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NHL Network Online - Reviewed
by Alanah McGinley on 04/09/08 at 02:45 PM ET
Comments (6)
There have been a number of stories published today on the launch of the new NHL Network Online. To read more about it, check out these:
“NHL Tries to Score in Digital World to Woo Fans” (The CP)
“Can the NHL’s Web Strategy Make a Difference” (Conde Nast)
“NHL Net Online Debuts” (NHL Press Release, via Eye on the Media)
Being fascinated by the NHL’s digital media initiatives in general, I spent some time on the new site this morning, and have some first impressions to share.
Some good, some bad:
Plus: The interface is very user-friendly, infinitely moreso than previous video provisions through NHL.com.
Minus: The flash advertising (at least what comes up for my Canadian IP address) semi-frequently interferes with my ability to interact with the library of shows. (i.e. a Scotia ad popped up on me every so often, and simply wouldn’t get out of the way for me to access the controls - I was forced to reload the page).
Plus: The network’s show offerings are a solid start. The Hockey Show is a great idea for NHL highlights (although I’ll withhold judgment on the show’s hosts for now). And the Playoff Channel is timely for the launch. Also great to see the NHL’s podcasts and radio shows archived on the page.
Minus: Video material from individual teams—the short features they produce throughout the season—are nowhere available on this page (that I can find). I would argue that this new site should be the destination point for ALL NHL video and multimedia, now that the team websites are all underneath the NHL.com domain umbrella. (Don’t make people look for stuff, NHL; part of my job with Kukla’s Korner is to find stuff on that NHL site, and even I struggle with it half the time. Don’t expect the average fan to be running all over the place searching out the different media you offer.)
Plus: The flash video itself has very few hitches. For some reason, my internet connection generally causes me problems with this, but within the NHL Network Online, I’ve had almost no problems. A major bonus.
Minus: The technology for embedding the material on other websites and blogs is still very imperfect. Kukla’s Korner, for instance, generally works around the issues, but I know plenty of bloggers who find it’s not worth the hassle. I’m not sure what the solution is, but the NHL should bear in mind that embedding YouTube (for example) causes zero problems for most webmasters—why does the NHL’s flash video have so many problems in this regard? Something to keep working on—embedding is a major part of what makes multi-media a viral success.
Overall, I’m actually pretty impressed. The NHL—while often full of good ideas—frequently stumbles upon execution. For an opening day launch, this site shows a lot of promise, though I’ll look forward to a lot more meaningful new content in the future.
The user experience for these kind of things tends to be very individual (based on their computers systems, internet habits, etc) so I’m sure others will have different impressions to share. But I think it’s fair to say this is a solid start.
Update April 30, 2008:
Since originally posting this review, the NHL Network Online has posted a technical FAQ page which hopefully will help people with some of the more basic obstacles. I imagine that page will be evolving as they get feedback.
Filed in: NHL Media | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: digital+media, internet, media, nhl+network+online,
Comments
Thanks for the info and the link, George. I hope the players works well for the individual sites.
Posted by Alanah McGinley from British Columbia on 04/09/08 at 04:14 PM ET
Very cool…but my connection over here in China just isn’t strong enough for it. The NHL has the right idea…I just wish they would think about hosting their sites on servers throughout the world, so we could get a bit better connection wherever we fans may be.
Posted by GZ Expat from Chiner on 04/09/08 at 05:28 PM ET
“The NHL has the right idea…I just wish they would think about hosting their sites on servers throughout the world, so we could get a bit better connection wherever we fans may be.”
An excellent point, Expat. The server for the system is powered by NeuLion. I wonder how they handle such things? Given that world-wide streaming of internet media is their business, I would think that is an issue they factor into their setup. But who knows.
Posted by Alanah McGinley from British Columbia on 04/09/08 at 05:52 PM ET
Perfect analysis, Alanah. I was skeptical about this new player but still excited. After a quick browse through it on my lunch break, I was pretty pleased.
It’s got some issues but is a definite step up from what they have before.
But as for NeuLion, they’re a bit dodgy frankly. The CEO is married to Charles Wang and the company got their inroads first by using their technology with the Islanders.
Not that I’ll hold that against them too much as that happens a lot (my company included actually) but from there to all the hiccups I had with Center Ice Online last year…it just seems like they promise more than they deliver.
Posted by Shane from Saskatoon on 04/09/08 at 09:50 PM ET
It dosn’t work in the UK. The team sites do but not the new player. I have tried it on several PC’s in various locations but it won’t go. The really frsutrating thing is that it has worked for me twice at home and it was great for that one night only?
Posted by M Kerr from UK on 04/28/08 at 08:53 AM ET
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From the Blueland Blog, all of the teams will have the same player next year. I imagine that the league wanted to get it out for the playoffs, and needs more time to get it for all 30 sites.
Posted by George from Atlanta on 04/09/08 at 03:40 PM ET