NHL Signs Partnership with DraftKings
Daily fantasy hockey players aren’t any different from your typical fan of the NHL; there might not be a ton of them in the U.S. of A (compared to a league like the NFL, at least), but they are as loyal of a group as you’ll find when it comes to “the fastest game on earth.” The daily fantasy following will likely start to expand in the very near future (as will prize pools!), thanks to big news earlier this week from the National Hockey League, who announced a partnership with DraftKings that makes the Boston-based company the official daily fantasy game of the NHL.
This will only help to increase awareness of the industry, as DraftKings will receive prominent brand placement across the NHL’s digital platforms, including NHL.com, NHL Mobile and the NHL’s social media accounts. DraftKings will also serve as the sponsor of daily videos previewing regular season games on NHL.com, NHL Mobile, the NHL app and fantasy segments on NHL Live, one of the prime shows on the network. It’s very encouraging to see the major professional sports leagues easing up on their stance on daily fantasy sports, as both industry leaders have announced partnerships with one of the four major sports leagues in the span of a few days. This isn’t DraftKings’ first trip around the block, either; they previously secured a partnership with Major League Baseball.
But really, why wouldn’t leagues who thrive on viewership and attendance want to partner with a company who can actually help drive interest in their games? Sure, it’s nice that Pepsi is one of the NHL’s largest sponsors, but I can’t say that an ice-cold soda does anything to promote my interest in the league itself. I’m much more likely to watch a game if I’m invested in the outcome, and that’s exactly what DraftKings does for the NHL; DK users have a rooting interest in just about each and every game played this season giving them extra incentive to watch or attend the event live. I’m about 99.9% sure that I wouldn’t have even considered purchasing a GameCenter subscription if I wasn’t planning on being involved on the daily fantasy level this year. I like hockey, but I’m not tuning into a random battle between the lowly Sabres and the equally inept Blue Jackets just as a fan of the game. If I happened to roster Sergei Bobrovsky that night… things may be different.
While this is DraftKings’ first partnership with the NHL on the national scale, they’ve already been involved on the local level thanks to deals with several of the league’s teams. Those include all four of the American “original six” teams, and the total count currently stands at seven; the Blues, Bruins, Red Wings, Avalanche, Blackhawks, Rangers and Kings. Per the agreement, DraftKings now has exclusive rights to NHL-owned intellectual property in addition to being featured on the league’s media platforms. More good news: DraftKings users will have the opportunity to win exclusive trips/prizes as a result of the deal, which is set to include prize packages for the NHL’s Winter Classic and Stadium Series.
Congratulations to the guys at DraftKings for making this happen, and hats off to the NHL as well for realizing the potential in an official sponsorship with one of the leaders in daily fantasy games. This is all good news for the industry!