sports Media Watch.
Prime Video will also live stream NBA games starting with the 2025-26 season.
Other streaming services also broadcast professional sports.
There has been a rise in the popularity of Formula One among younger fans, thanks to Netflix. Drive to survive Series, which premiered in 2019. The documentary series follows key drivers and actors in the world of F1 racing.
The average audience for F1 racing in the US has nearly doubled from 554,000 in 2018 to 1.11 million in 2023, according to ESPN, which broadcasts the sport on several of its platforms.
It is possible that part of this success is due to the crossover effect that Drive to survive had in today's sport.
According to a May 2022 report from audience analytics firm Nielsen, 2.3 percent more people were inspired by Drive to survive to see an F1 event that year. 34 percent of respondents said they became sports fans after watching the series.
The NHL hopes to achieve the same success with CONFRONTATION.
“I think everyone has seen the effects that Drive to survive had in Formula One racing, Fully operational has done a lot for golf and obviously the storytelling involved is unique and very different,” NHL executive Steve Mayer said in a press release when the program was first announced in June.
Amazon has landed at least one returning viewer in Johnson.
“I definitely think I'll be watching to see more of it,” he said. “It's something we're looking forward to on Monday.”
lGw">Source link