
Despite NHL Pause, New Jersey Devils Go Above and Beyond With Live Draft Lottery Coverage, NHL 20 Streams Working from home, the franchise pressed reset on its video workflows to serve fans in new ways By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital
Monday, July 13, 2020 - 2:49 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
When the NHL truncated its regular season in mid March as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, not much was expected from the New Jersey Devils. The team sat in last place in the Metropolitan Division with only a handful of games left on the schedule. It would have been particularly easy to roll over, write off the year, and move on to offseason planning. But that's not how this franchise's internal video-production and content teams roll.
Live video programming for the New Jersey Devils' digital and social platforms is produced using technology set up in the home of Senior Manager, Scoreboard and Live Production, Joe Kuchie.
The team, which is owned by Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment (HBSE), quickly turned around a brand-new content calendar designed to both entertain fans and offer value to corporate partners, all powered by a new work-from-home production model.
At the Devils, we try to prepare for the unexpected, says Chris Wescott, manager, content, New Jersey Devils. In this digital world, we have the ability to go remote pretty much on command. It was relatively easy for us.
Conveniently, the company had begun researching and planning for a more-remote office workflow for the future. According to Jillian Frechette, SVP, marketing, New Jersey Devils and Newark's Prudential Center, that work had begun even before the coronavirus appeared on the country's radar.
The technological onus in setting the franchise up for success fell to Devils Senior Manager, Scoreboard and Live Production, Joe Kuchie and his team. Unable to work from either the club's new digital content studio or the Prudential Center's in-venue control room, a shift to an actual at-home model needed to happen quickly.
There have been so many advancements in technology over the last couple of months, says Kuchie. Vendors are coming out with new ways to engage with fans, and, while it's great to have now, when things go into the new normal,' there's no reason we won't be able to use this technology moving forward.
While the club has turned around a slew of intriguing and engaging video content over the past few months, two pillars of live content have proved praise-worthy: a live show surrounding the NHL Draft Lottery and a series of NHL 20 streams re-creating the live game experience.
Anything Can Happen' on Draft Lottery Night
For a team like the Devils and others across the NHL who wouldn't be involved in the league's restart (the puck is now slated to drop on Aug. 1), the announcement of the NFL Draft Lottery on June 26 was the first big hockey moment on the schedule since mid March. It immediately became the focus of the club's content-creation and sponsor-obligation efforts.
We have a philosophy at the Devils that we're big on our hockey moments, says Frechette. We want to celebrate our hockey moments; we want to amplify them. [The] Draft Lottery, for a lot of teams, is just another day on the calendar, but, for us, it was a really big deal, and we wanted to set the stage for what we hope to deliver when [the NHL] Draft rolls around in the fall.
The Devils' efforts on Draft Lottery night included a 30-minute preshow exclusive for premium fans who are members of the team's The Black and Red club. That preshow offered interviews with famous alums like Martin Brodeur and Chico Resch, as well as 2019's first-overall Draft pick Jack Hughes. At 8 p.m. ET, the show went live across all platforms: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and the team's website and mobile app.
According to HBSE, the show - which was fittingly sponsored by the New Jersey Lottery - garnered more than 1.4 million social impressions and more than 17,000 live viewers across all platforms. An additional 1,000+ viewers took part in an exclusive members-only live pre-event show. All in all, the Devils were tops among all lottery-eligible clubs in social-brand mentions the night of the Lottery, and the production registered an 86% positivity score on HBSE's social-listening analytics tools.
In a time of so much uncertainty, to have that certainty with a hockey moment and an event for us was refreshing. It was go time, let's make the best of it. Joe's team and our content team worked hand in hand on multiple ideas before settling on a collaborative effort that was going to be unlike anything NHL teams were doing at the time.
To pull it off, Kuchie and his production team leveraging a live-video infrastructure built specifically for the club's new work-from-home mandate; a workflow, mind you, that leverages very little of the Devils' control room at Prudential Center.
The show was produced through StreamYard's StreamYard Studio product, which allowed Kuchie to have full control over the broadcast center, be able to switch in a live environment, and add custom backgrounds and sponsor branding, all while maintaining open communication with hosts live on-air and guests preparing to join the broadcast.
Hosts Matt Loughlin, Amanda Stein, and Wescott, as well as any guests that appeared on-air, received a private link via StreamYard that ushered them into a virtual studio, where Kuchie could approve their video and audio outputs before placing them in the live show. On the way out, StreamYard also produced custom RTMP links to allow broadcast of the show on all Devils digital and social channels, including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, the team's website, and its mobile app.
It was very convenient for me
Most recent headlines
13/03/2025
(L-R) Stephanie Suganami, Tatanka Means, John Malkovich, Ayo Edebiri, and Juliette Lewis attend the premiere of Opus at Eccles Theatre in Park City. (Photo by...
13/03/2025
Spotify took center stage at the London Book Fair this week, reaffirming our commitment to the audiobook market and showcasing our impact on the publishing indu...
13/03/2025
At Spotify, we work every day to lift up new voices, giving creators the opportunity to live off their art. Through Spotify Audiobooks, our in-house publishing ...
13/03/2025
Every time airborne law enforcement (ALE) teams fly, they expect their equipment to perform. Whether airborne units are conducting support for ground teams, bor...
13/03/2025
Sunday February 9 saw the annual return of the US' biggest television event, the Super Bowl LIX. Jamie McCombs, Fox Sports Audio Consultant / Sr. Audio capt...
13/03/2025
On Sunday March 2, stars across the film industry gathered at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles for the 97th Academy Awards. Production Sound Mixer Paul Sandweis...
13/03/2025
WUPPERTAL, Germany Riedel Communications will feature its new StageLink family of smart edge devices, Smart Audio and Mixing Engine (SAME) and Virtual Smart Pan...
13/03/2025
TAG Video Systems and Harmonic Partner to Deliver Enhanced Real-Time Monitoring ...
13/03/2025
DigitalGlue Invites NAB Visitors to Experience New Features in Managed Storage P...
13/03/2025
FOR-A America Theme - Connecting the Present, Building the Future - Comes to Lif...
13/03/2025
CTIA, the wireless industry association, has named former FCC Chairman Aji Pai as its President and Chief Executive Officer, effective April 1. He replaces Mere...
13/03/2025
he National Association of Broadcasters is urging the FCC to end its investigation of that controversial CBS interview with Kamala Harris stating there is no ...
13/03/2025
MIAMI CBS News & Stations continues to expand its use of augmented and virtual reality technologies with the planned launch of an augmented reality/virtual real...
13/03/2025
Srividhya Srinivasan, co-founder and chief customer success & innovation Officer at Amagi, tells TVBEurope how staying ahead of the latest trends is essential f...
13/03/2025
WASHINGTON FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced that the agency has launched a massive, new deregulatory initiative that could potentially subject virtually all ...
13/03/2025
SUNNYVALE, Calif. SDVI has announced that it has integrated its Rally media supply chain management platform with the Spectra Vail multi-cloud data management s...
13/03/2025
ATLANTA Gray Media has announced that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has granted a waiver of its local ownership rules to permit Gray Media to acqu...
13/03/2025
TV Tech: What do you anticipate will be the most significant technology trends at the 2025 NAB Show?...
13/03/2025
Watch Student Naomi Soleils Folk Pop Performance on The Voice The songwriting major sang Stars by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals during the blind auditions.
...
13/03/2025
Roku Debuts NWSL Zone' Within Roku Sports to Spotlight Live Games, Content Feature marks Rokus first women's league-branded zone within service By Bra...
13/03/2025
Pixels, Images, Video, AI - and Us: A Perspective on AI from NDI Inventor Andrew...
13/03/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Lighting Design Group's Steve Brill, Dennis Size ...
13/03/2025
IOC, Comcast NBCU Ink $3B Media-Rights Extension for Olympic Games Through 2036;...
13/03/2025
NCAA March Madness Live Returns with Expanded Availability of MultiView Vertical...
13/03/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Cosm's Devin Poolman on What It Takes To Deliver the Immersive...
13/03/2025
Sky Business, Sky's B2B division, providing connectivity and content to busi...
13/03/2025
Rohde & Schwarz launches R&S NRP140TWG(N) thermal power sensor: A new benchmark ...
13/03/2025
We asked the questions, analysed the answers and now we're excited to share the results of the fifth edition of the ICG Marketing Survey.
Our 2025 survey p...
13/03/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. - March 13, 2025 Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced a breakthrough in video streaming innovation with the launch of new origin capabilitie...
13/03/2025
Haivision Showcases Mission-Critical Video Solutions at SOF Week 2025
Haivision's video wall systems, ISR technology, and DoDIN APL-certified video distri...
13/03/2025
Company Leads the Way with New Software-Based Production Platform, 12G Switcher,...
13/03/2025
A new Apple Immersive concert experience, Metallica, is coming to Apple Vision Pro this Friday, March 14. Filmed in Mexico City during the sold-out second-year ...
13/03/2025
Here is your host, Patrick Kielty!
Shake your Shamrocks, Patrick Kielty will be...
13/03/2025
This St. Patrick's weekend, RT invites you to celebrate all things Irish, showcasing the very best of Irish sport, entertainment and live coverage from the...
13/03/2025
What's next in AI is at GTC 2025. Not only the technology, but the people and ideas that are pushing AI forward - creating new opportunities, novel solution...
13/03/2025
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
By combining T-Mobile's robust network, Thal...
13/03/2025
Bundle up - GeForce NOW is bringing a flurry of Blizzard titles to its ever-expanding library.
Prepare to weather epic gameplay in the cloud, tackling the genr...
13/03/2025
AI is leveling up the world's most beloved games, as the latest advancements...
13/03/2025
PC game modding is massive, with over 5 billion mods downloaded annually. Mods p...
12/03/2025
O Spotify acaba de lan ar o relat rio Loud & Clear deste ano, uma vis o transpar...
12/03/2025
Spotify acaba de presentar el informe Loud & Clear de este a o, una mirada trans...
12/03/2025
Ramadan, a period of profound spiritual significance for Muslims worldwide, is a time for fasting, prayer, reflection, and community. Enrich your experience thi...
12/03/2025
Spotify has just unveiled this year's Loud & Clear report, a transparent loo...
12/03/2025
More than 70% of FAST programming has been produced since 2010, according to new Gracenote report
NEW YORK March 12, 2025 Gracenote, the content data busin...
12/03/2025
GEONA, Nev. Independent digital and linear advertising rep firm Viamedia will adopt cloud-based ShowSeeker Pilot as its primary ad campaign and order management...
12/03/2025
BRUSSELS Mediagenix has announced that Wael Yasin has joined the company as sales director Central Europe....
12/03/2025
LONDON A new study highlights opportunities for shoppable TV and the massive impact online consumer spending is having on the economy, with Omdia predicting tha...
12/03/2025
CUPERTINO, Calif. Interra Systems has announced that Comcast Technology Solutions has integrated recent updates to BATON Version 9 into its operations....
12/03/2025
Nevion announces new 400G addition to its eMerge SDN media fabric offering
Brie Clayton March 12, 2025
0 Comments
High-capacity switch enhances existi...
12/03/2025
DaVinci Resolve Studio Delivers Cinematic Sound for Adam Bol
Brie Clayton March 12, 2025
0 Comments
Feature film relies on DaVinci Resolve Studio for ...