newmediaMike

NHL shoots and scores with new online video offerings

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Everyone knows Toronto is the center of the hockey universe, despite not having won Lord Stanley’s mug since 1967. I know that hockey is popular, but I didn’t know there are 53 million hockey fans in North America. According to reports from the National Hockey League, roughly 50 percent of those fans live outside the market in which their favourite team is based. (Like my friend Hal, a diehard Flames fan). In an effort to continue to win over this type of fan, the league launched GameCenter Live, the cornerstone of its newly redesigned NHL.com.

This service will stream more than 1,200 live games in the 2008-2009 season, with around 40 games being shown each week (games are also archived for on-demand watching). You can watch up to four games at once, or watch a single game with multiple camera angles. Another cool feature is you can choose between commentaries from TV or radio announcers.

There are of course, exceptions; not every game will be shown online. There are both geographic blackouts and blackouts if a game has an exclusive national TV contract. Oh and unfortunately this is not a free service. You will have to ante up some dough if you want to catch the action. It’ll cost the fan between $159 and $169 for a season pass.

Following the natural trend of online video sites, the site has been growing in popularity. At the start of the season last year, the site was getting about 7.5 million unique hits a month. Last April, when the Stanley Cup playoffs started and the NHL launched an online video portal that showcased more editorial video content like The Hockey Show, the site did 12.4 million hits, and in May it did 10 million. The highest-trafficked day in NHL.com history came the day after the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Detroit Red Wings in a triple overtime match, as fans flooded the site to watch video highlights.

I applaud the NHL for their efforts; they really understand that broadband delivery is a growth area. Now if only those pesky Leafs could win a Cup …..

Another Video mashup – I kissed a dog

All summer the catchy tune and simple lyrics of Katy Perry’s “I Kissed A Girl” blasted from my kid’s ipods and when we were camping, the car stereo. I have also come across some very cute YouTube mashups and parodies which use it — the latest example of which is oMovies.com’s collaboration with Michelle Glavan, which takes YouTube clips of people macking on their dogs and mashes them together for a video slightly less offensive to the religious right, but likely illegal in at least 48 states.