A "redesigned nhl.com hit the World Wide Web over the
weekend, with an accent on the 'World,'" according to USA
TODAY's Chris Jenkins. The NHL "wants to make its official
site more accessible to overseas fans looking for updates on
the European-born players who became league fixtures during
the 1990s." NHL Interactive GM Tom Richardson said the
site's goal is to "really become the global hockey portal
that we're talking about." Other site redesign highlights
include "improved team-by-team coverage" and "third-party
content." The site will get feature stories from The Hockey
News, and its team pages will link to coverage from "local
newspapers' Web sites." While Richardson said The Hockey
News items will retain the magazine's "editorial voice,"
Jenkins writes "don't expect anything too critical to make
its way on nhl.com." Richardson: "If there is anything
extensively inflammatory, we would obviously reserve the
right to reject that" (USA TODAY, 5/22). The SPORTSBUSINESS
JOURNAL's Noah Liberman writes that the NHL "appears to have
made good on its promise to make the site the most
technologically advanced and fan-friendly of the major
league sites" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 5/22 issue).
A NEW REVENUE GENERATOR: The SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL's
Andy Bernstein reports that "major sports properties are
about to turn their e-commerce businesses into another
guaranteed revenue stream, asking potential partners for
huge up-front payments or guarantees in exchange for the
rights to run the back ends of their online stores."
Sources say that NASCAR is seeking $4-5M per year for its e-
commerce rights. Bernstein: "To run up the price tag, the
major Web sites may have to co-brand with an e-commerce
vendor like MVP.com (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 5/22 issue).
EXPOS WEBCAST A HIT? The NATIONAL POST's Chris Cobb
reports that the Expos "are still keen" to get some of their
games on local TV and radio, but "since launching their live
'Webcasts' on April 18, they smell a long-term alternative."
Cobb: "Early numbers are in for a few of the 29 games that
have been Webcast so far. The average audience has been
12,000 and the largest single audience was around 20,000 (a
Sunday game against Milwaukee). They expect the next round
of numbers to be high enough to attract advertisers by the
All-Star break" (NATIONAL POST, 5/22).
