PWHL Reimagines Its Live Broadcast Graphics As New Team Identities, Logos Debut For Season 2

PWHL Reimagines Its Live Broadcast Graphics As New Team Identities, Logos Debut For Season 2 League entrusted Gameday Creative to build a wall-to-wall broadcast graphics package By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital

Wednesday, December 11, 2024 - 3:02 pm

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The second season of the startup Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) - which dropped the puck beginning Thanksgiving Weekend in the U.S. - is a massive one. Building on momentum from Year 1, the league is ushering in a completely new look as all six teams debuted their names, brand identities, and logos.

All of that, of course, dramatically impacts the league's live broadcasts and required a completely fresh graphics package for all live games broadcasts. It was a monumental - and quick - task, to build an entirely new on-screen look for PWHL games and to meet the moment the league struck up a new partnership with the New York-based graphics agency Gameday Creative.

Building a legacy. Season two of the @thepwhlofficial is underway!!!!

New graphics package created by our group at Gameday. #pwhl #gamedaycreative pic.twitter.com/AljQftp5lF

- Gameday Creative (@GamedayCreative) December 1, 2024

They're really stepping onto the stage with some graphic firepower here with a lot of identity and personality, says Eric Say, Owner and Creative Director for Gameday Creative. It made sense to launch a graphics package that really celebrates those new team logos and get their broadcasts to the level that they want to be at.

It was a fast turnaround for GameDay Creative following the league's official unveiling of the six teams' identities and logos in early September. The PWHL had worked with another New York-based creative agency, Flower Shop, to design the brand idnetities of the league's six clubs. From there, 2D rendering of those logos were handed off to GameDay Creative to begin building out a totally new broadcast package.

Our graphics package this year is heavy on animations with the logos and heavy on implementation of players' faces wherever we can do it: hero shots, faces on lower thirds, full-page graphics, says Jeremy Langer, VP, Broadcast and Scheduling, PWHL. We're mindful that our players play in a league where they have helmets on the whole time and it's hard to see their faces. The more we can do when we have our most engaged audience to make sure their faces are seen and they become relatable, that's going to be important for all the other tentacles of the operation.

While it seems natural, Gameday Creative's pitch was built around the concept of getting those team logos in as many places as possible, most notable the scorebug, to help build brand awareness. It's one of the design choices that made them a strong fit for the PWHL.

I think we were a bit more forward with [the team logos] is this design, says Scott Flato, EVP and Partner for Gameday Creative. Let's get these logos out in front because we want to help continue to expand the brand and get that brand recognition. These are logos and teams that people have never even heard of. We are trying to help make these teams, and obviously the players, into stars because we're building something here. We're trying to build recognition.

Here are some examples of the scorebug and insert graphic animations in action:

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Many of the animations build by Gameday Creative are also being used in the in-arena shows of each of the six clubs.

Other key players in the process were the league's production partners Raycom Sports (Bill Stafford and Rob Recihley) and Dome Productions (Mike Brock); the team at The Academy of Lower Thirds (including Marty Dormany and Dave Bachman); and the team at TV Graphics (Joseph Jopplin), who integrated and finished the scorebug.

It was probably one of the more exciting projects we've ever had the opportunity to be a part of because these teams are new, added Say. There's not a visual identity form and that's an awesome opportunity. How often do you get that?

LINK:	https://www.sportsvideo.org/2024/12/11/pwhl-reimagines-live-broadcast-...
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