BitFire Networks Provides 16 Remote Feeds for 2022 NHL Draft Lottery

As professional sports drafts slowly return to a full in-person format, there are still remnants of the COVID-19 pandemic that may stay forever. Leveraging remote workflows and other aspects of virtualized production, draft prospects don’t always have to be onsite to become an integral part of the live broadcast. Management and maintenance of these feeds can be a bit of a challenge, but BitFire Networks has been available to solve this task.

Recently, the company supported the National Hockey League during last week’s production of the 2022 Draft Lottery. Using BitFire’s FrireBridge technology, 16 teams from across Canada and the U.S. remotely participated in the show. The show aired on ESPN, ESPN+, and nationally in Canada as the lottery order for the 2022 draft was revealed.

This isn’t the first time that BitFire Networks worked with the NHL. Last summer in July, the company provided live video feed synchronization for all NHL clubs during the 2021 NHL Draft. The 2021 edition marked the third time the two parties worked together, and in addition, MLB Network tapped their resources for their production of the 2021 MLB Draft. This production required 45 virtual feeds, including 15 prospects from their respective locations and general managers and other executives in the Draft rooms of all 30 clubs.