- NHL to build cloud-based enterprise video platform to efficiently store, catalogue and access archive footage
- Partnership will leverage league’s Puck and Player Tracking (PPY) system to deliver advanced game analytics and metrics
- Pair also plan to produce game footage from camera angles not used during a traditional broadcast
The National Hockey League (NHL) is teaming up with Amazon Web Services (AWS), the technology giant’s cloud computing arm, to deliver more data-driven viewing experiences and automate its video processing and content delivery.
Under the agreement, AWS will be listed as the official cloud, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning infrastructure provider of the North American ice hockey league.
The NHL will be building a cloud-based enterprise video platform on AWS that will make the process of storing, cataloguing and accessing archive footage more efficient, providing scope to deliver new in-game analyses, predictions and video highlights across mobile, online and broadcast platforms.
In addition, the Amazon Machine Learning Solutions Lab will apply its technology to game video and data from the league’s new Puck and Player Tracking (PPT) system, with the aim of converting that data into advanced game analytics and metrics to deepen engagement with fans.
Another area of collaboration will see the NHL use AWS Elemental Media Services to develop and manage a cloud-based HD and 4K video content delivery system that it says will offer ‘a complete view of the game’. The system will encode, process, store and transmit game footage from a series of new camera angles that will produce video feeds beyond the view of a traditional broadcast.
It was also noted that the NHL will now be able to audit its feeds to broadcast partners in real time by using Amazon Kinesis and Amazon SageMaker, which will allow the league to create a smart monitoring system that detects and automatically fixes potential feed issues.
Gary Bettman, the NHL commissioner, said the deal will contribute to the league’s aim of “building the most advanced technology solutions in sports”.
He added: “AWS is unmatched in the portfolio of cloud services that it delivers, including computer vision and machine learning, and we intend to leverage them across the board to provide advanced analysis to our teams, officials, and media partners faster than ever before.”
AWS already provides its cloud-based technology solutions to a variety of sports properties, including the National Football League (NFL), German soccer’s Bundesliga and the Formula One motorsport series.
Commenting on the deal with the NHL, AWS chief executive Andy Jassy said: “AWS’s breadth and depth of services, our proven experience in sports analytics, and our relentless focus on innovation gives the NHL the ability to bring an entirely new perspective and layer of fan involvement to the game of hockey.”
Elsewhere, AWS has unveiled three new advanced statistics as part of its partnership with the Bundesliga, whose viewers can now expect to gain better insights into the most pressed player, attacking zones and a team’s average positions on the pitch.