DETROIT & CINCINNATI—Following record ratings for women’s hockey during the 2026 Winter Olympics, Scripps Sports has reached an agreement with the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) to broadcast its first-ever game on national linear television in the U.S.

The PWHL Takeover Tour game between the New York Sirens and the Montreal Victoire will air on ION on Saturday, March 28, at 1 p.m. ET, live from Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. Ally Financial will be the presenting sponsor for the game.

Through ION – which is available free over-the-air, via pay TV, connected TV and free, ad-supported streaming platforms – the game will be accessible to more than 126 million U.S. households, representing a significant opportunity for new fans to discover the league.

“Fan interest in women’s hockey is at an all-time high, buoyed by the amazing success of Team USA in this year’s Winter Olympics Games,” said Brian Lawlor, president of Scripps Sports, which has made women's sports a key part of its strategy. “We are thrilled to be teaming with the PWHL and Ally Financial on this milestone event and to bring the excitement of this league to a national audience for the first time.”

The first-ever national broadcast comes at a time of rapid growth for PWHL. Now in its third season, the league is approaching 2 million all-time fans and seeing a 20% year-over-year increase in average attendance.

That momentum is further fueled by the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, where 61 PWHL players competed and returned with 41 medals, including Team USA’s dramatic overtime gold medal victory over Canada.

“We are continuing to fuel this rocket ship that is the PWHL as we expand the reach and exposure of our league to new fans,” said Amy Scheer, PWHL executive vice president of business operations. “This first‑ever national broadcast is a truly historic moment for our league, and with partners like Ally Financial and Scripps Sports, we’re introducing more people to our fast-paced and exciting game than ever before.”

STAMFORD, Conn.—NBC Sports is reporting that the U.S. Women’s Hockey’s overtime victory on Feb. 19 over Canada was the most watched women’s hockey game on record, averaging 5.3 million viewers on USA Network and Peacock with the audience peaking at 7.7 million viewers in overtime.

Viewing totals for the full Winter Olympics are expected early this week.

NBCUniversal also reported that Alysa Liu’s gold-medal winning performance in the figure skating free skate, and the U.S. Women’s Hockey Team’s 2-1 overtime victory over Canada in the gold-medal game, produced the most-watched Winter Olympics weekday coverage since Feb. 17, 2014, averaging 26.7 million viewers for the live afternoon window (Milan Prime: 2-5 p.m. ET) and Primetime in Milan (8-11 p.m. ET/PT) across NBC, Peacock, NBCU Digital Platforms and Versant’s USA Network, according to preliminary Nielsen data and digital data from Adobe Analytics

Thursday Feb. 19 also marked the 14th consecutive day that NBCU’s Milan Cortina Winter Olympic audience has topped 20 million viewers, according to official Nielsen Big Data + Panel viewership and preliminary data from Nielsen, and digital data from Adobe Analytics.

Through Thursday, the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics is averaging 24.1 million viewers on NBC, Peacock, NBCUniversal Digital Platforms and Versant’s CNBC and USA Network – marking the most-watched Winter Games presentation at this point since the 2014 Sochi Olympics, according to official Nielsen Big Data + Panel viewership and preliminary data from Nielsen, and digital data from Adobe Analytics. Viewership is up 93% from the 2022 Beijing Olympics at this point (12.5 million).

Even for an experienced duo like the father-and-son combination of Joe and Jeff Geerling, they were amazed at all that goes into keeping St. Louis Blues games ready for fans watching both at home and in the arena.

Joe is a broadcast engineer with more than five decades of experience in the St. Louis radio market and is currently the director of engineering at Covenant Network.

Jeff is an accomplished software architect and developer who started to tag along with his dad on radio exploits at an early age.

Joe and Jeff have produced many YouTube sensations, typically related to radio and engineering. We’ve detailed them in the past.

They used an opportunity in October to explore the Enterprise Center, the home of St. Louis’ NHL team, to detail what goes into the Blues’ video broadcast productions.

At the bottom of this story you can watch the entire video. First, some background.

At first, the Geerlings thought the visit was going to be an equipment “geek out” inside an SMPTE ST 2110 IP-based mobile unit, the nerve center for TV broadcasts at Blues games, in the flavor of Geerling Engineering videos in the past. The truck is operated by Mobile TV Group and according to Jeff, it drives to multiple broadcast facilities throughout a given week.

And while there’s plenty of AoIP, Dante, cameras and other modern equipment featured in their latest video, in a refreshing twist for 2026, it’s more about another aspect.

“It really shows the dedication of the team in broadcasting,” Joe Geerling told us.

The "third team," as Jeff put it.

Inside the Truck
The video goes inside each of the three such teams at Blues games: One production crew for the fans in the building, one for FanDuel Sports Network Midwest, which broadcasts Blues’ games, and one for whomever that night’s away team happens to be.

The home team truck’s broadcast engineer, Chris Bailey from the Mobile TV Group, took the Geerlings inside the truck that is used at Blues’ games.

“This team is amazing with how they put together the use of all the technology in real-time,” Joe reported from inside the truck.

Timing, is of course, critical. Jeff noticed that GPS is not used for time sync inside the Mobile TV Group truck.

That’s because of poor satellite reception. So instead, the truck’s Evertz Master Clocks are frequently synced manually to an atomic time source — such as the iOS Atomic Clock app — to ensure the truck’s internal pulse matches the rest of the world.

There’s other “old tech” at work in the video too. Jeff anticipated fiber cables to be everywhere. Instead, analog copper is the choice.

“If you have one or two copper wires go dead, you can still have a show,” he explained.

Jeff remarked that inside the truck, the atmosphere was almost solemn. Everyone is quiet, but constantly aware of everything going on around them. He captured some of that back-and-forth in the video.

Hockey is Different
They also showed off what goes inside the Enterprise Center, where there is a separate production crew delivering visuals to the fans inside the arena.

“Hockey is the best and most challenging,” longtime cameraman Mike Munaco told Jeff. “It is the most fun to shoot because you have to stay ahead of what the announcers are talking about.”

Chris Kerber, the play-by-play announcer for Blues’ home TV broadcasts on FanDuel Sports Network Midwest, talked about the visual and auditory back-and-forth with the production truck.

“The chain doesn’t work unless every link is strong,” Kerber said about the FanDuel production truck. “If the real good synergies aren’t there, then the fans don’t get a good experience.”

There is a great deal of gear highlighted in the video, but really, it’s about the human touch.

“It’s a huge group of great talent, and none of it is wasted,” Jeff said.

Watch the video:

This article was originally published by our sister publication Radio World. You can find their coverage of a variety of tech and broadcast business issues here.

ESPN has announced that its coverage of NCAA men’s and women’s ice hockey on its networks and streaming platforms will total more than 620 games during the 2025-26 season, including the Men’s and Women’s Frozen Four championship events. All games will be available to stream on the ESPN App via ESPN DTC or Pay TV authentication.

ESPN+ will stream over 620 games with matchups from ECAC Hockey and Hockey East.

The puck drops for the first game of the season across ESPN networks on Friday, October 17, ESPN reported.

In addition, both the men’s and women’s NCAA College Hockey Selection Show will return to ESPN networks. Leading into the Women’s Frozen Four Championship game on Sunday, March 22, the men’s selection show (3 p.m.) will air on ESPNU. The women’s selection show will take place on Sunday, March 8 (11:30 a.m.) on ESPNU.

The Columbus Blue Jackets, Sinclair and FanDuel Sports Network have signed a deal that will allow Sinclair and Gray Media stations in select markets to simulcast five Blue Jacket NHL games.

As a result of the deal, FanDuel Sports Network’s game productions will be simulcast locally on Sinclair’s WSYX (known on-air as ABC 6) and WWHO (channel 53, known on-air as CW Columbus), both of which are available to viewers OTA as well as through cable and satellite providers Spectrum, DirecTV and DirecTV Stream, YouTubeTV, Dish and Breezeline.

In addition, regional broadcasts will allow fans in areas throughout Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky to watch the games over-the-air via stations owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group and Gray Media.

“We’re excited to work with Sinclair Broadcast Group, Gray Media and our partner FanDuel Sports Network to bring these games to fans across Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky,” Blue Jackets vice president of business intelligence and broadcasting Marc Gregory said. “By expanding access to these matchups, we’re offering an additional opportunity for our passionate fans to engage with the team and experience Blue Jackets hockey.”

“The Columbus Blue Jackets are a beloved team, and we are excited to expand their reach to a broader audience with these broadcasts,” said Tony D'Angelo, vice president and general manager of WSYX, WTTE (Fox 28) and WWHO. “ABC6 and CW Columbus will provide a unique opportunity for fans to watch these games, and we are excited to be able to offer this coverage to Blue Jackets supporters in our community.”

The five matchups, including pregame and postgame coverage, will air live on the channels listed below. The schedule includes two games against the Detroit Red Wings before the teams face off in the 2025 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series game on March 1 at Ohio Stadium:

• Thursday, Jan. 2: vs. Detroit Red Wings, CW 53
• Saturday, Jan. 11: at St. Louis Blues, ABC 6
• Thursday, Jan. 23: at Carolina Hurricanes, CW 53
• Thursday, Feb. 27: at Detroit Red Wings, CW 53
• Monday, March 17: vs. New Jersey Devils, CW 53

Additionally, all five games will continue to be broadcast on the team’s flagship FanDuel Sports Network Ohio and via the FanDuel Sports Network app, featuring pre-and postgame coverage.

The out-of-market schedule includes:

• Thursday, Jan. 2, vs. Detroit Red Wings on WKRC 12.2 CW (Cincinnati); WUAB 43.1 CW (Cleveland); WKEF 22.3 MyTV (Dayton, Ohio); WQCW 30.1 CW (Charleston-Huntington, West Virginia and Portsmouth, Ohio); WKYT 27.2 CW (Lexington, Kentucky); TBA (Louisville, Kentucky).
• Saturday, Jan. 11, at St. Louis Blues on WSTR 64.1 MyTV (Cincinnati); TBA (Cleveland); WKEF 22.3 MyTV (Dayton); WSAZ 3.2 MeTV (Charleston-Huntington, Portsmouth); WKYT 27.4 MeTV (Lexington,); TBA (Louisville).
• Thursday, Jan. 23. at Carolina Hurricanes on WKRC 12.2 CW (Cincinnati); WUAB 43.1 CW (Cleveland); WKEF 22.3 MyTV (Dayton); WQCW 30.1 CW (Charleston-Huntington-Portsmouth); WKYT 27.2 CW (Lexington); TBA (Louisville).
• Thursday, Feb. 27, at Detroit Red Wings on WKRC 12.2 CW (Cincinnati); WUAB 43.1 CW (Cleveland); WKEF 22.3 MyTV (Dayton); WQCW 30.1 CW (Charleston-Huntington-Portsmouth); WKYT 27.2 CW (Lexington); TBA (Louisville).
• Monday, Mar. 17, vs. New Jersey Devils on WKRC 12.2 CW (Cincinnati); WUAB 43.1 CW (Cleveland); WKEF 22.3 MyTV (Dayton); WQCW 30.1 (Charleston-Huntington-Portsmouth); WKYT 27.2 CW (Lexington); TBA (Louisville).

MESA, Ariz.—In a notable example of how networks are looking to provide interactive experiences in live sports broadcasts to boost engagement and ad revenue, mobile gaming tech provider Aquimo is working with Canada’s Sportsnet to offer fans a new interactive mobile gaming experience during NHL telecasts.

Sportsnet Slap Shot Showdown, a custom mobile game developed by Aquimo, is being used as part of Sportsnet’s “Hockey Night in Canada” NHL telecasts. It gives fans a chance to compete in real-time multiplayer challenges and a monthlong contest to win exclusive prizes, including a 2025 Hyundai Kona.

This collaboration marks Aquimo’s first television broadcast partnership in Canada.

Using Aquimo’s technology platform, Sportsnet Slap Shot Showdown allows fans to engage with live hockey broadcasts while watching their favorite teams compete on the ice. Aquimo’s mobile tech platform enables millions of fans to play together in real time in ways that integrate branded experiences into live broadcasts.

For broadcasters like SportsNet, Aquimo’s platform provides tools to boost audience retention, foster loyalty, and create measurable value for brand sponsors through a second screen experience, Aquimo reported.

“We’re proud to be working with Sportsnet to bring this unique activation to life and give Canadian hockey fans an exciting new way to engage with the game they love—one that creates a dynamic and immersive connection with the action both on and off the ice,” said Mark Jeffery, founder and CEO of Aquimo. “This collaboration underscores the power of interactive mobile gaming to transform live sports broadcasts, and our ability to create meaningful engagement for fans while providing a new form of measurable value for broadcasters, their sponsors and partners.”

The game will throughout the month of December.

“Our collaboration with Aquimo and the launch of Sportsnet Slap Shot Showdown represents an innovative step forward in how we engage our audience and marketers,” Sportsnet vice president of sales Anthony Attard said. “By incorporating Aquimo’s interactive gaming technology into our broadcasts, we’re not only enhancing the fan experience, but also giving our partners a new and exciting platform to connect with fans in a meaningful and memorable way.”

To play the Sportsnet Slap Shot Showdown visit rtvsn.live.

To learn more about Aquimo, visit aquimo.com.

ATLANTA—Gray Media and the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) have reached a new deal for select conference hockey games to be available for free, over-the-air on Gray’s television stations and other U.S. broadcast outlets.

The first game, pitting No. 2-ranked and defending national champion Denver against No. 8 Colorado College, will air in more than 20 Gray markets, including in St. Louis on Matrix Midwest Sports, throughout Louisiana on the Gulf Coast Sports & Entertainment Network and across South Carolina on the Palmetto Sports & Entertainment Network on Friday, December 13, 2024 at 7 p.m. MT.

Gray said the deal builds on existing hockey coverage on its stations. For example, Gray stations air the Carolina Hurricanes (NHL), Cleveland Monsters (AHL), Kansas City Mavericks (ECHL), the Great Lakes Invitational (NCAA), Atlanta Gladiators (ECHL), multiple Southern Professional Hockey League teams and many more.

In addition, Gray’s wholly owned production company, Raycom Sports, produces all of the games for the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL).

“We’re excited to partner with Gray Media to expand the Conference’s linear television offerings,” NCHC Commissioner Heather Weems said. “This will put a premier NCHC game each week on several local TV stations in non-NCHC markets, as well as some of our own media markets, growing exposure for the conference and the high-quality product that defines college hockey. Combining Gray’s reach with our already existing CBS Sports Network agreement and NCHC.tv, fans will be provided more options than ever to enjoy NCHC hockey.”

“Hockey is a fan favorite in many of our local markets,” Gray Chief Operating Officer Sandy Breland said. “We are pleased to bring this top-notch conference and highly ranked teams to local viewers.”

All NCHC games airing on Gray’s stations will also still be available on the conference’s streaming platform, NCHC.tv. Most games on Gray’s stations will air Saturday nights starting in January.

The Dec. 13 Denver-Colorado College matchup will also air in Canada on TSN2. Other Friday-night NCHC games will be televised on CBS Sports Network starting in January.

In the runup to the first season of the NHL’s Utah Hockey Club, SEG Media launched UtahHC+, a dedicated, Utah Hockey Club-branded direct-to-consumer (DTC) streaming service similar to Jazz+, the Utah Jazz’s streaming service that SEG launched in September 2023. 

In addition, SEG Media has also introduced SEG+, a bundle that provides access to all UtahHC+ and Jazz+ content in one convenient place. 

SEG reported that the three services are equipped with enhanced capabilities including DVR and Search functionality and feature extensive programming – live games, video-on-demand (VOD) content, game-specific alternative broadcasts, and more insider programming – all produced by SEG Media. 

Subscriptions for SEG+, UtahHC+, and Jazz+ are available for purchase now at www.segplus.com.

“There has never been a more exciting time to be a sports fan in Utah, and we are committed to making sure our fanbase can easily engage in every minute of the action coming this season with Utah Hockey Club and the Utah Jazz - however they want to watch,” said Caroline Klein, chief communications officer for Smith Entertainment Group. “We gained valuable insight into our fans’ streaming preferences last season and look forward to creating even more memories with them through the front-row access and intuitive experiences that SEG+, UtahHC+, and Jazz+ provide.”

The SEG+ subscription sports streaming bundle is only available as an annual subscription priced at $174.99. 

UtahHC+ gives subscribers access to 75+ live Utah Hockey Club preseason and regular season games, excluding all exclusive nationally televised games. Live game coverage begins with the club’s first preseason game at 5 P.M. MT on Sept. 22 against the St. Louis Blues at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa.

Annual subscriptions to UtahHC+ are available for $69.99 (less than $1 per game). Other UtahHC+ subscription options include monthly ($14.99) and pay-per-view (starting at $5 per live game). 

Jazz+ offers live streams of 75+ Jazz games and pre- and post-game coverage, excluding exclusive nationally televised games and other content.  An annual subscription to Jazz+ remains priced at $125.50, equivalent to less than $1.50 per game. Other Jazz+ subscription options include monthly ($19.99) and pay-per-view (starting at $5 per live game).

Only annual and monthly subscriptions include access to on-demand games and other content such as alt-casts, in addition to live games, SEG reported. 

New for this season, SEG Media has introduced enhanced capabilities across its three DTC services, including a DVR function during live games and a new search capability makes it easy to find desired content – from game replays to popular VOD content.

Also new this season, annual and monthly subscribers to SEG+, UtahHC+, and Jazz+ will be the first to access cross-over content that highlights players from the Jazz and Utah Hockey Club coming together as they showcase the best of Utah. This programming will be available via the streaming services 48 hours before it is released on other team-owned channels.

All 3.3 million plus Utahns can access and subscribe to all SEG Media subscription streaming services. UtahHC+ is available via an expansive territory including the state of Utah, as well as Arizona, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Wyoming, and parts of Nevada. 

Jazz+ is available to all fans who live within the Jazz broadcast footprint, which includes the state of Utah plus areas of Idaho and Wyoming. SEG+ is available where Utah Jazz and Utah Hockey Club broadcast regions overlap.

SEG is also offering free tickets to early purchasers of the streaming services. 

TYSONS, Va.—Tegna Inc., the Seattle Kraken and Gray Media have announced that Gray’s KAUU in Anchorage and KYEX in Juneau will expand the Kraken broadcast network into Alaska. 

The deal follows the recent announcement that Tegna will broadcast all locally available Kraken games, approximately 70 regular season games each year, on KING 5 and KONG in Seattle, KGW in Portland and KREM and KSKN in Spokane. Additional broadcast partners in Washington and Oregon are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

“Our partnership with the Kraken is all about their passionate fans and delivering more games to more people in more homes,” said Brad Ramsey, senior vice president, media operations, Tegna. “We are thrilled with the early momentum we are seeing from advertisers and sponsors in Seattle, Portland, and Spokane, and grateful to our friends at Gray for helping us expand free over-the-air Kraken games beyond the continental United States.”

The 2024-25 Kraken season will kick off with Seattle’s home opener on Tuesday, October 8 against the St. Louis Blues at Climate Pledge Arena. The Kraken enter this season with new head coach, Dan Bylsma, and newly-named assistant coaches, Bob Woods and Jessica Campbell, who is the NHL’s first full-time female assistant coach behind the bench. Bylsma and Campbell join Seattle from their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate and two-time Western Conference Champions, the Coachella Valley Firebirds. Season highlights include the first matchup between Brandon Montour and the Florida Panthers, his former team and 2024 Stanley Cup Champions on December 10.

“We couldn’t be more excited or more proud to partner with Tegna and Gray Media to expand our broadcast reach into Anchorage and Juneau,” said Jeff Webster, chief commercial officer for the Seattle Kraken. “We’ve built an incredible relationship with the hockey community in Alaska over the years and it’s important that we continue to foster that connection. This partnership is another example of our commitment to making Kraken hockey accessible for our fans in Alaska and beyond.”

SEATTLE—ZTransform recently delivered AV and media facilities to Augustana University’s highly anticipated Midco Arena. Despite challenging tie constraints, the facilities were delivered in time for launch of the Viking’s NCAA Division 1 program.

The university’s ambition was to be the first in the state of South Dakota to offer hockey at the top collegiate level, adding an NCAA Division 1 Men's team by the 2023-2024 season as part of the ‘Viking Bold’ campaign (a strategic plan designed to lead Augustana through 2030). 

In January 2024, the team moved into the $72million USD Midco Arena, which houses 3,100 seats, 12 private suites, center-ice club hospitality space, and team store.

Contracted by one of USA’s leading building and infrastructure companies, Clark Construction, who built the arena, ZTransform procured the technology, implemented the design, completed systems integration, and provided launch services for the media workflows in the arena. This included installation of the main frame room, press box systems, cameras and rigging, lighting, production control room with replay systems, video mixing and audio suites; ZTransform also linked Midco Arena with the existing TV production studios located in a separate building on the university campus.

“ZTransform pivoted quickly to meet new demands and customized spaces that weren’t originally designed into the plans,” explains Luke Groth, Associate Athletic Director for Operations, Augustana University. ”They were really creative with workstation ergonomics and expertly figured out connectivity solutions to make the new building work with legacy infrastructure of the existing studios.”

For the majority of the Vikings NCAA Division 1 game days, a TV production team from Midco Sports Network, which provides live coverage of high school and college events in the region, plugs its own production truck into the facility infrastructure to produce live TV coverage and live streaming from up to 14 cameras around the hockey arena. Live and recorded content can also be produced and streamed by staff in-house.

“ZTransform was able to balance the diverse needs of all our stakeholders, including sponsors, marketing and content creators to build an engaging environment that works for everyone,” Groth added.

Beyond hockey, Midco Arena is a multi-use hub for Augustana Athletics, including a new athletic administration and coaching office suite, athletic department strength & conditioning center, sports medicine facility, and an equitably designed team suite for Women’s Soccer. One of the goals of the Viking Bold Campaign is to transition Augustana University to NCAA Division 1 in the near future.

Groth says that further ‘Viking Bold’ campaign initiatives include the hosting and televising or streaming of live events such as music concerts and corporate gigs: “The arena and the media facility within opens new revenue opportunities for us. ZTransform has future-proofed our systems so that we can produce broadcast quality content inhouse whether for sports or other events.”

“The patience and expertise that ZTransform displayed when coordinating with all the diverse partners and sponsors involved in the project, is a real credit to them – especially under the time constraints. I would highly recommend ZTransform as a systems integration partner on any sports venue project,” Groth concluded.

RESTON, Va.—Comscore has concluded a multi-year measurement license with the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League. The agreement will provide the hockey team with instant access to local market audience data via Comscore's local television measurement solution.

As a result of the deal, Comscore Local TV will be the exclusive measurement solution to support programming insights and revenue opportunities in the nine local markets, including Minneapolis-St. Paul and Milwaukee, that air the Wild's games and original programming.

"With Comscore as our new primary measurement solution, we now have an understanding of our audience at a level of granularity we had never seen before," said chief revenue officer and executive vice president, Mitch Helgerson. "The Comscore Local TV data allows our sales and marketing organization much greater visibility into market activity as we continue to expand our programming footprint."

"Live sports continue to be a driver of ratings and impressions for live linear television, however, to develop a deep understanding of those audiences and harness insights to grow fandom requires a level of measurement precision and granularity that only Comscore can provide. We look forward to supporting the Minnesota Wild and are excited by their immediate success resulting from the use of our measurement," said Carol Hinnant, executive vice president and executive advisor for currency strategy & initiatives at Comscore.

Comscore's local TV solution combines real-world TV viewership information with advanced household-level consumer and demographic data, providing greater accuracy to customers' advertiser base, Comscore said.

SAN DIEGO—The San Diego Gulls of the American Hockey League (AHL) have expanded game coverage across KSWB (Fox-5) and KFMB (CBS-8) here as well as via streaming platforms with a Dejero EnGo mobile transmitter for live broadcasts of away games, contributing video via resilient, high-bandwidth wireless internet connectivity. 

The production team covering the Gulls, an affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Anaheim Ducks, initially implemented the transmitter when it relocated to the NHL franchise’s practice facility FivePoint Arena at Great Park Ice in Irvine, Calif., for the 2020-2021. The Gulls made the move to the rink as a precaution during the pandemic.

“In Irvine, we didn’t always have access to the Fox 5 production truck for microwave transmission of our packaged game coverage,” said Aaron Cooney, director of communications and broadcasting at the San Diego Gulls Hockey Club. “We relied on the cellular and satellite connectivity provided by EnGo to send our primary feedback to Fox 5 HQ, where a Dejero WayPoint received the video.”

At the station, the Dejero WayPoint receiver reconstructed the video transported via IP from the Dejero EnGo and fed the output to multiple distribution platforms, including KSWB and its online streaming platform, the company said.

“It worked incredibly well and was simple and cost-effective to set up, so we figured it would also work for away games,” added Cooney.

The team has expanded its use of the technology for broadcasts of away games, including games from Bakersfield, Calif., Tucson, Ariz., and Las Vegas. The Gulls also have added five extra games to their 2021-2022 season broadcast schedule. Dejero WayPoint receivers are also used at other affiliate stations, including KFMB, which covered the preceding season, the company said. 

“The Dejero EnGo has opened up a whole new window of opportunities for us in terms of storytelling, touchpoints with fans, and cost-effective remote broadcasting, allowing us to deliver more broadcasts than before,” said Cooney.

The EnGo features Dejero’s Smart Blending Technology. It simultaneously combines cellular connections from multiple providers as well as other wired or wireless IP connections if they are available to form a virtual Dejero network of networks. The result is reliable, high-bandwidth internet connectivity for broadcast-quality live video transmission from anywhere, the company said.

“The importance of telling a compelling story for the Gulls and their fans is anchored in the live transmission provided by EnGo,” said Brian Nettles, television producer for the San Diego Gulls. “The EnGo gives us the confidence to roll up to stadiums that don’t have fiber, satellite links or pre-installed cables, knowing that we’ll still have the connectivity and bandwidth required to send high-quality broadcast video out to Gulls’ fans via bonded cellular.”

The Dejero EnGo also serves as a backup during every home game at the Gulls’ Pechanga Arena in the event a cable fails between the Gulls’ production truck and the onsite Fox 5 truck that transmits the packaged game coverage to the station.

More information is available on the company’s website.

MONTREAL—TSN and RDS are providing hockey fans a chance to change up their viewing experience, using 5G to power a new service that offers a range of unique broadcast camera angles, as well as game highlights and replays.

TSN 5G View/Vision 5G RDS is an exclusive in-app smartphone (iOS and Android) feature that uses Bell 5G to not only offer footage from more than 80 time-slice cameras around an arena to see the game from various angles, but also to rewind and rewatch a play, and zoom in at any time during a live game. Fans can also access on-demand highlights during the broadcast and post-game.

In addition to the 80 cameras, 1,500 meters of fiber, 96 dedicated servers and a specialized control center were installed at the Bell Centre to support the 5G services. The Bell Centre is the home of the Montreal Canadiens.

TSN 5G View/Vision 5G RDS will only be available during select Canadiens games and only throughout the team’s designated broadcast region. The service is expected to expand to more events, venues and teams over time.

“We’re literally handing control of the viewing experience to our fans through their Bell 5G smartphones,” said Nathalie Cook, vice president, TSN & RDS. “Because they can’t attend the games in person, we think hockey fans will be delighted with this innovative new option to get close to the action.”

MLB utilized a similar technology with T-Mobile last year for World Series broadcasts.

For more information, visit TSN.ca/5GView or RDS.ca/Vision5G. 

TORONTO & EDMONTON—The puck dropped on the NHL’s return to play this past weekend, with the first slate of games for the adapted NHL Playoffs taking place on Aug. 1 and 2. After previewing some of the elements of the broadcasts, fans got their first real look at how a hockey game without fans would be presented to them.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 24 teams participating in the NHL’s restart are divided into two hub cities—12 Eastern Conference teams in Toronto, 12 western Conference teams in Edmonton—where they will play all of their games with no fans in attendance. This has allowed for some creativity by the broadcasters on how to present game action as well as other elements for fan engagement.

There are 32 cameras setup throughout the arenas for the broadcasts, slightly more than a traditional game pre-COVID. This includes a “JitaCam,” a 360-degree camera with a rotating arm that provides a different type of angle from underneath the main scoreboards. As things get deeper into the playoffs, the broadcasters are expected to experiment more with utilizing these different angles and setups for presenting game action.

The league has also changed the look of the arenas for new visual offerings. Seats in the lower section have been covered, and a number of large video monitors have been installed in the corners of the rinks, providing visual content from the individual teams and league. Broadcasters would also use these screens for outros to commercials, sometimes having replays of goals or big plays shown on them. 

Visuals aren’t the only thing being added to the broadcasts. Using a library of sounds provided by EA Sports, which creates the officially-licensed NHL hockey video game, there was some base crowd noise that was used during play. Teams’ also got a reminder of home as goal horns and songs that are used in their home arenas would be played when they scored. There would also be shots of fans cheering from home for their team on a few occasions worked into the broadcast.

Beyond the look of things on the ice, the announcing crew has also had some adjustments made to it. Most notable is the rinkside reporters. NBC’s Brian Boucher and Pierre McGuire were both placed in Plexiglas-contained areas along the benches. Also, Doc Emrick, NBC’s lead broadcaster for the NHL, was broadcasting remotely from his home rather than in Toronto or Edmonton. Then, interviews taking place during intermission were done over Zoom.

“What’s interesting here is how COVID is essentially creating the opportunity and the environment in which broadcasters can try things a little bit differently,” Mike Naraine, an assistant professor with Brock University’s department of sport management told the Preeceville Progress. “(They can) add a couple more pieces to the pie that they wouldn’t traditionally have that opportunity to (do) for fear of ostracizing the audience.”

It’s not just the hub cities of Toronto and Edmonton that are attempting to provide a different look for fans. The Philadelphia Flyers announced that they have created a second-screen viewing experience for their fans using Tata Consultancy Services. Developed as a companion to the normal NBC Sports Philadelphia and NBC Sports Network broadcasts, Flyers Home Ice is meant to deliver Flyers in-arena content to simulate the experience of being in the team’s home arena.

The NHL Playoffs will take place from now until October.

This story utilized reports from the Preeceville Progress and NHL.com. 

SOUTH BEND, IND.—On New Year’s Day at 1 p.m. EDT, the Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks will take to the outdoor ice for the 2019 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic. It will be held in the unprotected Notre Dame Stadium, which can seat 80,795 fans outside. Opened in 1930, the stadium was designed with the help of legendary Notre Dame football head coach Knute Rockne.

Even though game day temperature is expected to be in the mid-20s (Mother Nature permitting) at the stadium’s location east of Lake Michigan, NBC Sports’ field production crew is eager to shoot the Winter Classic in the frosty winter air.

“Everybody looks forward to this event,” said John McGuinness, NBC Sports’ coordinating producer for the 2019 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic. “It’s a big, big deal for our people. It’s our second biggest hockey event of the year, with the Stanley Cup Final being the first.”

A DELIBERATE CHOICE

The fact that the Winter Classic has been played on Jan 1st since it was inaugurated in 2008, puts it squarely against the many football games played on this date, (the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Buffalo Sabres. 2-1 in front of more than 71,000 fans at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y.). The NHL does this intentionally to provide viewers with something different to see.

“When you’re flipping the channels and you come across an outdoor hockey game where it’s a beautiful day—or better yet, snowing—it’s something that will make even a casual fan stop and watch,” said Craig Bernstein, NBC Sports senior director of remote technical operations and engineering. “It’s a good opportunity to bring the sport to people who don’t normally tune into hockey. It’s been great for NBC.”

DEPLOYING DOUBLE EAGLE

NBC Sports will cover the 2019 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic using the A, B, and C units of NEP Broadcasting’s ND4/Double Eagle production mobile. The double expando Double Eagle A, equipped with a GVG Kayenne K-Frame Switcher (128 inputs/96 outputs, 9 M/E) and three ChyronHego Mosaic XL graphics workstations, will handle production switching and graphics.

Streetside expando Double Eagle B will manage video recording/editing and audio production, using eight EVS XT3 video servers (five 12 channel LSM 10 GB and three six channel LSM 10 GB) and a Calrec Apollo Digital audio console with Bluefin 2 high density signal processing.

The power unit, Double Eagle C, provides either two 200amp, 208V, 3-phase electrical feeds or one 400amp, 208V, 3-phase electrical feeds to Double Eagle A and B.

Double Eagle is NBC Sports’ golf truck, but the network deployed it for the 2018 Winter Classic at Citi Field in New York, according to Bernstein. “It’s got significantly more CCUs (camera control units) and EVSes than a normal twin,” he said. “We resource a lot of those for the Winter Classic because our number of cameras has increased.”

NBC Sports will use six hard (fixed) cameras, one of which will be a Sony HDC-4300, according to James Stuart, senior director of NHL Remote Ops. (Sony HDC-2500s will also be deployed.) “We will have three handhelds around the ice; one in each corner and one around the benches,” Stuart said. “Those will also be Sony 4300s.”

Three remotely controlled “robo” Grass Valley LDK cameras will also be used to cover the game; one behind each goal and a third covering the red line in the center of the rink. All three of the robos will shoot at six times normal frame rate (180 fps), to provide the broadcast with highly precise slo-motion video playback. Each goal net will also be equipped with a “Net Cam” to capture inside views.

The rinkside announcer team of Mike “Doc” Emrick (play-by-play) and Eddie Olcyzk (analysis) will be covered using three tripod-mounted Sony HDC-2500 handhelds, Stuart said. “We’ll be using a Skycam overhead that we’ve fitted with a Sony HDC-P43 camera; it offers higher performance than the P1,” Stuart said. “We’ll have an RF-connected ‘Movi’—think of a Steadicam—and an RF handheld. We’ll even have a camera-equipped airplane overhead.” This last item is something NBC Sports couldn’t use in an indoor hockey rink (natch).

COPING WITH THE WEATHER

With 10 years of Winter Classics under its belt, NBC Sports knows how to shoot hockey outside in cold weather.

Wherever possible, the cameras and associated technology are covered with insulated material, and heated if possible. “We always try to protect the equipment,” said Ken Goss, NBC Sports’ senior vice president of remote sports operations. “We don’t leave it outdoors overnight if we don’t need to.”

NBC Sports is equally concerned with keeping its production crew comfortable. “We schedule lots of breaks for people to come in and warm up, and bring lots of hand and foot warmers for them to use during the shoot,” said Stuart. “We even use ‘warming vests’ for our camera-people, have lots of hot chocolate on hand, and listen to any suggestions offered by our outdoor crew that might help.”

The amount of warmth NBC is allowed to provide to its rinkside talent is limited due to logistics. To keep Emrick and Olczyk from freezing during the Winter Classic, the network makes sure they’re always dressed to cope with the cold.

Even with these precautions, it can get frigid for crew members outside. For instance, the rinkside temperature at last year’s Winter Classic in Queens was 20 degrees, motivating NBC Sports’ producers to ask Emrick if he wanted to move up into the stands to a warmer location. “But Doc insisted in staying down there,” said McGuinness. “He said if the players could do it, he was going to do it.”

After all, shooting NHL hockey outdoors “is getting back to the roots of the game,” McGuinness observed. “The game started as pond hockey, and that’s been our theme the whole way through.”

The Montreal Canadians faced off against the Boston Bruins in the 2016 Winter Classic at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass.(Photo Credit: AP/Fred Kfoury III)OTTAWA—Playing NHL hockey games inside repurposed football arenas—with an outdoor NHL ice rink set up on the field—is an eye-catching spectacle, and NBC Sports Group is covering it accordingly. This is why the network is using a creative mix of cameras and camera angles to cover three outdoor games this season; more than it normally uses for indoor arena games. (The first outdoor game—the annual NHL Winter Classic was broadcast from Boston on New Year’s Day 2016, and two more are scheduled for this month.)

When NBC Sports Groups produces these outdoor matches, “it’s treated more as an event, than as just a game,” said NBC Sports Producer Josh Freedenberg. “The people tuning on New Year’s Day on NBC are going for the spectacle, and we’re trying to bring them the spectacle. Whereas on the normal Wednesday night game, or a Sunday afternoon game, we might cater more towards the hard-core hockey viewer... for these outdoor games, we’re trying to appeal to a much wider demographic.”

IMAGES AND AUDIO
To produce the February games as visual spectaculars, NBC Sports Group has added a mix of cameras to its NEP-sourced production units; namely ND5 for both games, plus NEP’s SS-22 A/B units for its Feb. 21 game in Minnesota. (The Minnesota outdoor match is one of three games being broadcast that Sunday during NBC’s “Hockey Day in America” day-long event.)

When it comes to adding pizzazz, “I think the difference in this year is we’re utilizing the Sony 4300 platform,” said Ken Goss, senior vice president for remote operations & production planning at NBC Sports.

NBC Sports Group is deploying the HDC-4300 4K system camera at center ice for variable frame rate capability, rather than its ability to shoot in 4K (The broadcasts are being produced in 1080i.) This is because the 4300’s HD high frame rate can capture smooth slow motion video at 180 frames a second. In contrast, the 1080i HDC-3300s NBC used previously could only support slow-mo at three times slower than real-time.

The emphasis on epic event-style visuals during NBC Sports’ coverage of the outdoor NHL games is best illustrated by their deployment of a three-axis SkyCam above the ice. (NBC Sports) As well, NBC Sports Group is setting up an HD camera directly across from the HDC-4300 at rink side, so that producers can capture reverse direction shots. The network is also deploying a jib cam for moving overhead ice views, and for the Minnesota “Hockey Day in America” broadcast, “there will even be a jib camera for the studio out in the Spectator Plaza, which will be a challenge,” said James Stuart, director of operations for NHL and College Hockey for NBC Sports Group. “It is on the opposite side the stadium, [from] where our compound is,” Stuart said. As a result, “we’ll probably end up using a little Honda generator to power the jib.”

The emphasis on epic event-style visuals is being supplemented by NBC Sports Groups’ deployment of a three-axis SkyCam above the ice. “You have this amazing perspective,” said Freedenberg. “Just like at a football game where the SkyCam is hanging behind the quarterback, now you have the SkyCam hanging right there and you can see the entire power play develop from a different perspective than you ever could before.”

The network is even using a camera-equipped airplane for its outdoor game coverage. “You have these shots from 2,000-feet up,” said Freedenberg. “So you can watch a goal from 2,000 feet above the ice, or you can just even watch a play develop from hundreds and hundreds of feet above the ice, which obviously isn’t available to you when you’re indoors.”

NBC Sports telecast the 2016 NHL Winter Classic between the Montreal Canadiens and the Boston Bruins live on New Year’s Day. (NBC Sports) For this year’s three outdoor NHL games, NBC Sports Group has upgraded its audio quality; namely by moving to 5.1 surround sound from 2 channel stereo. The 5.1 audio feeds are being captured using a mix of Sennheiser microphones, and are being mixed using Calrec Artemis Beam Digital Consoles in ND5. “This past Winter Classic was our first one in 5.1, and these games will also be in 5.1,” said Stuart.

THE COSTS OF WOW
The combination of creative camera angles that are not possible inside hockey rinks truly turns outdoor NHL games into television events. But this “wow factor” comes at a cost.

For instance, in wintertime Minnesota, NBC’s announcers will call the game inside a heated press box away from the ice, rather than outdoors close to the action. The downside: At this height and distance, the players look “almost like dots on the ice, skating around,” said Freedenberg. “They [the announcers] can’t call a game the same way at an outdoor stadium, as they do traditionally at an arena. So they have to adjust a great deal.”

NHL Goes 4K

The next chapter in live NHL programming is 4K, with several Canadian cable providers are leading the way.

Rogers, the nation’s largest MSO, broadcast the first NHL game in 4K on its Sportsnet sports cable network last month with a match between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadians on “Hockey Night in Canada.” The Jan. 23 game was the first of a 20-game NHL 4K broadcast commitment (which will include the Stanley Cup playoffs) by Rogers and Sportsnet.

“What makes this 4K technology so exciting is how it enhances our storytelling and how we can boost sports fans’ passion for the game in a truly immersive way,” said Scott Moore, President, Sportsnet & NHL Properties, Rogers. “Games are won and lost in the details, and with 4K, the fans are closer than ever to the insider perspective.”

Videotron, another Canadian MSO is also showing two NHL games in UHD this month and two in March.

Camera fogging can also be an issue, due to the big differences between indoor and outdoor temperatures. For example, in a previous game an RF camera taken from outdoors into the dressing room fogged up during the broadcast, “because it was going from 15 degrees to 68 degrees,” said Stuart.

“The biggest wild card—the biggest X factor,” Freedenberg said, “would be the weather. On one hand you actually are hoping for inclement weather, because it’s going to add to the intrigue and the specialness of playing outdoors ... [but] from a production standpoint, you really want a bluebird sky day and nice temperatures, and no concern for the quality of the ice.”

Whatever happens, the mass market appeal of NBC’s outdoor NHL broadcast spectaculars outweighs any challenges and discomforts. “You not only are getting the diehard fan, you’re getting the casual fan,” said James Stuart. “It’s an opportunity to introduce them to the sport of hockey.”