Review and Analysis of NHL Club Mobile Apps

Review of NHL League Mobile AppDeveloped by Neulion and Newly Released for the

2013-14 Season

@njh287DSMSports.net

The National Hockey League (NHL) recently released its mobile application, customizable for every club, to Android and iOS.

Not all clubs have adopted the app. Others opted to continue using their current mobile app (Yinzcam & Atimi do the most).

What follows is an abbreviated tour and thoughts of a few of the NHL team apps, developed by Neulion, which also does the NHL.com websites. Check out my snapshots and analysis...

Download your favorite team app today because the hockey season is back!


2013-14 Season


● Each team provides a custom splash page that serves asan interstitial when the App loads and the background for the App's main menu

● These pages are (likely) hard coded, meaning they will not change frequently, if at all, during the season

● This allows for nice customization, but is less variable than Neulion's team websites (with easily changeable and alternating background images)

● At this time, no sponsor logo, pre-roll, interstitial, etc. on the Neulion team apps

● No use of splash pages (yet), but could be a future component adapted from Neulion's team websites, which commonly employ promotional splash pages for teams.


2013-14 Season


● NOTE: Another example of two different home pages than previous slides.

● NJ's custom background● Flyers name/brand their App

● Users are prompted for push notifications (both related to game and news and promos) upon first open of team Apps

● New users also prompted to share location info w/ the App

● This is HUGE, as mobile apps increasing works w/ LBS like GPS, NFC, iBeacon

● Would reason for geo info help? ('to assist you to locate seats, food, parking, etc.')

● The NJD home page shown is that seen on game days


2013-14 Season


● The Flyers home screen ha a nice shot of players; seen here following a game

● Scrolling down the home screen shows options to view:Game highlights/box, news stories, Twitter/Instagram, and video features

● NICE: Clicking 'game highlights' or the video feature instantly opens the device's video player within the App

● Opens only to full game highlights; cannot go play-by-play, as on web


2013-14 Season


● A look at the menu, seen on the ANA app; “Featured” goes to the home page, while Roster & Stats provide virtually the same info

● The Roster is listed alphabetically by position, also listing jersey #, nationality, and player Twitter name, when applicable

● Would be cool to be able to 'follow' on Twitter from this page!

● Unsure of administration for this page, but likely NOT automated, at least those w/ Twitter handles

● Players w/o profile pics available likely get team logo until updated [uncertain]

● Click-thru goes to player stats page, no full bios within App


2013-14 Season


● A look at the bottom half of the app home page (for ANA, here) shows social media

● App only supports Instagram and Twitter (notably, no FB)

● Twitter and IG feeds appear to show only team-produced content (as opposed to showing Twitter list or Twitter/IG hash tag)

● While fans can interact with tweets within the app, Instagram pics can only be shared via email/social● Fans must leave app for IG

interaction [favorites, comments]


2013-14 Season


● The App's Twitter feature is solid, showing a feed of all the team tweets by default

● A complete list of players & team personalities/press on Twitter is shown; users can click to view those tweets and follow, etc.

● Would like to see an 'All' option, which shows a Twitter list of tweets from all team Twitter users on this full list

● More personalization – give users ability to build (and freely add to) custom Twitter lists from this screen● Example: Add bloggers, opposing

team press/players, friends/others fans, game hash tags, etc.


2013-14 Season


● An example look at the Standings screen in the PHI team app

● Note Flyers are highlighted

● Some good additions could be: make each team name hyperlinked to their microsite or app [where applicable], a league-wide scoreboard, and league stat leaders

● NHL should take advantage of ownership of league assets/content

● Note that there are NO sponsors/ads on the apps at this time, except for NHL in-house banner ad, as seen here


2013-14 Season


● Clicking through the banner ad opens this App download screen in your phone's App Store for a $9 “Stanley Cup Champions” Blackhawks App

● Question to consider:● Will league retain control over

banner ads through season?● If/when ads ARE shown, how

will revenue be split? (likely similar model to websites)

● Will this lead to more teams opting in/out of league app?

● Will in-house ad remain the same even after conversion (user sees same ad after downloading advertised app)

● Nice additional pub for CHI!● Who, ironically [?], does not

use league app themselves


2013-14 Season


● A quick look at the app's Instagram feed, showing team IG pics only

● Fans CANNOT interact w/ these with IG comments + favorites

● Uncertain if teams have option to show feed w/ hash tag instead of users (and filter capability)

● Would be cool to customize with hash tag feeds for contests, in-arena use, IG series, etc.

● Instagram feed limited to last 20 posts and does NOT appear to support Instagram video, yet● Related: Should teams be

incorporating Vine into App?


2013-14 Season


● When home page shows upcoming game, 'Get Tickets' link goes straight to Ticketmaster list of individual games

● This screen here is for when 'Tickets' are selected from main menu (similar w/ others)

● The phone # and website listed in the text is NOT hyperlinked for action, only buttons are

● Uncertain if these are hard-coded buttons/links or if can be flexibly changed to allow for seasonal promotions during season

● PET PEEVE: While links teams send fans to from these pages are typically functional on mobile, they should link to sites optimized for mobile to maximize conversion of these clicks and provide best fan experience● Should there be more ticket info, especially for

multi-game and STH packages, available within the team app itself?


2013-14 Season


● This shows the home screen in anticipation of the team's next game● Note: 'Get Tickets' link remains,

despite an away game● Will 'Watch Party' info be integrated,

stat leaders, etc.?

● Game Preview links within App to team stat leaders/roster/standings

● Uncertain if written game preview story will be integrated too

● The 'Get Tickets' link goes to full list of all NJD games on Ticketmaster● Should it click thru to 'Tickets' screen

in App?● Should it click thru directly to

individual game rather than list?● Should these link to mobile-

optimized pages?


2013-14 Season


● A quick look at the screen shown after 'Get Tickets' is selected

● Same thoughts as prior slide:● Goes to Ticketmaster instead

of App page or team website● Lists all games instead of just

game selected● Goes to mobile-friendly page,

but not one with responsive design per se

● Should App have interactive seating chart/map component?● Teams with their own apps have

better venue integration, generally


2013-14 Season


● This screen is shown when 'Photo Gallery' is selected from app main menu● NO sense of organization

with photos – albums, tags, categories, etc.

● Individual photos contain captions and can be viewed both portrait and landscape

● Photos can be externally shared [though not to Instagram], but NOT downloaded or saved to one's device


2013-14 Season


● A look at the in-game coverage of this App; inferior to NHL GameCenter App● Notable no call to download

GameCenter App on this page (banner ad? watch live ad?

● The game recap [or running game recap, in this case] is shown in this sample; teams can update this page during the game, similar to website recap

● Note lack of sharing tools on this page; fans would be inclined to share exciting games, results, stats, etc.


2013-14 Season


● This screen shows the play-by-play fans see during game● Uncertain if live radio will be

available during season, many team apps have this feature

● Uncertain of time lag and refresh rate during live game coverage and notation of unusual plays (always a concern)

● Uncertain if teams can tailor these feeds [i.e. don't show every 'hit' and 'takeaway,' etec.


2013-14 Season


● Example of a push notification, written and sent by the team (not automated) after game ends● Combo of automated alerts

(goals, etc.) and manual (like this one)

● Push notifications are an essential component to any App, so giving teams manual control is ideal

● All apps in NHL I have seen have alerts, especially for game outcomes and breaking news


2013-14 Season


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2013-14 Season


● Clicking through the game alert opens to the home screen of the App ● Previous screen was the in-

game screen, accessed only by clicking on the score from the home page

● Notable: Despite accurate alert, live box shows 1:33 left in the game

● Watch live link here promotes NHL GameCenter Live app

● I like that alert text remains even after it is 'viewed'


2013-14 Season


● Overall thoughts:

● Aesthetically pleasing user interface with lots of opportunity for team personalization

● Good mix of dynamic and static content● Good, not great, social media and sharing integration and opportunities● Decent monetization – want to see more with: sponsors/ads, tickets/flash

deals, merchandise, game-ification (games and/or reward programs)● Lack of venue integration is an issue for teams● More data capture opportunities? – prompt sign up for promo alerts,

email newsletters, text club, etc.● More opportunities for individual user personalization would be good

HOW ABOUT YOU? Comment or tweet me your opinions!


2013-14 Season


THANK YOU

Now, enjoy the NHL 2013-14 season!

Review and Analysis of NHL Club Mobile Apps

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