NHL owes life to new media?

In John Consoli's Mediaweek article referring to the NHL as the "National Hot League" not only discusses how hockey, a much maligned sport has gained in ratings on NBC and Versus, not only because of exciting matches and the popularity of stars such as Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby but website content itself. According to NHL COO John Collins “By creating a digital front door to the league…we have redefined ourselves in the marketplace” as the site has seen traffic jump significantly.

This article is a perfect example of how new media and convergence is changing all forms of media - even sports. NHL.com not only has articles and scores - but a youtube page, a facebook that posts scores and debates and a twitter to tell you what you need to know in 140 characters. This is content convergence which according to page 317 of our book is finding new ways to deliver traditional content which is what NHL.com is doing in spades - with its youtube page, you can see highlights of your favorite players, clips of classic games and weekly highlights, which is also helpful to a sport which has a smaller fanbase than baseball and football and allows fans to either watch what they want at any given time or allows new fans to discover hockey in a clip culture way that doesn't immediately thrust them into a game. Ultimately, convergence will help more underground forms and create audiences that no one knew was there before.