from Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe,

Market research in all sports shows that getting customers in the door is not good enough anymore. Today’s consumer wants an immersive and mobile experience: in the concourses, at the concessions stands, in the pro shop, and in the bathroom, all while remaining connected to the game.

For NHL teams, the trick is to marry everything into one sticky bundle that is more attractive to the fan than the alternatives — YouTube, Netflix, Facebook — in his or her pocket. It’s not easy to hit on the secret sauce at the rink. It’s even harder at home.

Everybody knows hockey in person is a crackling, flammable product. It is multi-sensory immersion: watching the speed of the players, hearing the crunch of checks, even smelling the whiff of equipment from behind the bench. It’s impossible to replicate the experience for television viewers, especially given how some watchers are no longer consuming the game on wide screens. Somehow, the league, teams, and broadcast rightsholders have to make the sport presentable on the same phones that offer dozens of other entertainment options.

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