NHL Productions In-House Studio Ops Continue To Grow With Data-Driven Stanley Cup Central Live-Streaming Show New second-screen YouTube experience offers conversational style, stats driven by the NHL EDGE By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor
Thursday, May 25, 2023 - 3:12 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Seven years ago, when Steve Mayer arrived at NHL Productions, his team comprised five people. Today, the league's chief content officer/EVP has a staff of more than 50 and an in-house studio that cranks out live and quick-turnaround programming on an almost daily basis. The culmination of its efforts this season has been the launch of Stanley Cup Central, a second-screen YouTube experience covering one game per night throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs, bringing a conversational style to the coverage, and providing deep stats driven by the NHL EDGE puck- and player-tracking system.
From left: Lauren Jbara, Alexa Landestoy, and Jonny Lazarus host Stanley Cup Central.
With [Stanley Cup Central], we have several different things we're trying to accomplish, says Mayer. We're looking to build our YouTube platform, experiment with the second-screen experience, find new ways to tell stories with the NHL EDGE [data], identify and develop new [on-air] talent, and get fans into an environment where they're interacting and talking to each other in real time. And, maybe most important, we're looking to establish exactly what we are capable of in this studio. We've certainly had studios before but never with the capabilities that this one has in terms of technology.
NHL EDGE Data Serves as Backbone' of Stanley Cup Central During the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs, NHL Productions launched a new state-of-the-art studio in its headquarters at One Manhattan West. The studio and accompanying control room made their live-streaming debut with Third Period Live, a second-screen experience on YouTube. Since then, the studio operation has continued to evolve, with the facility producing programming almost every day since January.
NHL Productions' Steve Mayer: Our goal is to create an environment where fans are having a conversation and we just happen to be eavesdropping.
Since the beginning of the second round at the beginning of May, Stanley Cup Central has emanated live from NHL Productions' studio on a nightly basis. The show features a constant L-bar graphic providing such statistical data as face-off probability, skating speed, and time on-ice. Betting odds and breakdowns of the betting lines are also displayed prominently.
The backbone of this show is the data component powered by NHL EDGE puck and player tracking, says Matt Celli, VP/coordinating director, NHL Studios. That is what [distinguishes] our show [from] the traditional broadcasts. Hockey is a very fast sport, so it can be challenging to [integrate] deep data in a traditional broadcast. Our goal with [Stanley Cup Central] is to bring that data to the forefront throughout the entire show.
NHL Studios' Matt Celli oversees operations at the One Manhattan West production center.
The same constant L-Bar graphic is used in videoboard shows at NHL arenas across the continent, but this marks the first time it is being used in a live broadcast.
We want make that data and information part of the narrative, says Mayer. We can now tell stories with NHL EDGE [data] that allow you to understand the game better. Our broadcast partners use that data on occasion, but we want to take it to the next level. The key is being able to not only understand and make sense of the data but also uniquely tell the story of that data. You could put deep data up there all day long, and it could just be meaningless eye candy, but, if you can translate that data into something people understand, that is where it gets really interesting.
In addition to the L-Bar, Stanley Cup Central incorporates NHL Blockie visualizations and interactive game elements developed with NHL EDGE data and Beyond Sports technology. This technology was first used by the NHL during ESPN's live, animated Big City Greens Classic broadcast in March.
We are looking to lean heavily into those Blockie data visualizations, says Celli. We have a lot of the same technology that ESPN employed [for the BCG Classic], where we're able to cut all 40 virtual cameras in the system. We've found it works best in replay packages. [For example], during a key play, we'll do a couple of traditional replays off an EVS [server] like people would see [in the TV broadcast], and then we will choose Blockie angle and roll that in to finish it off. The chat seems to love it, which is great, and it gives us a lot of flexibility since we don't have [access to isolated camera shots].
Stanley Cup Central Provides Sports Bar' Feel - Both in the Studio and Remotely Each night, a rotating cast of hosts - Lauren Jbara, Alexa Landestoy, Jonny Lazarus, NHL Fantasy reporter Anna Dua - lend their insights and banter throughout the game, as well as during pre/postgame coverage. Longtime NHL Insider Pierre McGuire also joins each night to offer analysis and commentary. In addition to game analysis, hosts discuss the latest news and happenings around the league and chat with fans live in the YouTube comments section.
NHL Productions deploys BitFire to bring in remote feeds for productions like Stanley Cup Central.
We want [viewers] to feel like they're hanging out at a sports bar watching the game with their friends, says Mayer. We want them to be engaged while the game is going on but also talking amongst themselves. Our goal is to create an environment where fans are having a conversation and we just happen to be eavesdropping.
In addition to the in-studio elements, a variety of special guests - influencers, media personaliti
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
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...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
14/06/2026
HBO Comedy Rooster Shot with URSA Cine 17K 65
Brie Clayton June 14, 2026
0 Comments
Large format brings viewers intimately close to characters.
Black...
13/06/2026
Latest expansion pack includes 252 presets
Devious Machines have recently introduced another expansion for their powerful multi-effects plug-in, Infiltrator...
13/06/2026
Create custom DAW/plug-in controllers using prompts
MetaGrid have recently introduced an all-new AI Builder function to their touchscreen-based control surf...
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
YES Network and The Gotham Sports App will air seven Athletes Unlimited Softball...
12/06/2026
The United Football League will host its FAST Innovation Suite at the 2026 United Bowl presented by Credit One Bank on Saturday, June 13 at 3:00 p.m. ET at Audi...
12/06/2026
PTZOptics and LayerJot will present live demonstrations at InfoComm 2026 showing how natural-language AI prompting, robotic camera control, and on-device comput...
12/06/2026
MultiDyne Video and Fiber Optic Systems will exhibit at InfoComm 2026, featuring...
12/06/2026
Ateme has announced that Eurovision Services is using Ateme's software-based frame-rate conversion technology for international live event workflows. The de...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin and Simplestream have announced a partnership with Xperi to simplify the launch of OTT streaming services on TiVo OS smart TVs and devices. The collabo...
12/06/2026
Net Insight has announced that a multinational technology company is deploying a...
12/06/2026
MLB Players Inc., the business arm of the MLB Players Association, has announced a partnership with Athletes First to develop and sell brand partnerships across...
12/06/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D) and VuWall have announced the CommandKeyboard-Advanc...
12/06/2026
Comcast Smart Solutions announces a new smart technology deployment with Major L...
12/06/2026
Elevation Worship completed the initial leg of its Elevation Nights 2026 tour ...
12/06/2026
AJA Video Systems has announced KONA IP25 support for Colorfront Transkoder and ...
12/06/2026
Audinate Group Limited (ASX: AD8) will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth C7321, Ce...
12/06/2026
Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould has announced the appointment of Scott Adametz as Chief Technology Officer. The Pac-12 describes the hire as the first CTO appo...
12/06/2026
Grass Valley has announced AMPP Edge Live, a production system combining Grass Valley hardware, NVIDIA Blackwell GPU acceleration, and AMPP OS in a single platf...
12/06/2026
At one time a trailblazer with the launch of the Longhorn Network, the Universit...
12/06/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
12/06/2026
Chyron has announced PAINT 10.4, an update to its illustrated replay and sports ...
12/06/2026
SVP, Production, Mark Gross: With the new schedule, with not having every Sunday night, it has given us an opportunity to take a step back and reimagine what o...
12/06/2026
For Televisa Technical Engineering Manager Roberto N nez Ibarra and the small team of 12 technicians and two production personnel at the IBC things are already ...
12/06/2026
Simple Steps to Better Acoustics - Taming The Small Room
Most of us mix in spare rooms and small spaces, where the acoustics fight us at every turn. At Gear...
12/06/2026
Latest addition expands vintage-inspired effects palette
Meris' Ottobit pedal range draws its inspiration from vintage gaming consoles, and the latest a...
12/06/2026
Soundbox-based chamber strings series expanded
Sonora Cinematic have just announced the launch of the second instalment in their Soundbox-based chamber stri...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
AJA Announces KONA IP25 Integration with Colorfront Software
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Collaboration enables uncompressed SMPTE ST 2110 I/O ...
12/06/2026
URSA Cine 12K LF Used to Create Visuals for STUTS' K-Arena Concert
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Organic visuals projected on a giant scre...
12/06/2026
MTI FILM Acquires Mango New Edit, Expanding its Global Post-Production Services ...
12/06/2026
AI Point Tracking Speeds Up Complex VFX Tracks in Mocha Pro
Jessie Electa Petrov June 12, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic point trac...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin, a provider of video streaming solutions, has partnered with Simplestream, a provider of OTT and broadcast solutions, and technology provider Xperi, to...
12/06/2026
Leostream Corporation, creator of the world-leading Leostream Remote Desktop Access Platform, today announced Jigsaw24, a leading B2B IT solutions provider wit...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
How Aussie indie games and screen are levelling up with IP 11 June 2026
Ari Harrison, Pro Jank Footy
Head of Games Joey Egger and Ari Harrison of Umbrella sha...
12/06/2026
AgentPerf from Artificial Analysis, the industry's first agentic AI benchmark, gives developers, enterprises and infrastructure providers a clear way to com...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils First-Look Images from Villaflor, Santiago Mitre's New Film
Entertainment
12 June 2026
GlobalArgentina
Link copied to ...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Cross the Boundaries of the Real World into the Spirit Realm i...
NHL Productions In-House Studio Ops Continue To Grow With Data-Driven Stanley Cup Central Live-Streaming Show New second-screen YouTube experience offers conversational style, stats driven by the NHL EDGE By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor 
