Chirps from Center Ice

If you have ever watched or tried to watch the AHL online, your only (legal) way was to use AHL Live. It was a clunky, overpriced devil of a product that outgrew its use over time. Half the time the feeds never worked, weren’t synced up correctly or some other technical problem. On top of that, it cost a fortune, over $200 if you wanted to watch all the games.

Well, that’s changed, in a big, big way.

The American Hockey League announced Wednesday the debut of AHLTV, it’s brand new streaming platform. Details here.

Some of the highlights include…

…high definition of every AHL broadcast.
…the ability to watch on virtually any connected device.
…live stats.
…create your own highlights.

I can’t wait to play around with that last one. Too many times I have had to wait up for or edit in highlights of a Penguins game for my blog recap by either waiting for Coal Street to put out highlights or the other team if it were a road game. Now, I don’t have to wait, I can make my own.

That’s all well and good, but how much does it cost?

Are you sitting down? Because you should be when you read the next paragraph.

All teams, all games — $79.99
One team, all games — $59.99
One team, home or away — $39.99
All games, one month — $19.99
All games, one day — $6.99

What used to cost $350 for a year is now essentially seventy-five cents a game. Remarkable. Here is a clip of what to expect out of the experience….

You can learn more, and sign up like I will be, by following this link.

Proof will be in the pudding when the league kicks off in about a month. Price points and fancy ways to watch are well and good, but if you can’t actually use the product you are paying for, no matter if it is 10 dollars or 10 cents, it isn’t worth it. But today’s announcement is certainly a positive, long overdue step in the the right direction.