The National Hockey League has informed teams that it’s seriously negotiating a a partnership with Apple that could see iPads and other technology become commonplace on team benches, reports TSN, quoting three unnamed “sources familiar with the matter.”
The article adds that the NHL has been in talks for “several years” with Apple and Microsoft, but that the talks with Apple have accelerated after similar talks between the company and the National Basketball Association didn’t pan out.
The NHL had sought at least $5 million per year from Apple, but the technology company has a long-standing resistance to paying for sponsorships, according to TSN. The hockey organization wants to build on a model employed by the National Football League, which convinced companies like Motorola and Bose to pay millions of dollars so that team coaches and other staff wear their products on sidelines during games, the article adds.
