Monday the NHL (and MLB) announced a partnership with Twitter, agreeing to air one out-of-market game per week starting next year.
It's an agreement that hockey fans around the country should be excited about, with a sport and league desperate for exposure.
Weekly games and nightly highlights will be live-streamed on @twitter. https://t.co/544tB7dIes pic.twitter.com/4RyuARH4pf
— NHL (@NHL) July 25, 2016
The partnership will work in a similar fashion to the NFL's Thursday Night Football games that were streamed on Twitter last season. It will also include a show produced specifically for the platform that will feature highlights and analysis.
Stephen McArdle, the NHL's executive vice president of digital media and strategic planning, told NHL.com "Twitter has become a crucial forum and engagement tool for hockey fans to enhance their NHL viewing experience and stay connected to the game on and off the ice."
If you have a Twitter account, you've seen this first-hand during Sabres games. When Jack Eichel buried a goal in his first game, Twitter basically exploded.
Jack Eichel scores in his first career NHL game. Snipe. pic.twitter.com/N8WvNn2zEB
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) October 9, 2015
Soon, fans will be able to have those interactions weekly, with games they normally wouldn't be watching.
Just think of Tony from St. Louis. You remember-- the guy who fell in love with hockey live on Twitter. Maybe that will happen all the time!
Okay, probably not, but the exposure is something the league desperately needs in the U.S. while the NBA and NFL continue to become more and more popular.
And remember: the typical Twitter user is young. Those are the fans sports leagues want-- grab them now and have them invested for the rest of their lives.
The games will be available for both fans logged on Twitter and those without an account in the United States.
As of right now there's no schedule of games that will be streamed; that will be released at a later time.
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