Hulu Enters The Rink With Groundbreaking Partnership

April 10, 2018

Live and On-Demand Streaming Service Becomes an Official Sponsor of the National Hockey League’s Stanley Cup® Playoffs and Final

SANTA MONICA, CA (April 10, 2018) – The countdown is on. With hours left before the start of the Stanley Cup® Playoffs, Hulu is continuing its push into live sports with a new strategic sports marketing partnership. The streaming service will serve as an exclusive marketing partner and official sponsor of the Stanley Cup® Playoffs and Final. The new partnership marks another key step as the company continues to amplify its live sports offering and remind sports fans that Hulu is the best way to watch the biggest sporting events of the year.

“Since we launched our live TV package, we’ve seen live sports drive a very large part of our growth, so we are especially excited to team up with the NHL to celebrate the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs – an event we know our viewers will be watching,” said Patrizio Spagnoletto, Head of Media and Subscriber Growth at Hulu. “With sports serving as the centerpiece for many of our live TV viewers, we’re always looking for new, innovative ways to engage fans and make sure they never miss a single moment of their favorite games.”

Hulu’s New Power Play
Beginning April 11, Hulu will become an official League partner for the entirety of the 2018 Stanley Cup® Playoffs and Final. The extensive partnership includes a national marketing campaign across all League touchpoints including the NHL’s digital and social channels, as well as camera-visible, in-stadium inventory within all U.S. venues. As part of the agreement, Hulu has also partnered with the National Hockey League Players’ Association to create a number of video vignettes that will showcase some NHL stars and help drive awareness for Hulu as a streaming option for the 2018 Stanley Cup® Playoffs.

The collaboration also includes integration within all NBC broadcasts with on-air presenting sponsorship of NBC Sports’ NHL Live pre-game show for the Stanley Cup® Playoffs. Hulu will also create a custom hockey collection within the Hulu experience throughout the Playoffs.

To celebrate opening night of the 2018 Stanley Cup® Playoffs, Hulu will also be sponsoring the NHL’s 2018 Stanley Cup® Playoffs Party held in Las Vegas on April 11. The “2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs Party featuring Logic and presented by Hulu” will be free and open to fans outside the T-Mobile Arena at 5:00pm PT.

“Tomorrow, we’ll be embarking on the most exciting and unpredictable time in sports with the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs,” said Keith Wachtel, NHL Chief Revenue Officer and Executive Vice President. “Our main goal is to bring these memorable moments to the broadest possible audience, and partnering with a powerful brand like Hulu will allow us to drive deeper engagement with our fans. We’re thrilled to partner with Hulu and work together to showcase the road to the Stanley Cup.”

“The players are at their best, the games at their most intense and fans as passionate as ever each spring when the NHL playoffs get underway”, said Sandra Monteiro, NHLPA Chief of Global Business Strategies. “Through this exciting partnership with Hulu, the players will not only be the focal point on the ice as they battle for the Stanley Cup, but they will also drive fans to the action with these exclusive video vignettes.”

Since launching its live TV service in May 2017, Hulu has been continually innovating on its sports offering, making Hulu a top destination for sports fans. To ensure the biggest events are best experienced on Hulu with Live TV, the streaming service launched a personalized sports picking and viewing experience for both the 2018 Winter Olympics and NCAA March Madness tournament. Viewers were able to select their favorite winter sports and college basketball teams, and from there a tailored experience was surfaced in the Hulu product UI based on those preferences. Fans could also elect to receive game start notifications alerting them when their selected teams’ games were about to start.

Subscribers to Hulu’s $39.99 a month live TV service will be able to stream the Stanley Cup® Playoffs on NBC, NBC Sports Network (NBCSN), CNBC, USA Network and the Golf Channel, and the Stanley Cup® Final on NBC and NBCSN. Beyond this series, Hulu’s live TV viewers can stream the top sports networks and live games from major pro and college leagues, including NCAA football and basketball, EPL soccer, NFL, MLB, NBA and more. Fans have access to the top national sports channels including ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, TNT, TBS, CBS Sports, NBCSN, Fox Sports networks, the ESPN family of networks and local sports networks in markets across the country.

ABOUT HULU
Hulu is a leading premium streaming service that offers instant access to live and on demand channels, original series and films, and a premium library of TV and movies to more than 17 million subscribers in the U.S. Since its launch in 2008, Hulu has consistently been at the forefront of entertainment and technology. Hulu is the only streaming service that offers both ad-supported and commercial-free current season shows from the largest U.S. broadcast networks; libraries of hit TV series and films; and acclaimed Hulu Originals including Emmy® and Golden Globe Award-winning series The Handmaid’s Tale, The Looming Tower, Future Man, Marvel’s Runaways, The Path, 11.22.63, and Golden Globe nominated comedy Casual, as well as upcoming series Castle Rock and The First. In 2017, Hulu added live news, entertainment and sports from 21st Century Fox, The Walt Disney Company, NBCUniversal, CBS Corporation, The CW, Turner Networks, A+E Networks and Scripps Networks Interactive to its offerings – making it the only TV service that brings together live, on-demand, originals, and library content all in one place, across living room and mobile devices.

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Press Contacts:

Hulu

Nicolette Hamm

424-252-6601

nicolette.hamm@hulu.com

NHL

Nirva Milord

212-789-2123

nmilord@nhl.com

NHLPA

Ryan Parker