Similar to the announcement of MLB.TV on the PlayStation 3, Sony has just announced that NHL Gamecenter LIVE is now available for download for your Blu-Ray-playing console.
NHL Gamecenter LIVE allows NHL fans to stream live out-of-market regular season and select playoff game broadcasts in HD right on their television. In addition to offering live hockey games, NHL GameCenter LIVE also allows subscribers to watch full-length and condensed replays of the current season games they missed (48 hours after they air, with no blackouts) and relive NHL history with unlimited access to over 500 classic games from the NHL Vault.
The NHL Gamcenter app on the PS3 costs $9.99 or, if you’re a PlayStation Plus member, the low price of free. That’s merely the application though. The actual service itself, like MLB.TV, will be at a premium for all the content available. The annual price of the service will be $169 for on-demand content, and it will include the NHL Vault service. If you’re more a classics fan and don’t necessarily need the most up-to-date games, then you can separately purchase the NHL for a small $4.95 a month.
In a statement released from SCEA Senior Vice President of Marketing and PlayStation Network Peter Dille, it sounds like this is the beginning of bigger and better things coming to the PSN.
“PlayStation Network has become an innovative and all-in-one destination for PS3 users to enjoy a comprehensive, customizable on-demand entertainment experience. The addition of streaming NHL content continues the expansion of our library of movies and TV shows, original programming, music, live sports and access to social networks. Through our partnership with the NHL, we are giving our customers another important choice to access and stream the content they want, when and how they want it.”
If the yearly $169 subscription fee is a bit too steep for you, or you are just a casual hockey fan, don’t worry. The NHL app still has functionality for you at no subscription fee. Fans will have access to features such as post-game highlights, team schedules, standings, player stats and profiles, and the full NHL scoreboard.
The complete list of NHL Gamcenter Live features are as follows:
Select from home and away broadcasts available in HD to follow your favorite team(s), even while they are on the road Follow the action from around the league with game updates in the live scoreboard and plan what games to watch using the full season calendar Make the most of your viewing experience with live stats, standings, player bios, and post-game highlights for all 2010-11 games Pause, fast-forward, rewind or simply jump to key points of interest for 2010-11 games using event data indicators displayed on-screen Easily flip between live video and browsing other NHL GameCenter application features, while the video still plays in the background
And NHL Vault will include:
- Classic Games: Relive historic hockey moments from classic games dating back to the 1960s
- Condensed Games: Catch up on games you missed with 10-12 minute extended highlights
- Game Archive: Watch full length replays of all games since the 2008-2009 season
While I know that PlayStation LifeStyle’s own Cameron Teague is definitely an NHL fan, if the podcast has told us anything, so it’ll be interesting to see if he gets it. What about you? Sound like something you could get behind? Let us know in the comments below.
