Hockey is returning to the ice — and Twitter is getting live “look-ins” for the NHL‘s Stanley Cup qualifying and playoff games.
Under a new pact, starting Aug. 1 fans will be able to vote on Twitter for which games from the NHL’s 2020 postseason they want for the live look-in feature, which will comprise four minutes of livestreaming video per game. During the Stanley Cup Conference Finals, a minimum of five games will be featured as live look-in games, while Twitter will get live look-ins of every game of the Stanley Cup Final will be featured.
For the NHL, the goal is to drive tune-in to live game broadcasts on NBC Sports, regional sports networks and NHL Network, as well as spur fan interaction on Twitter.
The NHL’s video snippets distributed on Twitter are being delivered by Disney Streaming Services, which in addition to operating Disney Plus and ESPN Plus also operates NHL.tv and powers the back-end streaming for Major League Baseball’s MLB.tv. New York-based DSS (formerly called BAMTech) is majority owned by Disney with MLB and NHL holding minority stakes.
The league’s partnership with Twitter and Disney Streaming Services, “especially during this unprecedented time of social distancing, provides the perfect platform to facilitate fan interaction and conversation, as well as [to] drive broadcast tune-in,” said NHL chief marketing officer Heidi Browning.
For the 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifiers and the first two rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the NHL will select two game nights per week (schedule permitting) that will feature the live look-ins on Twitter. On the days leading up to the selected dates, fans will be invited to vote for the game they’d like to see featured as the live look-in game via the NHL’s Twitter account (@NHL). The NHL will announce the winning match up the morning of the game.
Here’s how the live look-ins on Twitter will work: During the 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifiers and Round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Twitter will stream the first two minutes of the first period and the first two minutes of the third period of the select Live Look-In games. During Round 2, the Stanley Cup Conference Finals and the Stanley Cup Final, Twitter will stream the first two minutes of the first period and the last two minutes of the third period of the select Live Look-In games.
In addition to live NHL action, hockey fans on Twitter will also see video highlights during each round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs plus Twitter Moments during the final two rounds, featuring top Tweets from top hockey personalities and content partners. In addition, Twitter will bring back the #StanleyCup emoji, along with unique team logo emojis for every team competing in the postseason.
“As the puck drops on the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Twitter will once again be home to an awesome mix of premium NHL content and real-time hockey conversation,” TJ Adeshola, Twitter’s head of U.S. sports, said in a statement.
