A 10-year deal has been agreed between the National Hockey League and Swiss sports media company Sportradar. The agreement will see Sportradar obtain exclusive rights to distribute NHL data to media companies and sportsbooks both within the United States and abroad.
The Swiss sports betting company will live-stream NHL content to global gambling operators in an effort to gain international betting sponsorships for the NHL. This strategy has already proven successful with the league signing deals with OlyBet and Tipsport for the Baltic and Czech markets.
Sportradar will also have exclusive access to the NHL data feeds, including the leagues newly launched puck and player tracking system, a technology that allows for much more in-depth statistics to be produced thus increasing the market for hockey related sports betting.
While the NHL accounts for a relatively low portion of sports betting wagers throughout the US, the market is growing and this deal will allow the league to profit off increasing interest in the US and worldwide.
“The NHL has been a terrific partner for Sportradar for nearly seven years,” said Sportradar CEO Carsten Koerl. “This agreement truly highlights the global, multi-vertical, wide-ranging capabilities of Sportradar’s technology solutions and reflects how we use data to create engaging, personalized experiences for our partners and customers.”
Stephen McArdle, NHL senior EVP for digital media and strategic planning, added: “We’re admittedly just at the starting point of this journey on tracking and using the data to tell stories. Having another partner who is fully invested in learning along with us the right ways to share that data, to present that data, and in the sports betting context the right ways to use that data—that’s very important to us.”
The finances involved in the deal are yet to be announced, but bidding was suggested to have gone above $250m for the leagues distribution rights last year.
