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How the New York Islanders increased in-arena fan engagement using the TVU Networks’ platform 

The most immersive and interactive in-arena fan project ever done, acheived in a way never before imagined. Discover how TVU's innovative solutions made it possible.


When the New York Islanders set out to boost fan engagement with exclusive live camera feeds and warm-up footage, they ran into a common issue: engagement dropped when fans were required to download an app. To address this, they collaborated with TVU Networks' innovative cloud production ecosystem, and ISLES+ was born.

With ISLES+, fans only need a quick QR code scan to dive straight into the action, enjoying the game experience like never before. Now, nearly 20% of fans in the arena are engaging through ISLES+—a remarkable leap from years past.

It’s no surprise that the Islanders are the first to bring this type of approach to their fans. They see themselves as innovators within the Sports industry, and this type of game experience platform showcases it.  

- Rob Amaro
 TVU’s Director for Sports

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The fan experience reimagined

Fans in the arena were able to choose their viewing experience, with access to four feeds and the option to watch them individually or in multi-view mode. As well as rolling back on the footage. "Fans shouldn’t be punished for running to grab a drink or a snack. The Islanders wanted to make sure that everyone regardless of where they are in the arena gets to catch the action at every step of the way", said Rob Amaro, "They were determined to find a solution that people of all ages can engage with simply and effectively".  
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 Better timed replays
 
One of the key features of ISLES+ revolves around the perfectly timed goal sequence. Since fans in the arena aren’t generally going to want to immediately stare at their phones after a score, a controlled delay means that when they are done celebrating the replay is ready to be watched back.
 
“We timed out our goal sequence, so we go through our chant, the fans celebrating, and then you can pull your phone out and the play should be happening right in front of you with a 25 second delay", said The New York Islanders ’  Director of Content Production & Technology Innovation, Alex Leafer. But the features go much further than providing another look at the action.

Turning the game into an immersive experience 
 

ISLES+ also offers a live chat feature for fans to discuss all things Islanders, in-depth game stats, arcade-style hockey games, a direct link to purchase 50-50 raffle tickets, and much more. 

Amaro said that while attending a game, people all around him were pointing their phones to the jumbotron to snag that code: “I even got to request one of my favorite songs. It’s like having a DJ, chat room, statbook and instant replay machine all in my pocket.” 

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Other key areas provided by TVU include geofencing access to only the walls inside the arena, time synchronization, and a way to instantly close all the feeds in case a situation arises where production needs to stop broadcasting immediately. 

The workflow that brought it together

TVU Networks outfitted the Islanders team with its remote sports production ecosystem like it has done for broadcast giants like FloSports, ESPN, Rush Media and more. Since it is hosted in the cloud by Amazon Web Services (AWS), the tools are robust, yet flexible enough, to handle any ideas teams around the world can think of. 

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Setting up the multiview feeds with TVU
 
The feeds were managed through TVU's cloud production platform, TVU Producer: "We can push out multi-view feeds, so we push out 5 feeds at once. We push out 4 individual ISO feeds as well as a multi-view feed. Then, during our pregame and intermission programs, we push out one ISO feed and that is a larger box for our fans to watch on" Explained Alex Leafer- The New York Islanders. 

 

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It’s four live cameras now with ISLES+, but if they wanted to bring in more; the sky’s the limit. Scalability is key, and TVU Networks makes it clear that the sky’s the limit with their ecosystem. Just last year TVU Networks powered the Pan Am Games where more than 50 commentators were able to commentate the competition. 
 
One area that is a must with these types of products is making sure the team isn’t bogged down or required to hire another team to run it. The cloud-production platform is simple enough where the entire production can be controlled by one crew member.   

 

The results

Over 30K users in the first 15 games.
 15-20% increase in fan Engagement.
  New interactive & immersive fan experience.

Working with our great vendor network, especially TVU, helped us deliver something unique to the fans

- Ryan Helkett,
Senior Vice President of Isles Media & Entertainment Group

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