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THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE ( NHL®️): REDEFINING LIVE HOCKEY BROADCASTS THROUGH OPERATIONAL EXECLLENCE

Modernization
Media & Entertainment

PRESIDIO HELPS THE NHL REDEFINE HOW LIVE HOCKEY IS BROADCAST WITH A CENTRALIZED, OPTIMIZED, AND STREAMLINED VIRTUAL TECHNICAL OPERATIONS CENTER

Through its partnership with Presidio, the National Hockey League (NHL) has strategically embraced technological advancements to help elevate operational efficiencies. One of these advancements is the NHL Virtual Technical Operations Center (VTOC).

THE CHALLENGE

The National Hockey League (NHL) has legions of fans in every corner of the world. It’s most important asset always has been, and always will be, the game itself. The modern fan expects to be able to plug into live hockey, real-time stats, and more at a moment’s notice. This ever-increasing demand creates immense technical and operational complexity. The League made a strategic decision to create a Virtual Technical Operations Center (VTOC), powered by first-rate cloud technology. It needed a true partner to bring to life the vision behind VTOC: a revolutionary broadcasting experience for hockey fans anchored by a streamlined operational ecosystem.

THE SOLUTION

The NHL brought this challenge to Presidio with a sense of urgency. Presidio responded with a custom-built application that reduces a complex web of broadcasting technologies to a single pane of glass – in just two weeks. This first version of the app simplified the NHL’s streaming capabilities and centralized operations so that the performance and health of all broadcasts could be visualized from one dashboard.

Presidio’s Managed Services team then took over all monitoring and remediation responsibility, watching the app for issues across every broadcast and fixing them in real time. The Managed Services team ensures that every feed is ready for primetime before each game, that no issues cause a failure during the game, and that after each game the instances are shut down so no cloud consumption is wasted.

The rapid stability achieved via app dev and managed services made room for even more rapid innovation. Soon all broadcast technologies were brought into VTOC. Audio and video from each game is fed from the arena to the Amazon Web Services cloud for encoding and distribution using AWS Elemental services and the Zixi protocol and delivery platform. The app allows for operators to manage multiple games at once and each game’s many associated feeds.

THE Results / Benefits

This centralization of operations has not only improved visibility but also facilitated failover strategies that can make critical differences during live broadcasts. One such example: the NHL’s Frozen Frenzy is a night that features all 32 clubs in action. The VTOC platform and Presidio Managed Services orchestrated the event in the 2023-24 season seamlessly, with zero downtime.

The Managed Services operators from Presidio can drill down and pinpoint where an issue is happening, so broadcast crews onsite can fix at its source before it affects everything downstream. The ultimate result is uninterrupted live NHL hockey in the homes, restaurants, and hands of NHL fans. From the internal stakeholders to fans worldwide, NHL VTOC will continue to evolve to meet the needs of hockey lovers everywhere.

“(VTOC) Encompasses Both a Traditional Managed Services Operation as Well as an Advanced Orchestration Platform for All Live Video Encoding and Distribution Over the Course of a 1,300+ Game NHL Regular Season.”

- Derek Kennedy

VP, Media Operations & DevOps Information Technology

Nhl Vtoc is Powered By Presidio’s Full Capability Set

  • Managed Services: Broadcast Operators
  • Cloud Solutions: Cloud-Native App Development
  • Infrastructure: Rebuilt, Modernized and Automated the NHL’s Next-Gen Data Center
  • DevOps: Innovate and Release New Code Faster
  • Carrier Services: Monitor Links
  • Security: Built-in Monitoring and Threat Detection

About Presidio

Presidio is a Global Digital Services And Solutions Provider accelerating business transformation by modernizing and securing our clients’ information technology

Cloud-Native App Development
DevOps
Security Protocols

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