After Google, NBA Breakup, NHL Steps In

Google Video used to feature official NBA videos, but the deal that made this possible seems to have run its course. Sports fans aren’t entirely out of luck, though, because the NHL will be providing content to fill the void.

“Not only can you watch a ton of current season hockey games, plus some great classic games, full length and commercial free on Google Video,” wrote Murdok contributor Nathan Weinberg, “but you can also download the videos for permanent ownership as an iPod/PSP MP4 file, or a .GVI/AVI freako hybrid video. The only thing I don’t like is that the videos can’t be embedded on other sites.”

There’s still the question of what happened between Google and the NBA, however. Google Watch’s Steve Bryant surmised that it might have “something to do with the maturation of the NBA’s Web video strategy.” He provided an old quote from NBA Commissioner David Stern that supports that theory.

“Those are, in the short run, experimentation to say that we’re there and to test it,” Stern said in reference to the Google deal and a partnership with iTunes. “I don’t think the story is yet written on the long-term strategy of those endeavors . . . . We haven’t to rest on this one yet.”

Garrett Rogers also suggested that the split “probably wasn’t the result of a heated dispute between the two companies,” noting that “the original deal only spoke about the 2005 and 2006 seasons to begin with.”

It’s still kind of sad to see the NBA left with “empty” Web pages like this one, but Google’s arrangement with the NHL should be great for hockey fans.

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Doug is a staff writer for Murdok. Visit Murdok for the latest eBusiness news.