NHL Pause Binge Dives Into The Archives to Give Hockey Fans a Welcome Escape in the Age of Coronavirus Cloud-based workflows help producers and editors work with large video files from their homes By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital
Tuesday, March 31, 2020 - 2:55 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
With North Americans deep into their third week of quarantine as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, many are looking for a welcome distraction from the stresses of the current times.
To help bring a sense of normalcy to their fans, the NHL has launched NHL Pause Binge, a campaign across NHL.com, the league's YouTube channel, and its various social channels that curates a robust collection of some of the NHL's greater pieces of video content from its rich history.
Content, right now, is what people are yearning for and desiring and we really put a lot of effort into giving people a bit more of their fill of hockey, says Steve Mayer, chief content officer for the NHL. This has been quite an interesting time and we think we are putting out some pretty cool things and we'll continue to do so all the way through the pause. We're trying to provide people at home who are going through some really difficult times with joy and entertainment. We know they love the NHL and we're trying to give them something they will enjoy.
The chief goal of NHL Pause Binge is to put all of this treasured content under one roof and make it exceptionally easy for users to find and watch. The campaign spotlights a range of content, including features from NHL Original Productions (which includes the acclaimed series Road to the NHL Winter Classic, Behind the Glass, and NHL All Access ) as well as full-length classic games dating all the way back to the 1950s.
NHL.com and NHL's social team are also taking deep dives into the archive, releasing content plans designed to give fans happy memories to watch, but also activities and contests that they can actively participate in. For example, Greatest Moments of the NHL Season So Far features a tournament style bracket of the year's best moments for fans to watch and vote on.
The @Avalanche advance to the next round.
The Battle of Alberta resumes today! Who ya got, @cmcdavid97 s six-point night or @TKACHUKycheese_ s between-the-legs goal?
VOTE
NHL (@NHL) March 31, 2020
According to Mayer, its been an important piece of the effort to remain sensitive to the current state of the world's struggles. In the immediate aftermath following the postponement of the season, the NHL content team wasn't overly aggressive in its video push, instead leaning more on retweeting and interacting with players and personalities who were reacting to the new environment. It wasn't until about March 23 where Mayer and his team really started to turn on the content spigot.
In the sports world, everything happened so immediately, says Mayer. That one night changed the sports world forever. So, we immediately set the group on the idea trail. One of the biggest messages from me was that we want to stay respectful. A lot of people are going through a lot right now, including our players and everyone on the team level, and we need to respect that. Let's just naturally let the first ten days pass.
In that time, in order to feed the NHL Pause Binge campaign, the operations team behind the NHL's content machine needed to lean heavily into what, fortunately, are some already existing cloud-based workflows. Fueled partially by the league office's move to its new headquarters at One Manhattan West in the growing Hudson Yards, the NHL has been undergoing a digital transformation. The league has been migrating many of its core IT services to the cloud and was already seeing (even prior to the coronavirus) a significant uptick in the internal adoption of services like file-sharing, editing collaboration tools, video conferencing, and task management software.
Naturally, all NHL staff are currently working remotely from their homes but, according to an NHL spokeperson, most of the systems that service the editorial groups were already securely accessible from outside the office. The real challenge was ensuring that all producers and editors were outfitted with the equipment and most importantly the Internet connectivity to handle this new archival-based workload.
When we recognized this was as serious as it is, one of the first things we said as a group was how do we remotely stay in business, says Mayer. I think we were super smart in trying to be ahead of that. We made it so that our producers and editors could access our internal servers to be able to not only take down games and highlights and be essentially be able to edit as if they were in our office. Our IT and studio operations department were just incredible in allowing [our team] access. The team has been unbelievable in terms of thinking ahead and getting our entire group ready to go. We're working around the clock. Honestly, we need to settle down with the new ideas because we are getting maxed out.
NHL IT assisted in upgrading the Internet download and upload speeds within the homes of its remote workforce. In addition, the league is leveraging its asset management system (Reach Engine by Levels Beyond), video file transfer system (Signiant Media Shuttle) and content file-sharing workflows (Box).
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
15/07/2026
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is a big deal for DAZN, which has distribution rights in three markets: Italy, Spain, and Japan. Each requires a different editorial app...
15/07/2026
As sports-media organizations manage rapidly growing content libraries and incre...
15/07/2026
HBS director of digital Johannes Franken talks SVG Europe through the operation built to serve FIFA World Cup 2026 rights holders remotely from Stratford, east ...
15/07/2026
IBC has unveiled the conference program for IBC2026, with this year's event ...
15/07/2026
Software-defined wideband RF platform supports 96-kHz monitoring, streamlined fr...
15/07/2026
New AI-powered module enables broadcasters and content owners to extract dialogu...
15/07/2026
Weeklong gathering at EBU headquarters will test new IPMX capabilities and expand certified product ecosystem...
15/07/2026
Force Tech has announced the appointment of Bryan Adams, CTS, as Vice President of Integration. Adams will oversee AV and broadcast integration project delivery...
15/07/2026
USA Sports has announced an exclusive English-language agreement with the Bundes...
15/07/2026
ITV Sport's FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage has been produced from one of the m...
15/07/2026
Program will provide professional camera kits, training, and technical support to participating local newsrooms...
15/07/2026
San Francisco church becomes first U.S. deployment of the 2 M/E production switcher...
15/07/2026
Former ESPN and NFL Network executive to advise startup league on media, distribution, technology, and fan engagement...
15/07/2026
The Houston-based RSN is the live-game home of the Astros and Rockets...
15/07/2026
Launched alongside new FreqSoft installer
Designed to bridge the gap between hardware and software, Freqport's FreqInOut FO1 unit provides a simple way ...
15/07/2026
Save up to 55% on software until 23 July 2026
Expressive E have just launched their Summer Offer sale, with discounts of up to 55% now applied across their ...
15/07/2026
Real-time stem-separation tool updated
zplane have recently released a new and improved version of their real-time stem-separation plug-in which they say ma...
15/07/2026
A new benchmark in bass enhancement
Described as a new benchmark in bass enhancement , Baby Audio's latest release has been designed to augment the lo...
15/07/2026
DMC Production's AR 1 and AR 2 units reverse the conventional OB workflow, keeping all production-critical processing at the venue while operators work remo...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/07/2026
GigaCloud, a leading Ukrainian cloud service provider, and Cubbit, the first geo-distributed cloud storage enabler, today announced a new Business Alliance Part...
15/07/2026
SMPTE, the global society for media professionals, technologists, and engineers, has announced the launch of the SMPTE 110th Anniversary Campaign, a fundraising...
15/07/2026
Studio Technologies, a leading manufacturer of high-quality audio, video, and fiber-optic solutions, unveils the new StudioComm Model 762 Stereo Level Control, ...
15/07/2026
COW Jobs: Producer, Virtual Events - Hybrid, Full Time, Salaried
Brie Clayton July 15, 2026
0 Comments
Producer, Virtual Events (Hybrid | Full-time | ...
15/07/2026
Brazilian media organization builds nationwide CDN with Broadpeak's high-performance software for low-latency streaming and new content distribution service...
15/07/2026
DHD announces a new utility designed to increase the efficiency of its audio mixing systems during initial installation and subsequent configuration.
Anyone w...
15/07/2026
BCNEXXT Brings Next-Generation Vipe to IBC2026, Breaking the 1:1 Channel-to-Server Ratio New innovations liberate broadcasters from legacy playout infrastructur...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/07/2026
Wednesday 15 July 2026
Screeners and press pack now available: Gomorrah: The Or...
15/07/2026
Trinity's Treasures features Ruth Negga, Eleanor McEvoy, and David Norris, a...
15/07/2026
Join geographer Dr Susan Hegarty, Engineer Tim Joyce and Architect Orla Murphy a...
15/07/2026
Home to leading manufacturers, robotics pioneers, infrastructure builders and gaming, of course, Japan is one of the world's centers of AI - building across...
14/07/2026
South end zone videoboard, cloud-based control system will be ready for 2026 football season...
14/07/2026
Redesigned website, enhanced mobile app unify content, ticketing, and personalized fan engagement...
14/07/2026
Agreement spans sponsorship sales, digital monetization, radio production, and new practice facility naming rights...
14/07/2026
Independent league adds 14 regional sports network affiliates, growing distribut...
14/07/2026
New strategy aims to unify competitions, content, fan engagement, and commercial...
14/07/2026
ESPN and Disney+ become exclusive home of PFL events in key international MMA market...
14/07/2026
Gill will oversee engineering, technology, and sports operations across the company's 64 local television stations...
14/07/2026
Submitted by North American Broadcasters Association (NABA)
As broadcasters con...
14/07/2026
Modernized mobile unit combines HOME Apps, mc 56 console, and IP infrastructure ...
14/07/2026
Every match of the 32-team tournament will air across ION and Scripps Sports platforms in English and Spanish...
14/07/2026
FloHockey to stream every game of the annual international tournament under four...
NHL Pause Binge Dives Into The Archives to Give Hockey Fans a Welcome Escape in the Age of Coronavirus Cloud-based workflows help producers and editors work with large video files from their homes By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital 
