From KERA News:
Tuesday was the launch of this year’s National Hockey League season.
As the NHL – and all sports – struggle with widespread cable cord-cutting by consumers who may be shifting to streaming, the Dallas Stars faced an additional threat. Their cable company, Diamond Media Group, declared chapter 11 bankruptcy, worsening the threat to the team’s valuable tv audience.
Thanks to Canadian streaming service APMC – A Parent Media Company – the team has arrived at a solution bound to please fans.
With APMC, the Stars have launched a free app called Victory+ that will stream nearly the entire 82-game Stars season, fee-free.
It’s already been streaming pre-season games that old cable channel Bally, operated by Diamond Media Group, typically did not carry.
Stars head coach Pete DeBoer from a screenshot on Victory+ . On the right is a smaller photo of Stars General Manager Jim Nill.
Screenshot From Victory+ Streaming Network / Victory+
“What we decided at the end of the day,” said Brad Alberts, Stars president and CEO, “we were OK with pioneering what I’ll call this experiment, which is to go free, go, you know, direct-to-consumer.”
Alberts worried about his TV viewers if fans could no longer watch games due to the Diamond Media/Bally bankruptcy.
That’s when APMC stepped in. The Calgary, Alberta, business — best known for its family-friendly streaming service and Kidoodle.tv — is led by Neil Gruninger.
“You know, I am Canadian, so hockey is life,” he said.
That hinted at a good fit. Alberts also liked Gruninger’s take on things.
“Neil Gruninger was steadfast. He was, you know, adamant from the beginning. Let’s go free. Let’s go free,” said Alberts. “They understand this space. They know that sophisticated streamers aren’t going to pay. They’re going to figure out ways around paywalls,”
At a Stars fan gathering during a pre-season skate-around practice in the Stars headquarters rink, Bart Kudlicki sported his emerald green Dallas Stars jersey. He said he’s glad fans will get to watch games for free.
“That is fantastic for now,” Kudlicki said, pausing. “However, one thing we were discussing, how long will it be free?”
That’s what nearly every fan has been wondering since the team announced, months ago, that free streaming was coming this season.
Alberts doesn’t know the answer.
But he said he’s committed to it because he’s aware customers are suffering from what he calls credit card and subscription fatigue. The team gets a cut of the ad revenue. The economics and fan feedback, Alberts said, will all need to be evaluated.
“We’re going to know a lot more by Christmas as to how this is working,” said Alberts. “The economics are important and we depend on this revenue for our funding of our team. But we’re steadfast in the belief that this is the future and we believe that if we take care of the fan, the rest will kind of take care of itself.”
For now, fans like Chris Whipple feel taken care of. He helped found the Warriors, a hockey team for disabled veterans that partners with the Stars. Whipple said the streaming app will be especially big for his 9 year-old son, Cristobal.
“I think he was on the ice for the first time when he was 3?” Whipple said. “Now I know where to go whenever he asks me to find the game.”
If the Whipples go to the Victory+ channel when there’s no game, Gruninger said there will be other sports programming.
“We’ve signed deals with Red Bull to ensure that we have great, you know, extreme sports on the service,” he said. “This is just really the beginning of what we’re bringing.”
Victory+ also includes programming from Dude Perfect, famous for impossible-looking trick sports shot videos.
Victory+ is basically a new, free streaming sports network, funded by advertising. Alberts said the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks was the second team to join the new network.
“Everybody’s paying attention to this,” he said. “So how it all ends up, going over the next couple of years, remains to be seen.”
The latest NHL team to join the Victory+ roster is the St. Louis Blues, winner of the 2019 Stanley Cup.
Alberts and Gruninger have high expectations to expand the free service with more teams, other professional leagues, and maybe even high school games.
