The National Hockey League’s Dave Lehanski is a fan of watching game broadcasts that include a curated collection of sights, sounds, and visuals. He gushed and praised our broadcasters, saying that they were fantastic. However, in order to gain new followers, he is leading the charge to provide personalization and customization.
This will allow viewers to select their own camera angles, audio feeds, metrics, and other information relevant to their viewing experience. As he talked more, he said, “All of these features can be put into a streaming experience,” which added a lot to what he had already said.
According to Lehanski, the league is interested in other digital opportunities when they become available. These opportunities could range from blockchain technology and non-fungible tokens to web 3 and tokens or anything else. This was discussed by Lehanski in an interview with Taylor Bloom, the CEO of SportTechie.
As a result, we now have access to a plethora of previously unimaginable choices for interacting with fans and developing relationships with them. The NHL is proud of how it continues to be at the forefront of employing technology in many ways to improve the in-game experience for players, coaches, and even casual fans.
NHL News: The League Is Placing Its Faith in Technology to Close the Gap
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The NHL has long believed that if new fans see a live game, the action-packed atmosphere of the arena along with the speed and skill of hockey will soon captivate them. The league is placing its faith in technology to close the gap with any other surviving supporters.
According to David Lehanski, senior vice president of business development and international partnerships for the league, "we believe that the in-arena experience for us is really, very fantastic, so while we work on making it even better, our clubs do a lot of the heavy lifting." "From a league standpoint, our priorities are more closely related to everything that happens outside the stadium — how are we increasing the number of people who watch the game or making it more entertaining to watch? We think that technology can contribute to achieving such goals.
Over the previous 12 to 18 months, Lehanski, who has been with the league since 2005, has turned his attention from integrated marketing and sales to business development and the ways that technology partners may benefit the league. With Commissioner Gary Bettman’s approval, Lehanski, Chief Technology Officer Peter DelGiacco, and Executive Vice President Steve McArdle have assumed leadership roles in the league’s use of technology.
The NHL Tested Technology That Showed off Player and Puck Monitoring
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From our vantage point, there are numerous reasons why technology is a perfect fit for growth. These include the profile and demographics of our fans, who are more likely to be early adopters, the fast-paced nature of the game, which could be slowed down by technology for more context and editorial content, and the lack of statistical advancement in comparison to some other sports.
The NHL tested technology that showed off player and puck monitoring, as well as digital board advertising, in successful tests at the World Cup of Hockey last September. The league keeps moving forward on both fronts with the anticipation of shortly implementing player and puck monitoring.
A collaboration between the NHL and Apple will also make iPads available for coaches and officials throughout the league to use behind the bench. The system, which was employed in the playoffs the previous year, enables the viewing of both replays and real-time footage. In addition, Lehanski stated that the NHL is collaborating with Apple to offer fundamental facts that are updated in real-time, which need to be accessible around the playoffs.
In addition, Lehanski and the team are looking into other possible technological applications for the league, including wearable technology, biometric applications, augmented reality, and virtual reality. Everything has been put in place for technology to be able to offer enormous value; the only remaining questions are where and how he added it.