In July of 2008, I was invited by the SVP of Broadband Programming to meet with the COO and his senior staff to explore how the league could start to build a business strategy that would create a quantum leap with their mobile business. Below are the highlights of this 2 year assignment:
Oversaw the development of NHL Mobile for two seasons as acting GM
Grew the mobile business YOY with significant financial multiples
Lead mobile expert for content deals with Verizon and Bell Canada
Conceptualized global business plan with deployment of 24 variations of mobile apps targeting hockey fans globally via iPhone, iPad, Android, Nokia and Blackberry.
Initiated & developed senior level relationships for NHL with Apple, Google, RIM, Nokia, Elisa (Finland), TeliaSonora (Sweden), T-Mobile (Czech Republic & Slovakia)
Built internal infrastructure across all NHL key departments to deploy mobile business plan and trained 30+ NHL employees as mobile specialists for their department.
Executed a national search for the NHL’s first VP of Mobile
Achieved significant success with limited full time staffing and resources
Here are some examples of my contributions to the NHL:
The NHL and Elisa Corporation, the leading Nordic communications services provider, announced a partnership Tuesday to deliver special NHL content to Finnish fans of the NHL that are also subscribed to Elisa Viihde, the most popular IPTV service in Finland.
Oct 5, 2010---As an official sponsor of the NHL in Finland, Elisa will offer its Elisa Viihde customers the popular NHL GameCenter 2010 application via IPTV and smartphones with a significant added value for Finnish NHL fans -- at a click of a button, Elisa Viihde subscribers will have access to a wide selection of content specifically focused on more than 30 Finnish-born players competing in the NHL, including Saku Koivu, Tuukka Rask, Miikka Kiprusoff, Kimmo Timonen and Antti Niemi.
The first of its kind for any major American sports league, this partnership serves a market that is quickly growing -- despite being several hours ahead of North America, visitors from Finland to NHL.com have increased by 40 percent since 2009. At the same time, IPTV consumption is growing and mobile device penetration in Europe is significantly greater than in North America.
This exclusive partnership eliminates the inherent access constraint of this time-shifted Finnish audience, delivering the video, statistics and other NHL content they demand.
"With more than 25 percent of NHL players hailing from outside North America, we're seeing strong new business opportunities internationally, said John Collins, the NHL's chief operating officer. "It is our goal to shorten the distance between the NHL and its fans, regardless of where they live, and provide them with relevant content."
NHL GameCenter 2010 delivers the best tailored NHL experience for Elisa IPTV customers, providing Finnish NHL fans with star moments from Finnish players, including condensed versions of all NHL games just hours after a completed game. In addition, NHL GameCenter 2010 includes live scores; live in-game stats for every team and player; a live ice tracker that shows the locations of goals, hits and saves on a virtual hockey rink; game photos; a full-season schedule; NHL standings; NHL player profiles; archived results and stats for the current season; searchable content; a complete complement of video from the prior night's games, and a personalized experience.
"Elisa wants to provide exclusive unique TV features with content for NHL fans. This is a wonderful addition to the services provided to the Elisa Viihde customers. Elisa is a pioneer and forerunner in IPTV services, and we wish to offer our customers new and unique features. We believe that the new services will make the viewing experience even more entertaining and versatile, and viewers will have the opportunity to get more out of their TV", said Elisas Vice President Mikael Rönnblad.
NHL mobile apps top one million downloads as hockey fans go digital
Justin K. Aller/Getty Images
Who wouldn't want Sidney Crosby on their smartphone?
Matt HartleyFinancial Post-Canada January 25, 2011
As the National Hockey League approaches the all-star break, it’s clear that fans are embracing the new digital reality of the good ol’ hockey game.
This season, NHL fans are watching more live games online than ever before, while the league’s smartphone and tablet applications are bringing Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin to digitally savvy fans in record numbers.
As the sports viewing experience changes and fans demand more stats and deeper access to their favourite teams, professional leagues are scrambling to improve their digital offerings and push their content out to as many platforms and devices as possible.
Fans have downloaded the NHL’s trio of new GameCenter mobile applications for smartphones and tablets more than a million timessince their launch in October, pushing the apps to the top of the sports categories on Apple Inc.’s iOS, Google Inc.’s Android and Research In Motion Ltd.’s BlackBerry platforms.
According to a report from the league, unique visitors to theNHL’s main sitehave grown 25% over last season, while the number of videos fans have watched on the site is up 128%. Between NHL.com and the league’s 30 team Web sites, average monthly unique visitors now tops 21.2 million fans.
Subscriptions to the NHL’s GameCenter Live Web streaming service jumped 24% over last year, however the league did not provide actual subscription numbers.
Facebook is now the top referral of traffic to NHL.com — excluding search engines — whilethe league’s Facebook pagenow boasts more than 1.3 million fans, a 633% increase over last year.
On Twitter, the NHL hasmore than 483,000 followersand more than 70 of the game’s top athletes are using the social media service to connect directly with fans. However, that’s significantly fewer followers than theNBA(2.2 million followers), theNFL(1.9 million followers) andMajor League Baseball(1 million followers).
TheNational Hockey Leaguemay contest its games on ice, but its new-media properties are red-hot, as the league issued a press release touting its accomplishments thus far in this young season.
The NHL said that through the first 24 days of the 2010-11 season, compared with the same period in the 2009-10 campaign, unique visitors are up 29 percent, page views 27 percent, visits 15 percent, video starts 155 percent, and articles read 77 percent.
Subscriptions toNHL GameCenter LIVE, which allows users to watch live, out-of-market NHL games via the Internet, are up 25 percent versus the same point of last season.
On the mobile front, NHL GameCenter apps have been downloaded more than 500,000 times during the first month of the season, and page views for the league’s mobile site were up 48 percent in October compared with October 2009. The GameCenter iPhone app is currently the No. 1-ranked sports app in Canada, and its iPad counterpart is No. 1 in Canada, with the free version in the United States coming in at No. 4 and the paid app at No. 5.
The newNHL GameCenter 2010 appfor the 2010-2011 season made its debut today in Ovi Store. With this app, fans of the National Hockey League (NHL) can enjoy NHL-specific news and video features on the go, including: on-demand streaming of condensed games, full highlight reels, and individual play highlights of every game during the 2010-2011 season, including the entire Stanley Cup playoffs.
“The NHL GameCenter 2010 app with its on-demand video capabilities shows what a diverse platform Ovi is for partner content developers seeking to offer consumers new and engaging experiences through their Nokia devices,“ says Pekka Rantala, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Nokia.
Perhaps not surprisingly, demand around the world for content from the NHL continues to grow. It is worth noting that 25% of NHL players come from outside of North America, and unique visitors to NHL.com from outside North America have grown by 51% year-over-year, and now account for 20% of the site’s total visitors.
”The NHL is creating a global, mobile footprint to serve fans, who have a high demand for NHL content and consume vast amounts of broadband and mobile content,” says NHL Chief Operating Officer John Collins. “Partnering with Nokia to distribute our app and content in the Ovi Store is strategic to serving millions of NHL fans using Nokia phones.”
Makes perfect sense to us.
Details about the different versions of the NHL GameCenter app are available from a special landing page that has been set up:www.ovi.com/nhl.
Two versions of the NHL GameCenter 2010 app are available for download in Ovi Store.
The free version of NHL GameCenter 2010 delivers live scores; live in-game stats for every team and player; a live Ice Tracker that shows the locations of goals, hits and saves on a virtual hockey rink; game photos; a full-season schedule; NHL standings; NHL player profiles; archived results and stats for the current season, and access to NHL news and Twitter feeds.
For those of you who crave more information, the Premium version of the app adds extensive high resolution video highlights including 15-20 minute condensed games and full highlight reels available as soon as one hour after a game ends, plus live radio of all games (both home and away audio feeds).
The Free version of this app is available globally, except for Canada; and the Premium version is available globally except for in the United States and Canada, due to content licensing restrictions.
The app works with the new Nokia N8, as well as the Nokia N97, Nokia N97 mini, Nokia X6, Nokia 5230, Nokia 5530, and Nokia 5800 XpressMusic devices. Additional Symbian^3 devices will be added as they begin shipping. There is content within both the stand-alone app, and via a homescreen widget for continuous access to the official NHL news feed.
As readers of this blog know, Nokia works closely with third-party developers and content partners, encouraging them to create apps and offering them new content creation tools. The NHL GameCenter app, developed by New York-based Neulion, aForum Nokia Promember, takes advantage of both Flash Lite for on-demand video and audio streaming, and Nokia’s Web Runtime for the application logic and user interface.
“Neulion was able to rapidly create a high-quality app from scratch with no prior experience developing for Nokia devices, re-purposing their extensive library of Flash video on NHL.com for mobile. This app is a testament to the ease of use of Web Runtime and Flash Lite for Web developers, as well as to the great technical support and prototype device loaner program from Forum Nokia that helped expedite development and testing”, said Martin Barclay, Americas Marketing Manager, Forum Nokia.
This app received a funding grant from theOpen Screen Project Fund. This development fund, supported by Nokia and Adobe, is designed to fuel innovation and accelerate the creation of apps by independent developers that leverage the Adobe Flash Platform for mobile and other devices.
“Nokia was impressed by the NHL GameCenter app’s ability to deliver a rich streaming, on-demand video and live streaming audio experience,” said Matt Collins, Director of Strategic Marketing for Forum Nokia. “It demonstrated what developers can do to create compelling content using Flash for Nokia handset owners worldwide.”
So, hockey fans, give a cheer! The NHL GameCenter app is ready to play.
You can find the version of NHL Game Center that is right for youon this page.
NEW YORK-- The National Hockey League today unveiled its global mobile line-up, which this season delivers to fans acomplete line-up of mobile NHL GameCenter™ applicationsdeveloped for the widest range of handsets, operating systems, tablets and carriers -- many of which are distributed by official League partners Verizon Wireless (USA) and Bell Mobility (Canada).
The NHL GameCenter apps are the only place to get a vast selection of NHL® video on smartphones or tablet computers -- including live streaming games and in-game highlights (blackout and other restrictions apply).
A recent study by ABI Research confirms that mobile subscriptions worldwide passed the 5 billion mark. With broadband connections only at an estimated 400m, mobile the most pervasive means of distributing NHL video content globally. According to Scarborough Research, NHL fans are more likely to own smartphones than fans of any other major professional sport. In addition, tablet computers are providing rich, second-screen experiences to television viewers. In fact, Gartner is predicting tablet sales will reach 19.5 million units in 2010 before jumping 181 percent in 2011 to reach 54.8 million. By 2014, Gartner expects consumers to buy 208 million tablets.
The NHL is servicing this growing demand by developing multiple applications on the widest range of smartphones and tablets, creating a mobile front door to the League for every fan.
"Hockey fans around the world have an insatiable demand for NHL content, and want a multi-platform experience that includes their wireless handsets and tablets," said John Collins, the NHL's chief operating officer. "Our mobile products put the best NHL content in the hands of our fans -- no matter where they live, what time of day it is or what mobile device they own."
A FIT FOR EVERY FAN
Ranging from free to paid, beginning today the NHL is offering three versions of NHL GameCenter apps on a complete array of smartphones and tablet computers, includingGoogle Android,BlackBerry,iPhone/iTouchandNokiahandsets, and theiPadtablet (which, starting this week, will be sold by Verizon Wireless).
The apps will be distributed through Android Market (Android smartphones); BlackBerry App World (BlackBerry smartphones); Apple iTunes (iPhone, iTouch and iPad); Ovi Store (Nokia smartphones); and Verizon Wireless VCAST (Android and BlackBerry smartphones on the Verizon Wireless network).
With device-optimized apps, and multiple price points, the NHL is providing a mobile content experience to fit every fan, and shortening the distance between the League and its fans all over the world.
CHOOSE THE MOBILE PRODUCT THAT'S BEST FOR YOU
*NHL GAMECENTER™-- a free mobile application that delivers live scores; live in-game stats for every team and player; a real time Ice Tracker™, which is a feature that shows the locations of goals, hits and saves on a virtual hockey rink; game photos; a full-season schedule; NHL standings; NHL player profiles; archived results and stats for the current season; searchable content; and a personalized experience.
*NHL GAMECENTER PREMIUM-- a premium upgrade from NHL GAMECENTER offering video highlights, condensed games and live game audio in addition to those features found through NHL GameCenter
*NHL GAMECENTER LIVE™-- available today on BlackBerry and Android smartphones on the Verizon Wireless Network, this best-in-class mobile application gives subscribers access to live streams of NHL games on their mobile device along with all the content available through NHL GameCenter Premium. NHL GameCenter LIVE for iPads is due out later in 2010.
NHL GameCenter apps are not all available on all devices, due to territory and rights restrictions.
THE NHL COMES TO TABLET COMPUTERS
Tablets are quickly becoming a must-have viewing companion for television and NHL GameCenter for the iPad engrosses fans in scores, stats, player profiles, and stories to create a true immersive hockey experience. Live games will be available on iPads via NHL GameCenter LIVE later in 2010.
The League is looking to be aggressive in this space and develop its NHL GameCenter apps for devices beyond the iPad such as the Blackberry Playbook and the Samsung Galaxy, which will be available through Verizon Wireless later in the year.
Available for free during the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs
Friday, 04.30.2010
NEW YORK – The National Hockey League Friday announced NHL Ice Time - Playoffs Edition™, the first official NHL app for iPad, is available on the App Store.
The app, which was co-developed by the NHL and its strategic partner NeuLion, is available to iPad users for free during the remainder of the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs, and among its many features gives NHL fans access a complete complement of video from the prior night's games, through both condensed games and highlight packages.
"With demand for NHL hockey at an all-time high, we're taking every opportunity to shorten the distance between the League and our fans," said John Collins, the NHL's chief operating officer. "The NHL's new iPad app extends our reach, enabling us to distribute premium content on a platform that is quickly growing and expertly marketed."
The features of NHL Ice Time - Playoffs Edition for iPad include:
Live Scores
Live in-game stats for every team and player;
Condensed (12-minute) versions of every NHL game;
Video highlights after each period played;
Video highlight reels at the conclusion of each game;
A video archive with thousands of current-season highlights
Live game radio of every game;
Ice Tracker™, which allows fans to see where action took place and then view highlights;
Extensive player profiles with video highlights & detailed in-game stats;
Game photos;
And archived results and stats for the current season.
NEW YORK – The NHL today announced that an optimized version of NHL.com is now available to iPad users. Beginning today, NHL® fans using the iPad will be able to log into NHL.com for a high-quality experience that includes the best NHL video, news, scores, stats and analysis available anywhere online.
"Forward-looking publishers are looking to optimize content for the iPad," said NHL Chief Operating Officer John Collins. "Apple has a proven ability to develop and market game-changing devices that drive massive consumption across multiple media. The iPad is a unique opportunity to distribute NHL hockey, and we are taking advantage of it."
NHL fans are young, affluent and educated, and have more handheld devices, HDTVs and broadband connections than fans of other major sports; as a result, the breakthrough iPad represents a highly relevant distribution opportunity for NHL content.
"We believe our demographics align well on this initiative and the iPad will provide NHL fans with a compelling second-screen experience for consuming NHL hockey," said NHL Senior Vice President of Digital Media Perry Cooper. "Optimizing NHL content for iPad will allow us to take fans deeper inside of NHL games, and create new opportunities for serving premium content."
Along with the recent European launch of the NHL Ice Time™ 2010 App for iPhone and iPod touch, capitalizing on the launch of iPad represents another opportunity for the NHL to shorten the distance between its content and fans to develop a more deeply engaged audience.
NHL Fans In Europe Can Get Closer To Their NHL CountrymenAnd Favorite NHL Teams Using iPhone and iPod touch
March 29, 2010 NEW YORK---The National Hockey League today announced that NHL Ice Time 2010, the first official NHL™ app for iPhone and iPod touch, is available exclusively in Europe on the App Store.
“The NHL is the most international league in professional sport, and with so many of our players having European origins, the demand in Europe for the NHL has never been greater”
The app, available in more than 70 countries outside of North America, was co-developed by the NHL and its strategic partner NeuLion. The basic NHL Ice Time 2010 App is free, but includes an In-App purchase premium upgrade that enables NHL fans across Europe to wake up each morning and access a complete complement of video from the prior night’s games, through both condensed games and highlight packages.
Twenty-six percent of NHL players hail from outside of North America and nearly 20 percent of NHL.com unique visitors originate from Europe, with nearly one-third of European mobile visitors to NHL.com coming from an iPhone or iPod touch. In addition, European visitors to NHL.com consume more video per visitor, on average, than their North American counterparts, demonstrating significant demand to keep up with the NHL game.
NHL Ice Time 2010 has been specifically designed and developed to meet this significant demand with a suite of video, audio, statistics, content and more, all in one convenient app for iPhone and iPod touch.
“The NHL is the most international league in professional sport, and with so many of our players having European origins, the demand in Europe for the NHL has never been greater,” said John Collins, the NHL’s chief operating officer. “The NHL Ice Time 2010 App for iPhone and iPod touch shrinks the distance between our game, our players and our great European fans. Our fans have an insatiable appetite for NHL content and our digital development is all about serving our fans wherever they are.”
The free version of NHL Ice Time 2010 delivers live scores; live in-game stats for every team and player; a live ice tracker that shows the locations of goals, hits and saves on a virtual hockey rink; game photos; a full-season schedule; NHL standings; NHL player profiles; archived results and stats for the current season; searchable content; and a personalized experience.
Fans can upgrade using In-App purchase to the premium version of NHL Ice Time 2010 to receive all of the functionality of the free version, plus:
Condensed (12-minute) versions of every NHL game;
Video highlights after each period played;
Video highlight reels at the conclusion of each game;
Live game radio of every game;
A virtual ice tracker to see where action took place and then view highlights;
Extensive player profiles with video highlights & detailed in-game stats;
A video archive with thousands of current-season highlights.
NHL Ice Time 2010 is the latest product in the NHL’s expanding digital portfolio designed to meet the demands of pro sports fans with the most mobile devices, HDTVs and broadband connections. With an emphasis on ease-of-use and access to exclusive content, including live and feature broadband video, the NHL is leveraging digital media as a primary platform to drive audience growth, partner activation and licensee/rightsholder business. In 2009, the NHL was the only sports league nominated for a prestigious Webby Award for Web site design, and the League has been recognized as one of the 10 most innovative companies in sports by Fast Company Magazine.
NHL Ice Time 2010 is available today for free from the App Store in 73 countries outside of North America on iPhone and iPod touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore/. To download, the fan must have a billing address outside of North America.
Partnership Between Verizon Wireless and NHL Brings Live Game Action, Local Radio Broadcasts and More to V CAST
BASKING RIDGE, N.J., and NEW YORK, Dec. 30, 2009 -- Hockey fans around the country can get an all-access pass to National Hockey League (NHL®) games, players and other exclusive mobile video content on V CAST Video from Verizon Wireless, Verizon Wireless and the NHL said today.
Watch the 2010 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic® Live on New Year's Day
For the second consecutive year, Verizon Wireless and the NHL are bringing NBC Sports coverage of the 2010 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic on New Year's Day to V CAST Video on Verizon Wireless phones.
At 1 p.m. EST on Jan. 1, the Boston Bruins® will host the Philadelphia Flyers® in the NHL's annual outdoor game to be played this season in Boston. Streaming the NBC Sports broadcast of the game on V CAST gives avid hockey fans and casual sports enthusiasts who don't want to miss a minute of the action the opportunity to watch it live, even if they are not near a television. The New Year's Day game will be streamed in its entirety and can be found on the NBC Sports channel on V CAST Video. Additional NBC Sports games will be streamed live during the remainder of the season.
Sign Up for Live Audio of NHL Games on V CAST
Beginning Jan. 1, the NHL and Verizon Wireless are giving hockey fans across the country the chance to listen to teams' local radio broadcasts live on V CAST. The audio - featuring hometown announcers and analysts - from every game will be available throughout the season and the playoffs. Fans who live far from their favorite team can use V CAST to stay on top of the action, and local fans will now have another option to hear the game. Broadcasts from select games will also be available in French.
Customers who want to sign up for live audio of NHL games on V CAST can visit www.verizonwireless.com/nhl for more information.
V CAST Product page with 21 catagories of NHL Mobile content targeting feature phones. This was launched as a interim strategy prior to the V CAST app store launch for smartphones.
NHL Mobile TV spot produced in-house...various versions were created for specific territories globally with different handsets..iPhone, Blackberry, etc. Below is the Verizon version.
Print ad 2009-2010 Season that was the theme for NHL Mobile.
The National Hockey League has gone mobile with a site and advertising targeted to fans on the go.
Mobile ad network and site developer Quattro Wireless created the NHL.com mobile site in time for mobile consumers to experience the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs on their handsets. Quattro is also placing and serving ads on the mobile site as part of an exclusive mobile advertising and publishing deal.
“The goal for the NHL is to extend their digital presence to mobile,” said Lars Albright, senior vice president of business development at Quattro, Waltham, MA.
Charter advertisers on the NHL mobile site include DirecTV, Papa John’s, FX Rescue Me and Universal Studios.
New game in town
The NHL Mobile site offers features such as statistics, photographs, standings, schedules, scores, NHL headlines and NHL GameCenter Mobile for full coverage of NHL games.
Also, the NHL mobile properties will be able to include a dynamic feed process that lets the site update current game statistics in tandem with high-volume traffic. more
"While a majority of the record tally of 34 million votes were cast on the internet at NHL.com, statistics show tech-savvy NHL fans turned to texting in ever-greater numbers. Over 15 million votes were recorded from nearly 4 million text messages sent by fans using their mobile phones, including 4.3 million votes -- 29 percent of the texting total -- generated during the final, frantic five days of balloting with starting berths still up for grabs."...more
When Alex Ovechkin attempts to defend his title in the Scotiabank NHL Fan Fav Breakaway Challenge on Saturday night, Jan. 24, 2009 in Montreal's Bell Centre, he'll have to do more than just out-perform challengers such as Sidney Crosby. The competitors must win over fans in arena and those watching the 2009 Honda/NHL SuperSkills ® at home on RDS, CBC and VERSUS -- and their fellow NHL All-Stars...more
Unique sweepstakes will reward two lucky fans with once-in-a-lifetime Stanley Cup experiences
In celebration of one of the National Hockey League’s most anticipated events – the NHL Winter Classic™ 2009 – Reebok is offering fans an unprecedented experience through "NHL Winter Classic Reebok Lost Logo Challenge," a unique contest for both U.S. television viewers and in-stadium attendees that challenges fans to find the NHL player who is missing the Reebok logo from his jersey.
To register automatically in-stadium, fans must text the word "Reebok" to 81812 or call the toll-free number 877-645-8181. A reply text will ask for their seat location, after which, another text will ask them for the name of the player without the Reebok logo. Viewers at home will be able to participate in the contest by logging onto Reebokhockey.com and filling out the entry form....more
JAN 6, 2009--- Bell Mobility has reached an agreement with the league and the NHL Players' Association to be the exclusive carrier of NHL content. As of Tuesday, customers will be able to sign up for a service that allows them to access video highlights, up-to-date scores and summaries and other unique features on their phones... more
