MONTREAL – Bell Canada today launched an exclusive new app available only to customers with a 5G phone – and who are in a Bell 5G coverage area.
The new TSN 5G View/Vision 5G RDS launched Friday night as the Montreal Canadiens hosted the Vancouver Canucks at the Bell Centre.
The Bell announcement says 5G tech allows it to use the app to take “fans into the rink on their smartphones, rotating around the action supported by 80-plus in-game cameras broadcast live within the TSN/RDS App.”
This is the first Bell Canada-Bell Media co-production under new Bell Media senior vice-president, product platforms Nauby Jacob, who does double-duty as Bell Canada’s senior VP of products and services.
Fans can change the angle during key plays and zoom in and out from various angles at any time during a live game through the app. All TSN and RDS broadcast viewers will also experience unique 5G game highlights and replays during the live game and post-game recap and commentary, says the release.
(Ed note: Forgive us our age, because we’ve been covering this industry a long time, but this type of thing has been attempted/done in the past both online and through early quasi-interactive TV experiments. Ironically, when Rogers tried something exclusive like this in 2015 with Rogers GamePlus, Bell filed a complaint with the CRTC saying doing such a thing was anticompetitive. Rogers pulled the plug on GamePlus in 2018.)
Calling it “the single largest technology effort of its kind, more than 80 time-slice cameras have been installed around the bowl of the arena in the Bell Centre as well as 1,500 metres of fibre, 96 dedicated servers and a specialized control centre to bring the technology to life. TSN 5G View/Vision 5G RDS utilizes equipment and technology from 4DReplay,” reads the release.
Combining Bell’s nascent 5G network with Bell Media’s TSN and RDS this way is one of the first consumer applications leveraging the new technology, which will hopefully make consumers more aware of the technology, and perhaps pull a few more hockey fans to Bell Mobility.
“TSN 5G View / Vision 5G RDS is a great example of our commitment to leverage Bell’s technology leadership to offer our customers the best content on the most innovative platforms,” said Jacob, in the release.
TSN 5G View works best while in 5G coverage while on the go, says Bell. While customers with 5G smartphones can use the service with a strong Wi-Fi connection, if the connection isn’t strong enough, the video quality will degrade and the app will notify the user their network connection isn’t good enough
The service will not work on LTE.
The broadcaster went ahead with the 80-camera production because of the low latency 5G can deliver “and the response to support the near-real time interaction,” said a Bell spokesperson when we asked for clarification. “Without that latency and speed, it wouldn’t be possible on LTE and you can see that reflected in the performance when in the zone.”
The broadcaster/cellco will offer these capabilities through the app during select Montreal Canadiens home game broadcasts on TSN and RDS, which are only available in the team’s designated broadcast region (Québec, Atlantic Canada, and Eastern Ontario). It seems NHL regional restrictions apply even with 5G.
As well, game analysts will bring viewers a never-before-seen perspective, zooming in and out and rotating around the action throughout the game and during intermissions.
“We’re literally handing control of the viewing experience to our fans through their Bell 5G smartphones,” added Nathalie Cook, vice-president, TSN and RDS, in the release. “Because they can’t attend the games in person, we think hockey fans will be delighted with this innovative new option to get close to the action.”
TSN 5G View/Vision 5G RDS mobile viewing options are available exclusively to TSN and RDS app users (direct subscription or through a TV package) with a Bell Mobility 5G device when they download the latest app release. The feature is available at no additional charge though data charges may apply depending on a customer’s service plan.
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