NHL hopes to score big audiences with Amazon streaming launch
League premieres new docuseries and weekly broadcasts on Amazon Prime amid push to attract new viewers
The NHL has officially joined the world of streaming.
Amazon Prime Video's new National Hockey League broadcast Prime Monday Night Hockey — the league's first exclusive national broadcast package with a digital-only streaming service in Canada — kicked off Monday night.
It's part of a new deal that saw Amazon acquire the rights to broadcast all national, regular-season Monday night NHL games for the next two seasons through an agreement with Rogers.
The first streaming broadcast featured a game between the Montreal Canadiens and Pittsburgh Penguins, in which the Penguins defeated the Canadiens 6-3.
Some fans are already reacting positively.
A 'simplistic' and focused broadcast
Jordon Johnson, a self-described "die hard" Montreal Canadiens fan, was watching the game Monday night.
He described the broadcast as "high quality" and "simplistic."
The focused discussion of the panel between periods was also a highlight for Johnson, who says broader discussions about the league can take away from his viewing experience.
"I'm used to a big broadcast team that's very vocal about all the teams and all the games," he said. "This one felt very geared toward this game."
Amazon Prime's broadcast primarily featured a three-person panel consisting of former NHLer Mark Messier, broadcaster Adnan Virk and Blake Bolden, a former player in the Premier Hockey Federation/National Women's Hockey League (NHWL). Other analysts, including Andi Petrillo, were featured throughout.
A 'play for the future'
Amazon Prime Video is also working with the NHL in other ways.
Earlier this month, the platform premiered FACEOFF: Inside the NHL, a docuseries that follows some of the league's biggest stars at different stages of their careers.
"Behind the scenes stuff I think is very smart and popular," said David Hardisty, an associate professor of Marketing and Behavioural Science at the University of British Columbia's Sauder School of Business. "There's a lot of people that are hardcore fans and just want more."
He described the NHL's partnership with Amazon as a "play for the future."
"I think the NHL has kind of bet that it's worth it to have reduced viewership, some upset fans now, in exchange for growing their younger audience."
In addition to Amazon Prime, hockey fans will need to subscribe to Sportsnet, TSN and TVA if they want to watch all NHL games this season.
Hardisty points to the MLS Season Pass deal with Apple TV as a potential model the NHL could mirror in the future. The deal allows Apple TV subscribers to access every MLS game, including playoffs.
Amazon's move to acquire Monday night NHL broadcasts has fuelled speculation that the platform will bid for the Canadian broadcasting rights to all NHL games when they become available after the 2025-26 season.
When asked about the NHL broadcasting rights, Mark Shopiro, head of Prime Video Canada, said he "can't speculate on future deals."
Pro sports and streaming
In addition to upping its ice time by streaming hockey, Amazon has already made its presence known on the gridiron.The platform is entering its third season as the streaming home for NFL games on Thursday nights.
Last season, Thursday Night Football averaged 11.86 million viewers, a year-over-year increase of 24 per cent, according to Sports Media Watch.
Prime Video will also be live streaming NBA games starting with the 2025-26 season.
Other streaming services are also streaming pro sports.
There's been a surge in popularity for Formula One among younger fans, thanks to Netflix's Drive to Survive series, which premiered in 2019. The docuseries follows drivers and key players in the world of F1 racing.
Average viewership of F1 races in the U.S. almost doubled from 554,000 in 2018 to 1.11 million in 2023, according to ESPN, which airs the sport on several of its platforms.
Part of that success is likely due to the crossover effect that Drive to Survive had on the actual sport.
According to a May 2022 report by viewership analytics firm Nielsen, 2.3 per cent more people were inspired by Drive to Survive to watch an F1 event that year. Thirty-four per cent of respondents said they became a fan of the sport after watching the series.
The NHL is hoping to eventually have the same kind of success with FACEOFF.
"I think everybody has seen the effects that Drive to Survive had on Formula One racing, Full Swing has done a lot for golf, and obviously the storytelling that's involved is unique and very different," NHL executive Steve Mayer said in a media release when the show was first announced in June.
Amazon has secured at least one repeat viewer in Johnson.
"I definitely think I'll be tuned in to watch it more," he said. "It's something to look forward to on Monday."
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With files from The Canadian Press and Jenna Benchetrit