The National Collegiate Hockey Conference has extended its partnership with technology products and services provider NeuLion in a deal that is set to enhance its direct-to-consumer digital video platform, NCHC.tv.
The new deal will run through the 2021-22 season and includes several new features and supported devices for the coming 2017-18 campaign.
As part of the partnership extension, NCHC.tv will offer new mobile apps for iOS and Android, in addition to the already existing OTT apps with Apple TV and Roku. The iOS and Android apps will be available prior to the 2017-18 college ice hockey season.
Timeline markers will also be provided that enable fans to re-watch and navigate live and on-demand events. Through new features coming as part of a product rollout in December, fans will have the ability to customise their user experience to their favourite school, including personalised, school-specific social feeds, stories, video features and other content.
NeuLion and the NCHC first collaborated in 2014 to create, build and launch NCHC.tv, making the NCHC the first single-sport National Collegiate Athletic Association conference to offer a fully integrated digital network with live and on-demand content.
The eight-school conference has produced the last two NCAA national champions in North Dakota in 2016 and Denver in 2017.