- Sony has entered a multi -year global technology partnership with NHL
- This may mean more real time, animated simulcasts of the game are on the horizon
- Sony’s Beyond Sports, Hawk-Eye setups and cameras will still be used at the arena
If you’ve ever dreamed of watching your hockey heroes play with the biggest animated stars, Sony’s new deal with NHL may get you excited.
Sony has already expanded to the professional sports world via its Beyond Sports brand, which is the key to real-time data processing and the ability to take all that action and translate it into something else.
Its partnership with NFL (National Football League) led to the broadcast of The Simpsons Funday Football At Disney+ and ESPN last year, and now the NHL could be next to that kind of treatment.
The NHL is already using Sony’s Hawk-Eye Technology System-a combination of cameras over the ice and portable sensors on players-but this new deal will expand it as it continues the use of Sony cameras for both still photography and video.
Most exciting promises to expand the role that Beyond Sports could play in changing how fans of any age can experience a hockey game.
If animated simulcasts in real time are on the horizon as part of this agreement, this is not the first time the NHL and Sony have collaborated on such a bet.
In 2023 NHL BIG CITY GREENS CLASSIC was produced using Beyond Sports Technology and that system along with the Hawk-Eye setup is now installed in all 32 arenas.
As with other animated broadcasts, the goal is to expand the appeal and attract a wider audience – one that may be different from or adjacent to those who participate in person.
In a speech with Techradar, David Lehanski, CEO Vice President of Business Development and Innovation at the NHL, said that negotiations began with a question of how the league can reach more fans.
But now, “We eventually come to a point where we allow the fan to customize so that they can have some role in determining what the environment looks like. And then another step after it can even give the fans an ability to interact with the content,” Lehanski continued.
These comments repeat themselves back to Techradar’s conversation with Sander Schouten, CEO and co -founder of Beyond Sports last year.
The schout then suggested that more environments could come depending on the partner and that we could see more interactive streams. He also highlighted the large amount of data generated and its rapid pace, suggesting that the runway is open to different implementations.
It can mean multiple currents or different ways to access the action – be it on a traditional TV, through streaming or even in a virtual reality environment. The latter is something that the NHL has already explored, both for analysts and for players.
For both Sony and NHL, this is an exciting endeavor – a formalized partnership built on technology already used in play. It should open the door to more robust interactions and increased investment, which improves the gaming experience, whether in the stands or watching from home.
While neither Sony nor NHL would comment on future partners for animated moments in real time, I hope we may see a return of The Simpsons – Not for football, but for hockey.
