Digital ads on boards replacing traditional ads

[Mr Positive]

I like them when they are working. I assume that they will only get better. So, the more obnoxious ones will likely tone down, and the glitches will be less and less.

It's not just the digital board ads (those are really distracting, especially when they animate) but if you look at the ad creep in general over the past few years it's pretty jarring how aggressive the NHL has been with it.

New ads in the ice behind the goalie, digital ads on the glass, digital ads at the top of the offensive zone, ads on the helmets, ads on the jerseys, and now digital ads on the boards that animate and change every 30 seconds

It's probably going to get worse too unless the ratings tank and they're forced to reverse course. Even then you're hoping they just don't add even more ads to make up for the loss in revenue

This issue is a real concern to me, the ad creep. Replacing existing ads that are painted on with digital ads are one thing, but imposing ads on the glass and on more spots on the ice and on equipment is another.

With the glass ads in particular, it's opening the door to having games just look like the covid times, where we won't see an audience and instead just ads there. Of course there will be people defending that by saying that what we really want to see is the game so they may as well use all that space for ads. I suppose the same goes for equipment, where the look of the jersey's will barely match what the team look is suposed to be, with the real question of how much a jersey should be reserved for team logos and colours

 

[HBK27]

Good thread about these awful ads...

 

[ProfessorMcFatty]

Good thread about these awful ads...

This a great summary of just how many levels these ads have failed on.

I was at a sports bar recently, and the most of the TV's were tuned to an NBA game. I don't usually watch basketball, but I noticed something after a few minutes. My eyes felt at ease to watch the game. The NHL now has so much flashing garbage going on, that it's physically stressful to watch. Even with all of their ads, the NBA had comparatively little on the court, the sidelines, and the broadcast screen (scoreboard etc.) It was night and day difference. I certainly did notice the ball and players disappearing behind ads at any point.

I've stopped watching the NHL this year, because it's become such a frustrating experience. Flashing banner ads mid-game? No thanks.

 

[HBK27]

This a great summary of just how many levels these ads have failed on.

I was at a sports bar recently, and the most of the TV's were tuned to an NBA game. I don't usually watch basketball, but I noticed something after a few minutes. My eyes felt at ease to watch the game. The NHL now has so much flashing garbage going on, that it's physically stressful to watch. Even with all of their ads, the NBA had comparatively little on the court, the sidelines, and the broadcast screen (scoreboard etc.) It was night and day difference. I certainly did notice the ball and players disappearing behind ads at any point.

I've stopped watching the NHL this year, because it's become such a frustrating experience. Flashing banner ads mid-game? No thanks.

I've stopped watching all non-Devils games this season, whereas in the past I would have national (or Rangers / Islanders) games on several times a week.

I can't bring myself to stop watching Devils games yet - mostly because I stuck with them through a rough past decade and they're just a fun team to watch this season (though I did shut off some earlier games this season out of frustration with the ads). I have had to train myself to watch the games differently though to be less distracted by these ads, but they still noticeably annoy me throughout the game.

 

[Hamilton Bulldogs]

This a great summary of just how many levels these ads have failed on.

I was at a sports bar recently, and the most of the TV's were tuned to an NBA game. I don't usually watch basketball, but I noticed something after a few minutes. My eyes felt at ease to watch the game. The NHL now has so much flashing garbage going on, that it's physically stressful to watch. Even with all of their ads, the NBA had comparatively little on the court, the sidelines, and the broadcast screen (scoreboard etc.) It was night and day difference. I certainly did notice the ball and players disappearing behind ads at any point.

I've stopped watching the NHL this year, because it's become such a frustrating experience. Flashing banner ads mid-game? No thanks.

I've watched a lot less this year too.

The experience is just awful. Watch an NFL game or NBA game and you'll feel like your watching a sport from a future decade. Such a smooth experience.

 

[NYRfan85]

I've gotten used to the ads at this point, it is what it is. But what really throws me off is this--I was watching the Sens feed of the Rangers-Sens game @ MSG last week (the MSG production quality leaves a lot to be desired sometimes), and they had digital board ads related to the Sens... on the Rangers' home ice. It's really jarring and weird to me lol.

 

[Leonardo87]

Honestly, I only noticed them when someone here pointed them out, they really don’t bother me. The NHL needs to fix a lot of things, but this one is not a biggie.

 

[JianYang]

Maybe I'm completely oblivious to it, but I've watched mostly habs games on tsn and Rogers, and I have not noticed ads on the glass this year.

Maybe it's the digital board ads that are steering my eyeballs away from it but I legitimately haven't noticed them if they are displaying it.

 

[JianYang]

Good thread about these awful ads...

I don't think this is a great example. A snapshot doesn't do the experience any justice because when the ads are static like this, the boards are actually cleaner compared to the in house boards.

It's the animation and transitions which makes it more distracting and a picture will never catch that.

 

[Sniper99]

i havent seen one single ad on the glass this year. the digital ads dont mean shit to me either. I can focus on the more important thing going on and thats what the 12 players on the ice are doing.

 

[Golden_Jet]

The betting ads , during a game, have become over the top, too much.

 

[spider hoss]

Good thread about these awful ads...

What gets me about these ads is that when they cut to an ice-level shot, they show the ads that are actually on the boards. It's painful to watch.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Good thread about these awful ads...

That thread is devastating. It shows the lack of maturity in this technology, which was rushed to market before it was ready for prime time.

 

[vandymeer13]

It's definitely a eye sore. Another swing and a miss by the NHL brass.

 

[LongWayDown37]

I typically will complain about something like this, but I have to say I love the superimposed ads. They are much cleaner than the clutter that is actually on the boards and they don't bother my eyes or distract at all. I think its an improvement.

 

[BlueBull]

The extent of ad creep seems to depend on the market and how its going monetarily for the team.

While markets like Toronto are still using a decent amount of ads, I remember watching a Buffalo game and ads were everywhere. I think I saw like 5 ads paved into the rink.

 

[CharasLazyWrister]

They look better than the actual ads that are posted on the boards at the arena.

From the beginning, the reactions from fans have seemed extremely melodramatic. I understand not liking them, but there are seemingly a ton of posters on this board who claim they’re going to stop watching games because of it.

That’s either very overly dramatic because all the talk has you hyperfocused on these news ads or you weren’t that into the NHL to begin with. It doesn’t even create more ad space, it just changes how the space is used.

 

[Foppberg]

They look better than the actual ads that are posted on the boards at the arena.

From the beginning, the reactions from fans have seemed extremely melodramatic. I understand not liking them, but there are seemingly a ton of posters on this board who claim they’re going to stop watching games because of it.

That’s either very overly dramatic because all the talk has you hyperfocused on these news ads or you weren’t that into the NHL to begin with. It doesn’t even create more ad space, it just changes how the space is used.

I like it better now tbh. More white space.

 

[bellagiobob]

They look better than the actual ads that are posted on the boards at the arena.

From the beginning, the reactions from fans have seemed extremely melodramatic. I understand not liking them, but there are seemingly a ton of posters on this board who claim they’re going to stop watching games because of it.

That’s either very overly dramatic because all the talk has you hyperfocused on these news ads or you weren’t that into the NHL to begin with. It doesn’t even create more ad space, it just changes how the space is used.

Unfortunately for me it's more than a distraction, as the animated ads that frequently change on the end boards trigger a vestibular (inner ear) issue for me that gives me at best a headache, and at worst a case of the spins. I am a lifelong (60 years) hockey fan who is used to watching around 6-8 games a week. I pretty much just watch my home teams games now and suffer the consequences after. I get the need to monetize ads to bring in more money for the owners, but really don't see how having animated ads that distract from the game are a good idea. It's like watching a video game at times. I've been watching more NFL games when they are on at the same time as hockey, as it's just a more professionally produced TV product, and I don't have to puke after viewing the game. Pretty discouraging for me, as I really miss watching the games.

 

[Howboutthempanthers]

It's pains me to say this, but people born into this will think its normal in the future. The advertisers and league execs are banking on this. And they will endure what they perceive as short to mid term backlash from the "old crowd"

Remember the scene in Back to the Future Part 2? Where future Marty McFly sits on the couch and tells the TV to show him multiple TV channels all at once? Is that where we are headed? For me and many others, digital boards are distracting. But in 50 years will people look back and laugh at us for not being able to process (or put up with) multiple visual stimuli when consuming entertainment?

You've basically described a lot of society right now.

 

[CharasLazyWrister]

You've basically described a lot of society right now.

I mean, it’s been the exact same thing for at least decades specifically in pro sports. Not sure what “right now” is supposed to mean.

I started watching hockey in the early 90s so I was used to ads on boards from the start, unlike those that may have been older.

My father (who watched hockey prior to boards ads) introduced me to the sport. Somehow he was able to power through the changes.

 

[Howboutthempanthers]

I mean, it’s been the exact same thing for at least decades specifically in pro sports. Not sure what “right now” is supposed to mean.

I started watching hockey in the early 90s so I was used to ads on boards from the start, unlike those that may have been older.

My father (who watched hockey prior to boards ads) introduced me to the sport. Somehow he was able to power through the changes.

Well, yeah.
But they didn't have the technology that they do right now, to pass a certain threshold.

 

[CharasLazyWrister]

Well, yeah.
But they didn't have the technology that they do right now, to pass a certain threshold.

I would think going from no ads at all to ads is a far bigger jump that using the same ad space digitally instead of just showing what’s physically there…

Your sentiment isn’t much more than being irritated that things change, as they always have. It’s completely inevitable within industrialized society.

 

[ProfessorMcFatty]

They look better than the actual ads that are posted on the boards at the arena.

From the beginning, the reactions from fans have seemed extremely melodramatic. I understand not liking them, but there are seemingly a ton of posters on this board who claim they’re going to stop watching games because of it.

That’s either very overly dramatic because all the talk has you hyperfocused on these news ads or you weren’t that into the NHL to begin with. It doesn’t even create more ad space, it just changes how the space is used.

What's more likely, that a "ton of posters" are all being "overly dramatic"? Or that this garbage is actually affecting our ability to watch the game? It's cool if the ads don't bother you, but that doesn't invalidate everyone else's opinion.

 

[EdJovanovski]

I don't get the outrage over gambling ads when people are fine with all of the ads promoting alcoholism which is far more destructive to society and kills many people.

In regards to the boards ads, it seems certain broadcasts do it far better than others. Watching the Rangers games I barely notice them, but whenever I watch Sportsnet games they are horrible.