In a new ground-breaking deal between the Royal Belgian Ice and Inline Hockey Federation (RBIHF) and Sportway Media Group the parties have reached a multi-year agreement to launch a new platform for streaming all Belgium ice-hockey games from youth leagues, junior leagues as well as lower tier senior leagues.
The streaming service will use state-of-the-art AI technology to make sure all games are produced in the same way and with same level of quality.
Ice-hockey arenas will be installed with cameras and be connected to a central backend system for automatic scheduling, graphics, monitoring and support.
In addition to the streaming service the agreement also include access for clubs and teams to other services such as video coaching, game analytics and manual production possibilities.
“We at the Royal Belgian Ice and Inline Hockey Federation have been looking for a partner in this area for quite some time. With Sportway Media Group we have found a partner who share our interests in growing the sport from an entertainment point of view as well as supporting the development of the sport from an educational and player safety point of view”, states RBIHF Vice Presidents Marc Verlinden and Hub van Grinsven.
“We are very excited about the opportunity to join forces with the RBIHF and play a part in the growth of the game in Belgium. This partnership is the first of its kind in the country and it’s the game of hockey and the fans themselves who are the real benefactors. To be able to offer more hockey, anywhere anytime, is at the core of our business and we look forward to building and maintaining a strong relationship with the RBIHF”, states Martin Englund, Chief Commercial Officer for Sportway.
Founder and CEO of Sportway, Daniel Franck, adds: “We are thrilled to welcome the RBIHF to the Sportway family. This partnership shows once again that our strengths as a company lay not only at the forefront of technological advancement and sports production, but also in gaining and fostering key relationships with sports federations. Our growth on the international stage, supported by our investors, is what drives us forward and our partnership with the RBIHF fits the mould perfectly.”
Sportway Media Group is the owner of the technology and software supporting the streaming services. Sportway is operating streaming services in 5 countries, within all major team sports and with close to 1,000 cameras installed. Sportway Media Group have offices in Stockholm, Oslo, Helsinki, Copenhagen and Prague. For the 22/23 season it is estimated that Sportway will stream between 60-90,000 games from ice-hockey, handball, floorball, basketball and volleyball.
