Sportradar has signed a five-year agreement with the NHL to be the league’s exclusive third-party data distributor, marking the European data company’s third major-league pact this year following prior deals with the NFL and NASCAR. In the deal, Sportradar will distribute real-time play-by-play and game statistics to media and technology clients around the world using the NHL’s proprietary Hockey Information Tracking System (HITS) feed, including key overseas markets such as Scandinavia, Russia and other parts of Eastern Europe. Financial terms were not disclosed, but unlike Sportradar’s deal with the NFL, the hockey agreement did not involve a transfer of company equity. The deal is also one of the first major pacts struck on behalf of the NHL by MLBAM, which last month acquired a series of digital media rights from the league. The agreement was largely struck between Sportradar Chief Commercial Officer Steve Byrd and MLBAM Exec VP/Business Kenny Gersh. “This is another big win for us,” Byrd said. “We like the momentum of where we’re headed, and we have a big opportunity to really do some interesting things with the NHL data.” The NHL data rights had previously been held by Stats LLC holding The Sports Network. Among the particular rights gained by Sportradar in the new NHL agreement is the ability to sell data to gambling houses in Europe and other territories where betting is legal. “This partnership with Sportradar advances our commitment to statistics as a storytelling tool,” said NHL Exec VP/Digital Media & Strategic Planning Stephen McArdle.
