NHL's New York Islanders Continue to Take In-Arena Fan Engagement to Next Level
A simple QR code and geofencing from TVU Networks creates an innovative experience.
(Image credit: TVU Networks)
Technology has been the driving force to enhance the New York Islanders home ice at UBS Arena since it opened in 2021. Ahead of its time in projection mapping and video technology, the Islanders and TVU Networks are giving fans ISLES+, a brand-new watch experience for those who attend games at UBS Arena.
During COVID, the Islanders were looking for new ways to engage fans by providing camera feeds of warm-ups. However, the Islanders were seeing less than ideal engagement when people were required to download an application on their phone. This problem plagued similar products previously.
Enter ISLES+. Now, fans can simply scan a QR code. It was soft launched to 150 season ticket holders in the arena on Nov. 11, and 11 days later, the full experience was a mainstay in UBS Arena and in 2024, they are seeing nearly 20% of fans in the arena engaging with the platform.
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.
(Image credit: TVU Networks)
“It’s no surprise that the Islanders are the first to bring this type of approach to their fans,” Rob Amaro, TVU’s director for sports, said. “They see themselves as innovators within the sports industry, and this type of game experience platform showcases it.”
One of the key features 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. But the features go much further than providing another look at the action.