Mark Messier says ‘change’ is inevitable as the NHL enters streaming era on Amazon

Over his 4th period successful the National Hockey League, Mark Messier witnessed sweeping technological changes to the game, from the advent of lighter hockey sticks to the usage of video reviews.

Now, the Canadian Hall of Famer believes hockey is poised for different leap arsenic it moves into the streaming era.

Messier volition beryllium among the on-air endowment for Amazon Prime Video’s caller NHL broadcast, Prime Monday Night Hockey, the league’s archetypal exclusive nationalist broadcast bundle with a digital-only streaming work successful Canada.

Shows volition beryllium broadcast from the location team’s arena, kicking disconnected Monday erstwhile the Montreal Canadiens big the Pittsburgh Penguins astatine the Bell Centre – with U.S. sports announcer John Forslund doing the play-by-play.

Amazon’s caller task could acceptable the signifier for a large shakeup successful broadcast rights erstwhile Rogers Communications Inc.’s existent 12-year woody with the NHL expires successful 2026.

“(I learned) I person to germinate arsenic a subordinate if I’m going to beryllium capable to play for 26 years. I deliberation the aforesaid happening tin beryllium said successful the mode we bring the crippled to beingness for radical watching connected TV,” Messier said connected a telephone from Toronto.

“The technology’s changing each the clip — sophistication successful cameras, ideas of however we bring and immerse the fans into the crippled person each changed.

Prime Monday Night Hockey broadcasts volition see Rapid Recap, an interactive diagnostic wherever those who articulation a crippled successful advancement tin ticker a two-minute item bundle compiled with artificial intelligence.

Mark Shopiro, caput of Prime Video Canada, said much innovations volition beryllium introduced passim the season, but the existent absorption is “getting the broadcast close and giving a large merchandise to fans.”

Amazon acquired the rights to broadcast each national, regular-season Monday nighttime NHL games for the adjacent 2 seasons done a woody with Rogers. The determination has fuelled speculation that Amazon volition bid for the Canadian broadcasting rights to each NHL games erstwhile they go disposable aft the 2025-26 season.

“If idiosyncratic thinks that 2 years from now, Amazon – which is this gigantic institution that’s intelligibly precise bullish astir making an imprint successful the sports satellite – volition say, ‘We’re conscionable going to bash this for 2 years, conscionable dabble and spot wherever it goes and past spell away,’ I would beryllium stunned, rather honestly,” said Adnan Virk, who volition co-host Prime Monday Night Hockey with Andi Petrillo.

When asked astir the NHL broadcasting rights, Shopiro said helium “can’t speculate connected aboriginal deals.”

A Rogers spokesperson said the Canadian media elephantine plans “to beryllium astatine the table” erstwhile the NHL rights travel up for renewal, but wouldn’t remark further.

NHL’s main contented serviceman and enforcement vice-president Steve Mayer couldn’t talk to the upcoming negotiations, but said “we anticipation this is simply a agelong narration astatine the NHL with Amazon and obviously, we’re conscionable starting things disconnected with these 2 years.”

Rogers’ Sportsnet volition proceed to broadcast nationalist games connected Wednesdays for the adjacent 2 years, on with Hockey Night successful Canada connected Saturdays, besides disposable connected CBC and different Rogers-owned channels.

One perceiver said the NHL is the biggest victor successful the Amazon-Rogers woody due to the fact that the terms for the broadcast rights has present been “driven up,” adding that hockey fans are the biggest losers.

“You’re forcing your existent subscribers to subscribe determination else. If you privation to ticker nationalist Monday nighttime games, you person to person Amazon Prime,” Toronto Metropolitan University athletics media prof Laurel Walzak said.

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She said this speaks to a larger inclination successful sports, wherever leagues are present signing rights deals with aggregate parties.

In July, the NBA inked an 11-year statement with Disney, NBC and Amazon.

Petrillo, who has worked for CBC and TSN, said she understands wherefore determination mightiness beryllium immoderate backlash to the NHL’s determination to streaming.

“I cognize precisely wherever radical are coming from erstwhile you get truthful utilized to thing for your full beingness — transmission surfing, sitting down and conscionable wanting to subscribe to 1 happening and person everything connected that,” said Petrillo, who volition besides big a Prime amusement connected Thursdays called NHL Coast to Coast, featuring highlights, investigation and interviews.

Amazon hopes to hook hockey fans with top-shelf broadcasts, utilizing 30 HD cameras per occurrence that movie successful precocious dynamic scope astatine 60 frames per second.

“I deliberation the exertion and advancement successful cameras and angles, being capable to enactment cameras successful antithetic positions than we’ve ever been capable to successful the past, is truly going to elevate the experience,” said Messier, who joins a squad of analysts including Blake Bolden, Thomas Hickey, Shane Hnidy and Jody Shelley.

Virk said Prime Monday Night Hockey volition thin harder into statistic than astir hockey shows.

“We’re going to usage numbers successful a mode that volition differentiate it from different broadcasts. We’ll usage much analytics,” helium said.

What’s more, helium said the show’s taxable song, recorded by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, is “a banger.”

“I’ll archer you close now, (as idiosyncratic who) grew up connected the ‘Hockey Night successful Canada’ theme, the euphony unsocial volition person radical paying attention.”