Amazon Prime has various business interests in streaming in addition to their massive online and bricks and mortar retail platform. Prime has been has been making exclusive content on their streaming channel but it is sports that draws in the big live audiences.
Amazon, like YouTube and Netflix, has been broadcasting a game a week on their platforms. It is less noticeable in Canada because CTV has the NFL rights and we get Prime, CBC, NBC and ABC games on regular CTV channels and TSN cable. This could change in the next TV and streaming deal with the NFL if the streamers insist on world-wide rights on their platforms only. This could lead to charges of antitrust.
It would seem the NHL wants to have streamers pay big money but everyone knows if a deal goes to just one broadcaster, it could lead to government breaking up a monopoly. Rogers buying national rights in Canada to squeeze out CBC and TSN might have been disallowed if it wasn't for regional broadcast rights being owned by TSN in major markets as well as Rogers using CBC and CityTV to further the reach of their broadcasts.
Mark Messier is easily the most recognized of the broadcast team. With six Stanley Cups, he is known on both sides of the border. It is hard not to think this is an audition for more Amazon broadcasts targeting the U.S. for the NHL. The amount of American talent on the broadcast makes you think Amazon is setting up for a long future. Play by play is being called by present say Seattle Kraken play caller John Forslund. He has been in American hockey broadcast since the 1990s and is a well known and recognized voice in the booth. Colour commentary comes from a series of broadcasters breaking a way from their other duties around the league. Blake Bolden, American, former NCAA and women's professional leagues and pro scout for Los Angeles Kings. Jody Shelly from Manitoba/Nova Scotia. A former enforcer in the NHL, he became a broadcaster with Columbus Blue Jackets. Shane Hnidy, another Manitoba, former NHLer and former much beloved colour analyst for Jets. Working for Golden Knights and TNT as analyst. Thomas Hickey, Canadian, former NHL defencemen for the Islanders and colour analyst for the team with MSG Network.
I'm assuming that Shane Hnidy gets the call for the Amazon Prime broadcast in Winnipeg in two weeks against the Leafs. I expect it will quite the experience. The Montreal broadcast had Amazon crews all over the place shooting the city and the fans. Comments from Montreal fans was that broadcast was very high quality. Some camera work was not seen in broadcasts done elsewhere. One observation was that the commentary was simplistic and focused on the game rather than the league as well. They did have Gary Bettman there but it was not quite a state of the league address but more a welcome to Amazon.
The pre-game production was about an hour before the game. It consisted of American host Adnan Virk of ESPN introducing the game. The rest of the panel was Blake Boldren and Mark Messier with guest Bettman. The other co-host, Canadian Andi Petrillo, a long time analyst for CBC and Hockey Night in Canada, handled all the interviews except Bettman's.
Andi Petrillo will host a Thursday program called Coast to Coast on Prime. The NHL has a production hub in Secaucus, New Jersey and Petrillo will often use the studio there if she isn't doing it on location in various Canadian cities. Meadowlands sports centers are there and it across from Manhattan.
Amazon Prime is also producing a docu-series Face-Off Inside the NHL which will looks at the inside story with players and teams. So far it has been compelling TV. There are also some other NHL series on the streamer.
Last year Amazon Prime had just under 12 million average for Thursday Night Football. Not bad numbers considering some of the games were not exactly best of the week. In fact, some were calling it trash football. Next year Amazon Prime will have NBA games broadcast. It is unclear if it is for all of North America.
The Amazon in Canada won't feel like trash games to Canadians. Anytime two Canadian teams face off will get a TV crowd. The Leaf and Jets game will see a lot of viewers. The Winnipeg game is going to have huge excitement to it and could see a rise of Prime subscriptions or more people going to bars where it is playing.
The who issue of subscriptions is a big deal. The next NHL deal is likely to have several aspects to it. It will be shorter, have regular broadcasters and cable but it could also be multiple streamers. People forget that the return of the Jets meant seeing games on a single cable channel TSN 3 and paying quite a bit for it. Imagine having to do that for several subscriptions. It could grow to prices that led people to cut cable.
No comments:
Post a Comment