North American ice hockey’s NHL has announced a major global partnership with Japanese technology and media conglomerate Sony, aiming to enhance the viewing experience for fans watching at home.
The multi-year deal sees Sony become the NHL’s official global technology partner, with the league expanding its use of the tech company’s Beyond Sports’ animated data visualizations and Hawk-Eye tracking technologies to boost viewer engagement during matches.
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Daid Lehanski, NHL executive vice president of business development and innovation, has said: “Advancing the development and implementation of technology on and off the ice is a key priority for the league … to bring fans closer to our great game and showcase the NHL as a worldwide technology leader.”
The NHL has used Sony technology specifically for replay reviews since 2015, and later for supporting team medical and player health and safety reviews. All 32 NHL arenas now feature 60-frames-per-second optical tracking setups that follow 29 points on each player and three points on each stick.
The league will now use Hawk-Eye for evaluating line-to-gain decisions starting this season and is evaluating the potential use of the technology to weigh in on infraction decisions and goals.
Sony’s Beyond Sports, meanwhile, has been utilized by the NHL for its data visualization since 2018, creating fan content and digital activations, which will now be used to help the league recreate hockey games as animated visualizations in real time.
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By GlobalDataTheresa Alesso, president of imaging products and solutions Americas at Sony Electronics, said: “From imaging and broadcast to some of the world’s most advanced data visualization and tracking innovations, Sony remains committed to helping create the future of sports through technology.
“This partnership builds upon a successful history of collaborations between the NHL and Sony, and we are excited to reinforce our commitment to the game, fans, and players.”
The NHL’s focus on broadcast visualizations comes shortly after it confirmed a lucrative 12-year, $7.7 billion media rights extension with Canadian telecommunications giant Rogers for the 2026-27 campaign.
This expanded deal includes unilateral national rights covering all broadcast platforms (TV, digital, and streaming) for every national game, with rights covering both English and French-language telecasts.
Additionally, national rights to the showpiece Stanley Cup finals and special events such as the league’s all-star game are also included, as are out-of-market rights for regional broadcasts.
Under the deal, Rogers holds the exclusive category sponsorship rights for both the NHL itself in Canada, as well as any major NHL event held in the country.
In the US, meanwhile, national broadcast rights to live NHL action are held by ESPN and Warner Bros Discovery-owned TNT. Those agreements run for seven years from 2021.
The Sony deal announcement also comes ahead of the 2024-25 NHL Stanley Cup finals, with the Edmonton Oilers taking on the Florida Panthers in a seven-game series starting tonight (June 4).
