The 2024 Stanley Cup Finals neared new peaks of popularity. Seeing the Edmonton Oilers come back to bring the series to Game 7 before ultimately falling to the Florida Panthers proved captivating viewing for the NHL’s grand finale. In North America alone, 16.3 million viewers watched that final game, making it the second most-watched on record. 3n292o
Across the Finals, there was an average audience of 8.8 million viewers, which was an 85 per cent jump on 2023. While circumstance would have powered much of the viewership, given the comeback and it boiling down to the final game, the NHL will certainly be looking to capitalise on any potential surge in interest after that Game 7.
With major leagues across North America vying to expand and reach new audiences and markets, new technologies and popular platforms are constantly being explored. For the NHL, there might just be some ways to make the most of popular gambling games and even the burgeoning scene of virtual, mixed, and augmented reality.
Combining live hockey with cards, dice, and tables 1ki1n
One of the most competitive corners of entertainment is iGaming. You’ve got new online casinos ing the fray all the time, challenging the top sites in any way that they can. A primary battleground for them is by bringing in innovative casino games. Live casino games have seen a lot of this innovation in recent times, even to the point where sport and new casino games have been combined.
Being live, Evolution recognised the potential to have live scores and even discussion come into their live casino games. It began with Football Studio, which one of the 5.0 out of 5.0 new casinos carries. From there, it grew to Football Studio Dice and a new card live card game. This is an angle the NHL could take further.
A branded live casino game that offers a fully immersive experience based around hockey could work very well in North American and many European markets. As most days during the regular season have puck drops at the same time and even offer up a solid several hours of hockey across the board, having a game that offers its own entertainment alongside big score alerts and even highlights would be a big draw.
The new realm of viewer experience 1f2l5d
While not quite mainstream yet, the new arena of digital reality is fast approaching and, perhaps soon, will be a place to reach fans. For now, there are ways that the NHL is working towards leveraging XR technologies. In April 200, it was announced that Verizon had showcased an app that offered even more to fans in the stands.
Teaming up with Immersive.io, the hockey match trial showcased the power and future applications of 5G and mobile edge computing in the arena, giving a way to see the game through the smartphone screen. On the screen, there’d be an overlay of stats, options for different camera angles, and player labels – all in real-time.
The NHL has also stepped that bit further into virtual reality. On the Meta Quest platform, there’s the NHL Sense Arena, which features fully licensed jerseys and arenas for s to explore. It also puts the into skill tests from over 100 NHL game scenarios. Still, bringing live games into the VR space should be the goal.
After such a triumphant end to the 2023/24 season, the NHL should be looking to push its momentum into these new spaces and offer more innovative ways to deliver the league to its fans.
