Andrew Frank
The National Hockey League and its online video partner Neulion entertained ad buyers, sports portals, agencies and journalists (and the odd research analyst) in New York City last night to promote its recent launch of NHL Gamecenter Live, an online subscription service for Hockey fans that will offer live TV-quality webcasts of games along with a host of other features.
(Those who missed the first free trial will get another chance to try it out tomorrow.)
Hockey represents a prime example of the kind of content at the forefront of tectonic shifts in the broadcast model brought about by the rise Internet video quality and audience size. Hockey fans are among the most dedicated sports fans around, but their numbers are not large enough to hold the kind of sway among broadcasters of franchises like the NFL and MLB. Additionally, because of the international makeup of the teams in the NHL, it is perhaps the U.S.’ only major sport that has a large potential worldwide audience. So connecting with fans directly on the Internet makes a great deal of sense, even if it raises a few eyebrows among TV networks.
It will be worth watching how this plays out for several reasons.
First, as a subscription service, it will test the now-orthodox view that consumers won’t pay for online content, and the only way to monetize it is with advertising. (ESPN has tested an ISP-paid subscription service, ESPN360, similar to the cable TV model, but has met with resistance from some of the largest U.S. ISPs.)
Second, although the system currently only runs on PCs, Neulion also produces an IP-enabled set-top box which could soon be deployed to fans (especially those outside of U.S. and Canadian broadcast markets) which could deliver live coverage to TVs in an “over-the-top” model that completely bypasses broadcast networks and service providers. This should get their attention.
And third, as a content experience, NHL Gamecenter Live is chock-full of interactive features that make it an ideal laboratory for testing live-content-based community experiences such as chatting with other fans while personalizing the telecast with viewer-selected camera angles and audio feeds.
Even non-hockey fans may find it instructive to watch how hockey fans – um – interact with one another at a distance during a game.
We’ve been looking closely at how OTT TV could affect the broadcast model over the next few years, and opinions seem to run the gamut, from “obscure niche” to “industry tsunami.” Anyone want to weigh in?
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Category: Uncategorized Tags: Neulion, online video, OTT, television, webcasting
