Digital ads on boards replacing traditional ads

[Jeremy Hronek]

As always when they implement something, the technology seems to be not quite there yet for it to look natural. When players are up against the boards it's a glitchy mess.

 

[Unpredictable1]

For a couple of very brief moments during the NYR-TBL game, the ad program must have screwed up because I was looking at plain white boards like it was games of old. It was beautiful.

 

[Satans Hockey]

I would say soccer isn't as bad since the boards are further from the play than right next to it majority of the time like in hockey.

The soccer ad boards aren't displayed digitally onto the broadcast either which makes a huge difference. The playing surfaces are also vastly different...

 

[Gizmo Tkachuk]

I'd rather have ads on the boards than any at all on the ice surface. But oh well, here's both

 

[3074326]

I didn't think I'd notice them at all and have found it to be pretty annoying.

 

[Anomie2029]

Hard to say whether the boards are causing an video quality issue with coverage or it's just the stream quality. By themselves, it doesn't bother me.

In Australia, we have had digitally added sponsors onto the field for Rugby League games for a number of years, so it doesn't really bother me.

 

[Chuck Norris Trophy]

It's super distracting and irritating when they change and move during the play. It wouldn't have been as bad if the movement only happened after whistles.

 

[Fenway]

As a longtime NHL camera op, I have mixed views.

The virtual ads on boards will only be seen on the main play-by-play camera at center ice.



Then each network will be able to display local ads - For example a Bruins game in Toronto NESN can run TD Bank ads in Scotiabank Arena.

The software traces back to the FOX glowing puck in 1996 which then spawned the first down yellow line marker in football telecasts.

 

[Dynamite Time]

They move during the play. There's an enterprise car driving around. Players turn into pixels when they open the door and enter the bench. f***ing putrid and embarrassing.

Didn’t bother or distract me from the game other than that stupid f***ing car popping up and driving down the boards.

I totally agree with you on that one.

 

[Oil Gauge]

I thought they looked really good on the Rangers broadcast until they started animating during play.

 

[GAGLine]

I didn't even notice them.

 

[waitin425]

Is there any science that shows this kind of stuff actually works? Forced advertising like this is nauseating and turns me off of the product.

 

[Satans Hockey]

Is there any science that shows this kind of stuff actually works? Forced advertising like this is nauseating and turns me off of the product.

Can't speak for anyone else but I specifically refuse to buy or support any company that has ads that annoy me. For example, Flo and Jamie from progressive. I'll never, ever purchase their insurance because of how annoying those 2 are.

 

[Strexvale]

It looks really bad. But most North Americans should be used to seeing ads since your most popular sport is basically nothing but ads.
View attachment 591792

This is literally the reason that I can't watch the NFL. Which is a shame because I used to enjoy it long ago, but it's just a horrible TV product right now. I used to hold hockey up as the gold standard of sports broadcasts because it was mostly about the game on the ice. 90 seconds of commercials 3x a period + easily ignore-able ads on the boards and the occasional sponsorship of like a power-play/pk or big hits or something from a local company. Nothing egregious, not wonderful, but not egregious.

It started getting frustrating when they added the ads during icings, it got worse when 5 minutes left in the period got advertisement, even worse with helmet ads, worse with jersey ads, and now the changing advertisements on the boards are getting me to last straw territory where the broadcast is just too over-saturated to watch. The digital ads on the boards physically made me feel queasy because they just didn't move right. The refresh rate was all wrong. It sucks that when my team finally starts their upswing after a decade of futility, the television product has become unwatchable junk.

 

[HBK27]

The ads were more distracting that I thought they'd be. For starters, I assumed they would remain the same during play, but nope...changing ads as well as animated ads during play. Greedy a-holes couldn't even be somewhat subtle about it.

Also found it distracting when they'd switch camera angles and then you'd see a totally different background on the boards as they went from digital to the actual ads that are in place.

Just sucks how overboard they're going between this plus ads on helmets and jerseys.

 

[DarylO]

Is there any science that shows this kind of stuff actually works? Forced advertising like this is nauseating and turns me off of the product.

This is the NHL equiv of the HTML scrolling marquee


It should be as soundly rejected.

 

[number one bullshiz]

I wasn't able to watch the game at all with the new digital ads. I don't know if it's because of my ADD but it was completely distracting and really upsetting to me. The animation when the puck is in play needs to stop.

 

[CristianoRonaldo]

Nothing is free.

UBlock Origin is...

 

[Riseonfire]

Didn't hate them honestly. The boards looked clean at the least lol

 

[beedee]

It's super distracting and irritating when they change and move during the play. It wouldn't have been as bad if the movement only happened after whistles.

I'll co-sign on this statement.

Will this happen on the Bally Sports broadcasts as well?

 

[missingchicklet]

Bad time to switch to this foolishness during a national Adderall shortage.

 

[timorous me]

I'll co-sign on this statement.

Will this happen on the Bally Sports broadcasts as well?

Yeah, apparently it's going to be on all broadcasts, with ads tailored to each specific market for the local broadcasts (and then tailored to a national market for the national games--which is really the key there, as they look to monetize the boards as much as possible since something like a local hospital ad means little during an ESPN broadcast).

I saw it on the Sharks' broadcasts for the opening games in Prague. And since I had to watch those on Center Ice with its worse picture quality (less crisp and a bit stuttery in this case) it was even more upsetting than on ESPN last night.

 

[Rubi]

I have a simple solution... don't change the ads unless there's a stoppage in play... however short a time period that might be.
Goalie makes a save and freezes the puck... change the ads. Puck goes out of play... change the ads. Offside whistle?... change the ads. There are plenty of play stoppages during the course of a game therefore plenty of opportunity to change the ads.
Changing the ads during a play stoppage might actually get people to read them instead of concentrating on ignoring them which is what I'll be doing during the current state of affairs.

 

[Profet]

I have a simple solution... don't change the ads unless there's a stoppage in play... however short a time period that might be.
Goalie makes a save and freezes the puck... change the ads. Puck goes out of play... change the ads. Offside whistle?... change the ads. There are plenty of play stoppages during the course of a game therefore plenty of opportunity to change the ads.
Changing the ads during a play stoppage might actually get people to read them instead of concentrating on ignoring them which is what I'll be doing during the current state of affairs.

Or just change them when they are off camera. No reason to require a stoppage in play.

Have the ads rotate as they leave camera vision. Next time the camera pans back, they can be different.

 

[Rubi]

Or just change them when they are off camera. No reason to require a stoppage in play.

Have the ads rotate as they leave camera vision. Next time the camera pans back, they can be different.

Good idea too. Not sure if that's currently possible (as in who ever controls the ads does that person have control over individual ads in individual locations or is it they all change or none of them change).