NHL Pushing Digital Syndication By Sharing Online Video Content

NHL's "Hockey Marketplace" Makes Online Video Content Available To Several Partner Sites

The NHL in January launched "Hockey Marketplace," the latest move in the league's "aggressive online video strategy" under which online video content and technology are made available to "several partner sites that attract hockey fans," according to Sean Callahan of BtoB magazine. Among the partner sites are SB Nation, "a network of 238 sports blogs, and Ticketmaster, which makes NHL video available to users who order hockey tickets." On its NHL home page, SB Nation "embeds game highlights, plays of the week and 'The Hockey Show,' a new program produced by the NHL." Callahan notes under the agreements, the NHL and its partner sites "both sell video advertising, then split the revenue." NHL Senior VP/Direct & Digital Marketing & Fan Analytics Perry Cooper: "We're trying to reach as many fans as possible using as many digital platforms as possible. That's where we're moving right now in digital distribution. We have about a dozen partners right now; that could easily double next year." Meanwhile, NHL Senior VP/Media Sales Larry Gelfand said that NHL.com's ad revenue is growing, with revenue generated from non-league sponsors "on track to increase 392%" in FY '10 from the previous year. Cooper added that the Web site's unique visitors are "on track to increase more than 30% this fiscal year" (BtoB, 2/8 issue). SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL's Fisher & Mickle report the NHL has signed "more than 20 new deals in the last three months," and the "battery of new league partners includes news sites and portals such as The Hockey News, ESPN.com and Yahoo." Traffic to NHL.com is up 135% in the last six months, which league execs "credit in part to the early fruits of the syndication strategy" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 2/8 issue).

STRIKING WHILE THE IRON'S HOT: In DC, Gene Wang wrote the Capitals in recent years have "moved more aggressively than any other NHL team toward embracing social media." With the team currently on a franchise-record winning streak, Owner Ted Leonsis is "hoping the social media strategy will pay off in expanding the club's popularity and engagement with fans." Leonsis: "The co-mingling of this understanding of social media and technology and the team doing great, and the city wanting a winner, has really made this a very magical time for the franchise." Wang noted the Capitals have "more than 95,000 fans on Facebook and more than 11,000 followers on Twitter." But the team "still has a distance to go, at least on Facebook, to match the fervent devotion of Redskins fans in the new media realm," as the NFL team has 214,000 fans on Facebook (WASHINGTON POST, 2/9).

SLANTED ICE: In DC, Dan Steinberg wrote there were "a lot of very fair comments and even-handed observations" during NBC's coverage of Sunday's Penguins-Capitals game. But Capitals fans "would still have been convinced that the broadcast favored the Penguins," because there were "enough puzzling moments to allow Caps fans to keep their anger simmering." Some comments about Penguins C Sidney Crosby "seemed absurd." NBC analyst Pierre McGuire referred to a college basketball game at Verizon Center on Saturday and said, "I can tell you right now Sidney Crosby could have played in that game. ... He's jumping through the gym, he's playing with a purpose here this afternoon." While NBC "wasn't shy about praising" Capitals LW Alex Ovechkin, the commentary "occasionally seemed more sinister than the kind words for Crosby" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 2/8).