Cameras stuck on everything in Sportsnet’s NHL debut
MONTREAL — The game, as it always seems to, lived up to its hype.
Tomas Plekanec’s last- minute goal capped off a thrilling 4- 3 comeback win Wednesday night for the Montreal Canadiens over their arch- nemesis Toronto Maple Leafs in the first game of this year’s National Hockey League season in Toronto.
But while the on- ice action certainly delivered, the game’s telecast was a little more uneven.
Rogers Media officially began its $ 5.2- billion broadcasting deal with the NHL Wednesday night and seemed to pull every conceivable stop to capture viewers’ imaginations.
For starters, there were cameras mounted to everything: The ref’s helmet, the bench, cables above the crowd.
Some of these innovations seemed to work: The Sky Cam, which smoothly moves alongside the play from above the bleachers, provided an almost cinematic perspective to the game. Others, like the grainy, almost creepy POV Cam — which shows players from the perspective of a sweat- covered device stuffed inside the bench area — had an amateurish quality to them.
None of these gimmicks are etched in stone, some will likely be phased out after angry letter campaigns and it’s worth remembering this was the first broadcast for Rogers under a 12- year deal. One marketing expert says it’s normal, given the magnitude of the contract, for Rogers to try pushing the limits a little bit.
“We’re a hockey- crazed nation, but we don’t have the kind of critical mass there is in the United States,” said Bruno Delorme, who teaches sports marketing at Marianopolis College in Montreal. “So there will always be a need to try to maximize the value of the broadcasting deal by creating little innovations.
“It’s why the CBC offered hockey in Punjabi, it’s why teams sell pink jerseys — to access as much of the market as they can.”
It’s easy to take instant replay, slow motion and computerized graphics for granted since they’ve become so ingrained in our sports viewing experience. But they were mind- blowing innovations when first used.
Rogers invested $ 10 million in its new camera technology, and the company referred to this as the “biggest NHL innovation since the ( instant) replay” in a press release Monday.
There were encouraging signs: the Sportsnet crew began working advanced hockey statistics into their analysis of the game, and the play- by- play and intermission segments were largely what Canadians have come to expect from a first- rate hockey show. And while there were fumbles — the myriad camera angles, forcing Nick Kypreos to debate Doug MacLean as buzzers chimed in and Twitter voted on a winner — it was certainly an interesting night of television.
In any case, Rogers has another 11 years, 11 months and 30 days to work the kinks out.