The NHL during the World Cup of Hockey is "experimenting with a major change" to ads on rink boards on TV -- a change that the league is "hoping may eventually become more widespread," according to Susan Krashinsky of the GLOBE & MAIL. There is a "virtual overlay on the boards that allows a single brand at a time to take over all of the boards in the Air Canada Centre." The digitally enhanced boards are the "result of a two-year process" involving the NHL, its broadcasters and London-based Supponor, which "provides hardware that uses infrared signals to replace the on-site boards with digital ad images during the broadcasts." It is the "first time the NHL has experimented with this kind of technology." Where most Canadian viewers have been "seeing a string of ads from brands such as Tim Hortons, Canadian Tire and Bank of Nova Scotia around the rink," U.S. viewers tuning in through ESPN have "seen ads for brands such as Geico and DraftKings." NHL Exec VP/Global Partnerships Keith Wachtel said that while some "'traditionalists' aren’t too happy with the change ... the NHL says feedback so far has been mostly positive." While ads "still crowd the field of play, the digital versions have a cleaner look." The advertising "only changes when the camera cuts away from the boards, to minimize distractions." The switch "required selling ads differently for the tournament." Each advertiser was "sold a certain number of guaranteed total minutes on the boards, broken up into increments from a few seconds to more than a minute, depending on the course of play" (GLOBE & MAIL, 9/21).
