The NHL is on the verge of naming a national official wireless provider in the United States, and fans should expect it to be T-Mobile.
The NHL, in cooperation with Bamtech and NBC, is going to offer up an opportunity for one wireless provider to become its official provider in the United States. Considering the connections that T-Mobile already has with all three parties, that seems the most likely contender.
According to Ian Thomas of Sports Business Journal, the three entities are joining to form one cohesive package (paywall) that will be offered for wireless providers to consider in their sponsorships. The result of that partnership is a highly-valuable opportunity for one wireless provider to reach millions of hockey fans in the United States.
While it’s likely that the three parties will ultimately take the bid that returns the best value, there’s still something to be said for being first to the party. That’s where T-Mobile might have an advantage.
Most hockey fans can draw a connection between the NHL and T-Mobile quite easily, as T-Mobile has the naming rights sponsorship for the home of the Las Vegas Golden Knights. That’s only scratching the surface of the connections that T-Mobile has to the aforementioned trio, however.
As one of the few companies that hold the naming rights to an NHL facility, this inherently provides a connection for T-Mobile to Bamtech. Although Disney now owns the majority of Bamtech, the NHL is still a minority owner of the streaming media company. There’s another stronger connection to Bamtech yet.
T-Mobile has been the official wireless provider of MLB since 2013, and in the course of that partnership worked directly with MLBAM to improve wireless service at MLB ballparks. MLBAM, and thereby MLB’s 30 franchises, is still a minority owner of Bamtech as well.
That partnership with MLB can give us a glimpse into what the value for T-Mobile (or whichever wireless provider that ultimately wins the bid) will get from this partnership. In addition to signage at parks, T-Mobile has enjoyed prominent placement during MLB broadcasts and streaming video products. It’s likely that NHL fans should expect similar T-Mobile visibility during NHL streaming and television broadcasts, along with seeing the brand displayed strongly at rinks across the United States.
To cement the strength of the relationships between T-Mobile and the triumvirate of stakeholders, NBC is one of the networks that T-Mobile allows its customers to stream video from without that activity counting toward their data limits.
Next: 10 reasons Stanley Cup Playoffs are better than NBA Playoffs
It’s unclear when an announcement will be made that a partner has been decided upon. What’s obvious is that with the connections it already has in place, T-Mobile likely will be among the first to make a pitch.