The Pac-12 announced it would kick off its live streaming on Twitter with Pac-12 Plus events that included a hockey game between Arizona State University and Harvard that will air on Oct. 29.
For ASU’s hockey program, which is playing its first NCAA Division I schedule this season and was scheduled to have five of its games televised, this is a “big win.”
Kate Janczewski, the Assistant AD of Digital Media and Communications at ASU, said that when the school decided to add an NCAA hockey program, it spent a lot of time researching hockey fans and their behaviors. They found that hockey fans as a whole are generally “digitally and technology savvy.”
Janczewski said that partnering with Twitter is in line with ASU’s “forward-thinking and innovative ideology.”
“The use of a digital platform seems like a natural extension of the trends we’ve seen in the sport and our own reception within the sporting community,” she said. “Also, Twitter provides us with another touchpoint through social media to reach other audiences that may not already follow our hockey program.”
Like the recent NFL live streams on Twitter, the game is available for free to logged-out users and shows up on feeds to make content readily available to current and potential fans.
“Since we are one of 12 Division I hockey programs west of the Mississippi, it brings more visibility to the program and provides another way for users across the country to access and view our games,” Janczewski said.
By being streamed Twitter, underserved teams in collegiate hockey up to National Hockey League franchises could potentially captivate a new audience and garner more viewers. In July, Twitter announced it would be streaming weekly out-of-market NHL games for viewers in the United States.
It’s looking like the streaming trend is here to stay and for the NHL, it may give their games the viewership they’ve been lacking. The Stanley Cup Finals yielded disappointing results. The ratings for the 2016 Finals were down 28 percent.
Thirty-two percent of Twitter users are between the ages of 18 and 29. Streaming games live on Twitter could encourage a younger audience to gain an interest in hockey.
“Twitter has become a crucial forum and engagement tool for hockey fans to enhance their NHL viewing experience and stay connected to the game on and off the ice,” Stephen McArdle, NHL executive vice president of digital media and strategic planning, said in a statement in July.