Rogers NHL coverage offers do-it-yourself replays and multiple camera angles

It wasn't really a surprise on Monday when Keith Pelley, head of Rogers Media, compared the start of his company's $5.2 billion hockey adventure to the heady days when he led the Rogers-Bell consortium's coverage of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

Pelley was referring to the excitement and jitters of opening night, but he also could have been talking about the thrill of innovation. Back in 2010, the consortium presented Canadians with a whole new way of watching the Olympics, both in volume and new features.

And Rogers will be doing the same thing Wednesday when it airs its first game. In addition to sheer volume -- more than a 50 per cent increase in the number of games televised nationally -- Rogers is offering something viewers have never seen before in a product it's calling GamePlus.

The feature is an app that offers fans the chance to basically create their own replays or choose from among several angles. The $10 million feature will provide up to eight different replay angles, views from a camera mounted on a referee's helmet, cameras stationed at the benches and blue line, and on overhead perspective supplied by a mobile Sky Cam that follows the players up and down the ice.

Most of the images on display during a press conference on Monday at the Air Canada Centre were impressive. The Ref Cam was particularly unique, though those expecting to hear conversations between officials and players will be disappointed to find that the only sound they'll hear is the background noise in the arena.

The sheer scope of the options is certainly impressive.

If a fan wants to watch the entire game from the perspective of the Sky Cam, or from the referee's point of view, he can do that on his mobile device. If his favourite player is featured on the Star Cam, which will focus on one selected athlete for the entire game, that's available, too.

``This is a game-changer," said Pelley. ``It puts customers in control and gives them access to angles they've never seen before."

While bits and pieces of this have been seen before -- Sportsnet offered a Star Cam a decade ago but the experiment lasted only one game -- fans haven't seen anything of this magnitude before.

The good news is that it's free, for now. The bad news, for many, is that it will be offered only to Rogers wireless and high-speed internet subscribers for the rest of 2014 and to Rogers GameCentre Live subscribers. In fact, if you're not a Rogers subscriber you can't get it even if you offer to pay. (Asked if it would be free to Rogers wireless and internet subscribers after Dec. 31, Pelley said simply, ``Stay tuned."

Asked why this was a Rogers-only offering, Pelley said, ``Rogers has invested millions of dollars and we've invested millions of dollars for our customers."

That kind of approach isn't really surprising. Rogers shocked the Canadian broadcast industry when it signed its unprecedented multi-billion-dollar deal and no one is surprised that it's trying to find ways to recoup that investment. Persuading hockey fans to switch from Bell to Rogers is all part of that strategy.

Pelley said the NHL, which was approached about the idea after Rogers won the 12-year contract, had no qualms about the multiple cameras and in fact will benefit from the additional angles when reviewing replays and controversial hits.

``The NHL never talked about concerns," he said. ``We both talked about innovation from the beginning. Everybody was really pulling on the same rope trying to make the game better for Canadian fans."

On Wednesday, Rogers plans to focus on Toronto Maple Leafs forward James Van Riemsdyk and Calgary Flames star Sean Monahan.

There are some shortcomings at this point. The Sky Cam, which slides on a cable running over the ice, is available only for games at the Air Canada Centre, though Rogers hopes to have it installed in all other Canadian arenas some day.

Some of the other arenas won't have as many replay cameras as the ACC when the season opens.

Gord Cutler, who oversees production of all games, welcomes the extra arsenal but says his producers will resist the urge to fill broadcasts with too many angles.

``The philosophy is that less is more," he said. ``Just because you have it, doesn't mean you have to use it. They're there to enhance the broadcast."

Cutler said he sees the Ref Cam being used mostly for replays, but could envision it being shown live for the opening faceoff and maybe two or three times more during the game.

``If it enhances the game experience, we'll use it," he said.

Pelley reiterated Rogers' focus on star players, pointing out that as partners with the NHL his company is aiming to sell the game's good side. Asked if fans should be worried that Rogers might gloss over the game's problems, he cited Rogers' coverage of the Toronto Blue Jays.

``As far as journalistic integrity goes, we own 100 per cent of all Blue Jays games," he said. ``Do you feel that from a Gregg Zaun or a Jamie Campbell? I think we'll maintain journalistic integrity."

That remains to be seen, though hard-core, tech-savvy fans won't really care that much. They'll likely be too busy deciding which angles to watch.