Every year, once the Stanley CupĀ® is handed out to its new rightful owners, NHL fans’ expectations for the next NHL season begin to rise.
Hockey fans are already making predictions months before the season is set to begin. However, their expectations arenāt exclusive to stats and games. They are also looking forward to the viewing experience.
Backed by the latest and greatest minds in tech, Presidio and the NHL have partnered to establish the NHL Virtual Technical Operations Center (VTOC). The goal of VTOC is to offload the complex technical nature of their systems, so the NHL can intently focus on getting the sport to the fans.
Joined by Derek Kennedy, Vice President of Media Operations & DevOps at the National Hockey League, and George Santa, Client Vice President at Presidio, we discuss how VTOC is working to enhance the viewing experience, what has been accomplished through the partnership, and what hockey fans across the board can anticipate in the years to come.
The need for VTOC
About four years ago, Presidio and the NHL began exploring new solutions to how the NHL supported encoding as well as their distribution operations. The NHL and Presidio began by taking a closer look at monitoring and managing their digital-based streaming broadcasts.
Through the partnership, the NHL was able to have fully functioning live streams with proper management in only four days ā just in time for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The success was a testament to the power of the partnership, and because it was such a big deal, it began to spark new questions and lead the teams in new directions.
From those discussions, George and Derek found that thereās opportunity to optimizeĀ encoding and distribution elements. Simultaneously, the NHL began looking at ways to optimize its internal operations.
āThe concept around creating VTOC was that we needed a single pane of glass that allowed both Presidio and our partners at the NHL to be able to not only see but also understand, check, and be able to visibly monitor what was happening in each game at each feed with each system,ā George says.
Because of this, both Presidio and the NHL were able to spend the better part of a season analyzing, documenting, and understanding how the League was operating (and how that could be enhanced).
Through a plethora of conversations, the two partners were able to clearly explain how the League was functioning and how they wanted it to function in the upcoming seasons.
Building a system that would last
The NHLās biggest goal with the reformation was to find a solution that would work ā and one that would last.
āWe had to build something that would fit our needs at the moment and allow us to scale continuously, whether it is from week to week or season to season,ā Kennedy says.
Once the foundation was established for the encoding operation, the next step would be solidifying methods to support the League long-term. Navigating the quality control of the broadcasts began with pregame check-ins, prep work, and fully understanding the type of broadcast fans would be excited to consume.
As new requests, ideas, and discussions formed, Derek and George began to understand the value of VTOC.
āWe knew we had a platform that was repeatable. We could scale it. So, if there was a request for a new flavor of broadcast, an alternative broadcast, a new camera feed, whether it be something they wanted to explore publicly or internally, we knew we had a platform that allowed us to have a repeatable conversation,ā Kennedy says.
As the League continues growing, VTOC serves to protect and enhance the game as the expectations of fans increase parallel to technological opportunities.
Finding rapid, exceptional success
While broadcasting an entire Leagueās long list of games is a daunting task, VTOC is proving to be a solution to enhance broadcasting quality in an efficient way.
āWe saw during the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season that hockey fans were raving about the games ā but they werenāt raving about lacking video quality or missing the game on their preferred platform,ā George says.
VTOC has given the NHL the opportunity to innovate as the technology landscape evolves and demands from partners change.
With the development of VTOC, making major improvements has become more automated and easily adaptable to the needs of the current situation. Even if the solution must be enacted at the arenalevel, the in-house technologists have a wider range of support than ever before ā allowing every level to perform at a higher capacity.
To hear this interview and many more like it, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website or search for The Digital Decode in your favorite podcast player.Ā
—
Ā Ā© NHL
NHL and the NHL Shield are registered trademarks of the National Hockey League. Ā© NHL 2024. All Rights Reserved.
