Mobile phone manufacturer Samsung has struck a partnership with the NHL North American ice hockey league.
Under the deal, which is set to be confirmed later this week, Samsung smartphone users will be able to access content via the NHL application that is not available to iPhone and BlackBerry users. Samsung users will also be able to view videos explaining how game officials reached their decisions in real time.
“We love for people to switch off of a competitor’s platform,” Paul Brannen, Samsung Canada’s senior vice-president of mobile solutions, told Marketing Mag. “It’s become an interesting race in the mobile space. If I can create a compelling reason for you to switch off that platform to my platform, it’s beneficial for us.
“This is a very big moment for Samsung. The way people enjoy sports has really evolved from years ago. Sports are trying to figure out how to embrace technology and bring it into the user experience… The dual screen has become a part of our lives. It drives the ability for us here in Canada to get out to 17 million hockey fans.”
Philippe Lozier, Samsung Canada’s director of content and services, added: “Based on surveys we’ve done with user groups, the intent is to deliver as much compelling information at the top layer. So without having to dig down into an application, you’ve got just-in-time information.”
David Lehanski, the NHL’s senior vice-president of integrated sales, added: “We just tried to sit down with [Samsung] to figure out what’s not currently being distributed. There may be other platforms that are similar, but to us, this is so unique.”