The National Hockey League is about to launch its first weekly animated series, which will replay NHL game highlights in a kid-friendly format and package.
NHL HOCKEYVERSE Matchup of the Week features 30-minute episodes that recap regular-season match-ups from the previous week, with CG-animated avatars subbed in for real players. Featuring the Vancouver Canucks vs. Washington Capitals game from January 25 (which resulted in a 2-1 win for the Canucks), the first segment will air on the NHL Network (US) and Sportsnet (Canada) this Saturday, as well as streaming on YouTube.
Obviously a lot of game footage has to be left on the cutting-room floor to go from two hours to 30 minutes, but these packages are also making a few other modifications. The on-ice action will be relocated from hockey arenas to outdoor environments designed to depict various Canadian cities. And animated teen commentators have been created to share hockey stats and game insights, rather than well-known hockey broadcasters and analysts.
But something that won’t be altered are the plays and shots, which can be replicated in exact detail, thanks to the NHL EDGE Positional Data. This system tracks player and puck location, which can then be layered under the animation. NHL Productions and Sony’s Beyond Sports (which has similarly replicated NFL games in animation) are producing the series.
NHL HOCKEYVERSE Matchup of the Week was specifically developed to give kids & families a new way to engage with the league, says EVP of business development and innovation David Lehanski. And it builds on an animated simulcast strategy that’s already in play to achieve the same goal.
The NHL Big City Greens Classic simulcast of a Washington Capitals vs New York Rangers game on March 14, 2023 attracted 765,000 linear viewers to ESPN, Disney Channel and Disney XD. And the league has produced three more of these special programs since, including the MultiVersus NHL Face-Off on April 14, 2024, in which Warner Bros. Discovery characters such as Bugs Bunny and Wonder Woman appeared throughout the game.
It’s also worth noting that other major leagues including the NFL and Formula 1 have been experimenting with their own alternative telecasts for kids & family audiences lately in order to engage the next generation of sports fans.