The NHL and broadcast partner NBC have worked to take empty seats out of the equation during game broadcasts.getty images
One week into the NHL’s restart, I have been most impressed with the league’s television presentation. There are times during games that I forget that the teams are playing in an empty arena.
Part of that is due to the speed of the game and the pumped-in crowd noise that give each telecast a big-game feel. But much of that comes from a television production strategy that the NHL and NBC have used, relying on tighter shots that don’t show an empty arena and graphics that pop on the screen.
“It’s visually obvious that we’ve taken a different approach from many other leagues,” said Steve Mayer, the NHL’s chief content officer. “We built essentially a television set that comes to life with LED screens and graphics. We’re using the center scoreboard as part of the set.
“We’ve taken essentially a 19,000-seat arena out of play. We tightened everything. You’ll see a few empty seats. But for the most part, those are gone.”
By the NHL holding their games in two bubble environments — one in Toronto and one in Edmonton — NBC has had the benefit of providing wall-to-wall coverage on NBCSN.
As Mike Mulvihill, an executive with rival Fox Sports, tweeted last week, “The NHL has crushed their restart. Their strategy of day-long, wall-to-wall games is clearly working. Every day is a March Madness of hockey.”
That fits in with the league’s strategy.
“Our philosophy, we’re putting this on for fans at home,” Mayer said. “This is a made-for-television event. Our fans are watching at home. How do we give them a broadcast that caters to them on their couch in their living room? How do we bring everything to life?”
NBC play-by-play announcer Mike “Doc” Emrick credited the NHL players for helping give these games more of a normal feel. He referenced fighting penalties handed out to the Hurricanes’ Justin Williams and the Rangers’ Ryan Strome in the first period of their first game.
“One thing that we wondered in our minds is whether the intensity would reach zero to 100 quickly,” Emrick said. “The very first game between Carolina and the Rangers showed us that it did. … It is intense. It is what we hoped for.”
John Ourand can be reached at jourand@sportsbusinessjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @Ourand_SBJ and read his twice-weekly newsletter.
