TORONTO—Sportsnet has partnered with OTT tech providers Deltatre and Firstlight Media to relaunch its Canadian sports streaming service SN Now with improved features and experiences for sports fans.
Sportsnet will unveil the first phase of the all-new SN Now this fall with additional development phases planned going forward.
Working with those tech providers, Sportsnet will redesign SN Now with a suite of integrated next-generation OTT features and a refreshed user interface, powered by Microsoft Azure. Phased in enhancements will include greater stream quality and reliability, personalized content offerings, advanced stats overlays, and other innovative features to drive the ultimate sports viewing experience.
“Sportsnet was the first mainstream sports brand in North America to launch a direct-to-consumer streaming service, offering our premium content and the most innovative distribution right from the start,” said Bart Yabsley, president, Sportsnet, which is owned by Rogers Media and Sports. “Our new partnerships with Deltatre and Firstlight Media will help make Canada’s best sports streaming product even better. The all-new SN Now will engage our fans with more games, the latest technological innovations, more exclusive content, and a personalized experience on the most reliable platform available anywhere in the world.”
Alfredo Tan, senior vice president of strategy, data and products at Rogers Sports & Media added that “as the pace of change continues to accelerate, building the future can’t be done alone. These partnerships are just some of many ways Sportsnet is continuing to foster innovation to lead sports and media into the future.”
Firstlight Media will build the technology foundation for the new SN Now, using its cloud-native technology stack that powers an end-to-end platform that has been deployed by Tier 1 operators and content providers worldwide.
“Sportsnet is way out in front in showing how a visionary approach to technology can turbocharge engagement between sports’ most storied properties and their dedicated fan bases,” said Andre Christensen, CEO and co-founder of Firstlight Media. “We’re delighted to provide the technology foundation that will power SN Now’s journey from raw ideation to unmatched reality, and to engage Sportsnet viewers with unparalleled, immersive experiences.”
Deltatre, a sports and entertainment technology provider, will provide the front-end user experience of SN Now, Sportsnet will use Deltatre's streaming technology and experience integrating the world's leading third-party partners and solutions, and its expertise in powering platforms such as WWE Network and NFL Game Pass.
“We are delighted to partner with Sportsnet to rebuild and relaunch SN Now,” said Alex Drosin, head of worldwide business development, video experiences, Deltatre. We believe our experience and expertise in creating and running some of the most high-profile streaming services across global sport, as well as the opportunity to collaborate with a market-leading international provider in Firstlight Media, will enable Sportsnet to offer a game-changing OTT experience to Canadian sports fans across every major platform.”
In addition to enhancing the platform’s back-end technology and user-facing experience, the new and improved SN NOW cloud-native streaming platform is fully built on Microsoft Azure and Firstlight Media's microservices architecture.
Kevin Peesker, president, Microsoft Canada added: “With Microsoft Azure cloud capabilities, Sportsnet will have unparalleled access to high availability, scalability, agility, and disaster recovery to help ensure Canadian sports fans don’t miss any of the action.”
