BAM Tech-Aided Launch Of New NHL.com Nears

The technology unit of MLB Advanced Media—called BAM Tech—will see the fruit of its first endeavor this weekend when a redesigned NHL.com launches.

An announcement came Monday from MLB and the NHL, six months after the two sports leagues announced their collaboration to revamp NHL digital platforms.

According to terms of the deal with the National Hockey League, the NHL took a seven to 10 percent stake in BAM Tech, and BAM Tech handles digital operations for the NHL, NHL.com and the streaming of live games.

“These platforms are going to give us the ability to provide more and more content to the hockey fans, and it’s also going to make it more user friendly,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said, according to NHL.com. “We couldn’t be more excited and, perhaps more importantly, more pleased with the start this relationship (between the NHL and MLBAM) has gotten off to.”

According to NHL.com, live streaming picture quality will improve. Previously, it picture quality was 30 frames per second; now it’ll by 60 frames.

“It’s more investment, but it’s the kind of quality you’d expect if you were going to throw it up on the big screen and compare it to HD,” MLBAM president and CEO Bob Bowman said, according to NHL.com.

Other changes include being able to personalize the NHL app to get real-time scores for favorite teams, and a new package called NHL Premium, which, for $2.99 a month, will allow fans to watch the final five minutes, plus overtime and the shootout, of every game.