Sportsnet, Firstlight Media, and Deltatre Partner to Redefine Streaming Experience for Sports Fans

SN NOW to relaunch with suite of new features, backed by leading tech innovators

Toronto, ON(05 Aug 2021)

TORONTO (August 5, 2021) – Sportsnet has partnered with Deltatre and Firstlight Media, two industry-leading OTT technology providers, to reimagine and relaunch SN NOW – Canada’s premier sports streaming service – to deliver the best fan experience, highest quality streaming, and most personalized and engaging viewing features available anywhere in sports media.

By collaborating with these global technology powerhouses, Sportsnet will redesign SN NOW with a suite of integrated next-generation OTT features and a refreshed user interface, on the Firstlight Media platform, 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. Our new partnerships with Deltatre and Firstlight Media will help make Canada’s best sports streaming product even better,” said Bart Yabsley, President, Sportsnet. “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.”

“The ability to build world-class consumer experiences will increasingly involve great partners from around the globe. 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,” added Alfredo Tan, SVP, Strategy, Data, & Products at Rogers Sports & Media, Sportsnet’s parent company.

Firstlight Media will build the technology foundation for the new SN NOW. A global company that is innovating the next wave of sports OTT solutions, Firstlight Media has created a sophisticated, cloud-native technology stack that powers an end-to-end platform – delivering step changes in performance, flexibility, agility, and scale, and offering best-in-class user engagement and monetization. Firstlight Media has created a vast portfolio of broadcast-quality platforms for 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 is a leading sports and entertainment technology provider, specializing in fan-first video and digital experiences, including large-scale, end-to-end OTT systems integration across live and on-demand video content. As it innovates the front-end user experience of SN NOW, Sportsnet will benefit from Deltatre's market leading streaming technology, 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. 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,” said Alex Drosin, Head of Worldwide Business Development, Video Experiences, Deltatre.

In addition to enhancing the platform’s back-end technology and user-facing experience, the new and improved SN NOW cloud-native streaming platform runs on Firstlight Media's microservices architecture, fully built on Microsoft Azure.

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.”

Sportsnet will unveil the first phase of the all-new SN NOW this Fall with additional development phases planned going forward.

About SN NOW

Launched in 2016, SN NOW made Sportsnet the first conventional sports TV channel in North America to be offered direct to consumers by granting 24/7 streaming access to Sportsnet East, West, Ontario, Pacific, Sportsnet 360 and Sportsnet ONE. In 2018, Sportsnet launched SN NOW+, an enhanced version of the platform that offers fans even more exclusive content. Both products are currently available on desktop or laptop through a web browser, as well as smartphones, tablets, Apple TV, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Samsung TV, Ignite TV and Google Chromecast by downloading the Sportsnet app.

About Sportsnet
Sportsnet is Canada’s #1 sports network. Uniting Canadians through sport, Sportsnet’s multimedia offerings include Sportsnet (consisting of 4 regional channels: East, Ontario, West, and Pacific), Sportsnet ONE, Sportsnet 360, Sportsnet World, the Sportsnet Radio Network, Sportsnet.ca, Sportsnet NOW, SN NOW+, the Sportsnet app, and podcasts. Sportsnet is the official Canadian NHL national multiplatform rights holder, and is the regional broadcaster for the Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, and Toronto Maple Leafs. Sportsnet also has extensive coverage of the Toronto Blue Jays and Toronto Raptors, as well as NBA, MLB, Grand Slam of Curling, National Bank Open presented by Rogers, CHL, IndyCar, WWE, Super League Rugby, Premiership Rugby, Bundesliga, FA Women’s Super League, and FA Cup. Sportsnet is part of Rogers Sports & Media, which is a subsidiary of Rogers Communications Inc. (TSX, NYSE: RCI). Visit Sportsnet.ca.

About Firstlight Media

Firstlight Media is leading cloud transformations of OTT and in-home experiences for pay-TV, telcos, and MVPDs. The company’s cloud-native platform leverages a transformative Gen5 architecture for unparalleled performance in delivering premium video, handling complex use cases, and scaling to millions of viewers. Founded by a team that has built and operated dozens of Tier 1 OTT services worldwide, Firstlight Media is powering immersive sports, live experiences and personalized entertainment on any screen. The company is headquartered in Toronto and has additional locations in Los Angeles, San Diego and Chennai, India. For more information, visit firstlight.ai.

About Deltatre

Deltatre is the global leader in fan-first video experiences. Recently named in Fast Company’s prestigious annual list of the ‘World’s Most Innovative Companies for 2020’, Deltatre’s market-leading product and services portfolio has helped redefine the way the world consumes sport, media and entertainment by offering specialist innovations in over-the-top streaming, websites and apps, graphics, data, officiating systems, user experience, and product design. Over its 35-year history, the company has grown to employ more than 1,000 staff who are globally distributed across its hubs in 16 key cities.

Media Contacts:
Sportsnet - Jason Jackson, jason.jackson1@rci.rogers.com, 416.602.4033

Firstlight Media - Paul Schneider, paul@paulschneiderpr.com, +1.215.817.4384

Deltatre - Ben Tobin, ben.tobin@deltatre.com, +44 7985511359