HockeyTech And Pixellot Bring Automated Production To Streaming Broadcasts
By Adam Noyes
From hockey’s highest levels all the way down to youth and recreational leagues, social distancing protocols to help limit the spread of Covid-19 have dramatically impacted spectator access at indoor ice rinks this year.
Now, AI technology is making it easier for parents, friends, coaches and scouts to watch games remotely.
On HockeyTV, fans will find an ever-growing collection of games from around the world, from prep school and youth hockey up through the developmental junior hockey leagues in Canada and the USHL south of the border. This year, a handful of European pro leagues have been added for the first time.
HockeyTV is one branch of HockeyTech, a leader in providing hockey-related technologies, analytics, and information services. The business was founded in 2013 by Stu Siegel, a tech entrepreneur who joined the ownership group of the NHL’s Florida Panthers, in 2008, eventually becoming managing partner and CEO.
After selling his stake in 2013, Siegel saw an opportunity to fill an unserved niche in the hockey world by tapping into his tech background, where he had previously built and sold several companies outside the sports space.
He began “by acquiring smaller businesses that were doing niche things in the hockey world, their own interesting things and concepts,” he said.
Building off that base of customers and technologies, HockeyTech developed a suite of services. It has evolved into an organization that collects player data to serve scouts and organizations, offers an interface to track and share game stats, and streams games on the HockeyTV platform.
HockeyTech also runs the AHLTV platform for the American Hockey League, hockey’s top developmental league below the NHL.
In each rink, broadcast and stats crews use HockeyTech hardware. The system is called ViPr (pronounced “viper”), an acronym for “virtual production.” It integrates the video feed with the live data to provide real-time stats on the HockeyTV platform — score and time as well as more detailed information such as penalties and shots on goal.
But live video production can be cost-prohibitive, especially below any sport’s top leagues. In 2016, HockeyTech installed its first AI-driven camera system from Pixellot, the global leader in automated sports production.
How Does Pixellot's Automated Sports Production Work?#autoproduction #pixellot #sportstreaming #ottsports #sportott pic.twitter.com/20zg8uyvAE
— Pixellot LTD. (@Pixellotltd) January 23, 2018
Pixellot’s multi-camera array is installed at center ice. “What it does is actually shoot a panoramic video of the ice sheet,” Siegel said. “Then, using artificial intelligence, it follows the action by zooming in to the appropriate area on that panoramic stream, to create the illusion that there’s a cameraperson leading the camera. What’s actually happening is that the computer is choosing where it’s going to zoom in.”
Founded six years ago, Pixellot started out by targeting major sports broadcasters undertaking high-end productions. “We pivoted a couple of years in, to really focus on the democratization of sports production,” explained David Shapiro, Pixellot’s president for North America. “What we’ve done is moved down the sports curve, in terms of level of play, to be able to cover small college, semi-professional, high school and club sports.”
Now, 181 Pixellot systems are in rinks across North America as a component of HockeyTech’s ViPr technology. That includes everything from AHL arenas down to community rinks.
“Most recently, we launched something called the Community Network,” Shapiro said. We now have about 60 rinks covered with the Community Network, which is to broadcast youth events. These are club teams that are playing, I’d say, ages from nine to 18 years old, that previously did not have production.”
No matter what the level of play, Pixellot’s camera systems are operated virtually from HockeyTech’s streaming operations center in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. That means a smaller production crew at the rink, which saves money.
With Pixellot, once a camera is hardwired into an arena, it can be used for any or all events — breaking from the per-game costs of producing traditional broadcasts. “The cost per game is going to be very different if you’ve got 10 games or 50 games, but it’s a very small fraction of traditional broadcasters,” Shapiro said. “Usually, we’re talking, like, 10 to 15% of a traditional broadcast.”
The challenges of the pandemic have also driven home other key benefits of an AI camera system.
Firstly, at a time when social distancing is so important, the system helps minimize number of people who need to be in a building to put a production together.
“And in addition to just the games, it can capture practices,” Shapiro added. “The coaches can use it for drills and then, after practice, be able to annotate on the screen. And the more events you have in a rink, the more cost-efficient our technology is.”
The HockeyTV streams also provide much-needed player viewings for scouts who can’t get to live games due to travel restrictions, and for NCAA Division 1 coaches who are currently forbidden from doing in-person recruiting.
Finally, games including those broadcast through HockeyTV’s Community Network allow spectators and coaches to watch games from a Smart TV, laptop or mobile device, live or on demand, without setting foot in the arena.
“In the middle of this pandemic, it’s made streaming go from what used to be, even six months ago, a nice-to-have in the amateur market, to now being a must-have,” Shapiro said. “If a parent or family member can’t go to a game, you’d better be providing a way for them to be able to watch their child.”
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