It has been a while now since Rogers negotiated its exclusive $5.2 billion deal to the broadcast rights of the NHL. They have promised a real NHL experience with their $200 a year NHL GameCentre LIVE that will include GamePlus with exclusive camera angles, extra interviews and analysis for Rogers’ customers on their mobile smartphone and tablets. Keith Pelley, President, Rogers Media said:
“GamePlus is a game changer. It combines the latest in broadcast technology together with mobile app technology and we’ve invested more than $10 million to create this outstanding experience. We’ve secretly tested a number of high tech cameras since early summer to make sure fans get a completely new and unique way to watch the game on mobiles and tablets. It puts customers in control and gives them access to angles they’ve never had before on any screen. Fans who disagree with a ref’s call can now see the game exactly as the ref sees it. They can also watch multiple replay angles of the main plays in the game.”
GamePlus features the following cameras and angles that they will capture…they will be used in different combinations depending what game is playing. The descriptions following are from the press release: Sky Cam sits at the 200 level in the Air Canada Centre and follows the puck red line to red line at six meters per second – Ref Cam is on the referee’s helmet and puts fans on the ice to get in on face offs, breakaways and goals – POV Cam spotlights the hustle from inside the blue lines and for the first time inside the players’ benches – Star Cam tracks a single player throughout the game no matter where the puck goes – Goal Line Cam provides a top-down view of the ice, directly above the offensive action – MyReplay lets fans select multiple replay angles to analyze key plays during the game, including goals, power plays, penalty kills, and the ref’s tough calls.
This is all still in beta form as Rogers’ crew works out the kinks, but it will still be available for the first game on October 8 – in a pre-season test they were not only able to create up to eight camera replay angles, but have them available to view on your tablet or smartphone in less than three minutes after the live action. Fans can enjoy watching the live game on their TV and use their mobile device to pull up and watch the action from different angles or view their own replay of a shot or scene using Ref Cam, Sky Cam or MyReplay. Each camera will give you a unique perspective, not seen by the TV viewing audience. Mark Messier, a NHL Hall of Famer said that when watching the Ref Cam, it made him feel like he was back on the ice. Beside extra camera angles, GamePlus will bring the fans exclusive content to heighten their hockey experience. If you subscribe to Rogers NHL GameCentre LIVE, you will have exclusive access to GamePlay. Until December 31, Rogers will give you a free subscription to NHL GameCentre LIVE…download today and give it a test drive. Please hit us up on our Google+ Page and let us know if you plan on trying out the free subscription…as always, we would love to hear from you.