January 22nd, 2009
NHL digital roll-out drumbeats to All Star Game
Right now, Michael DiLorenzo is en route to Montreal to prep for this weekend’s All Star Game activities. It’s been a busy couple months for the NHL’s director of corporate communications, who is just recovering from the excitement around Winter Classic. With NHL starting to step out of the shadow of its professional sports big brothers NFL and MLB, there’s a lot of activity going on.
However, DiLorenzo’s preparations for this weekend didn’t just start. He and the broad team of content experts at the NHL had been prepping for months, including the seeding of preview video and creating an All Star Game micro site. It’s not just about the fans in Montreal — it’s about creating an experience for all hockey fans.
This is merely an extension of the league’s usual fan-centric approach to content. Over the last year or so, the NHL has been working diligently to roll out a three-phase digital media program to serve its estimated 20 million avid fans in North America — 13 million in the U.S. and 7 million in Canada. The primary objectives were to personalize content for avid fans, make that content more interactive, and create a more social presence on its NHL site and sub-sites.
“We know a few things about our fans that feed our strategy as a media business, but also support our investments in digital media,” DiLorenzo said. “On average, about 50 percent of fans are displaced — meaning they live in a different geographic area than their favorite teams. Inherently they have an access constraint, whether it be missing the games on TV or not being able to buy their team-branded goods at a local sporting goods store.”
What DiLorenzo realized is that the combination of an access constraint and a technically sophisticated audience creates opportunity — for both the league and for the fans. Recognizing that the NHL has “modest” national television distribution (the league owns all of its TV rights) it has the ability to take video online in a way that other leagues cannot.
With that knowledge, the NHL moved forward.
Phase One: The digital media player –>
Jennifer Leggio, aka "Mediaphyter," writes about the "social business" side of social media - including enterprise, security and reputation issues. See her full profile and disclosure of her industry affiliations.
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| 01/23/09
