The National Hockey League is looking to a programming vet from the National Football League to pull its content strategy together and execute it across all platforms. Charles Coplin is joining the NHL as EVP-content, a new position that reports to COO John Collins. Coplin’s responsibilities include NHL.com; NHL Network; the NHL Digital Studios; and managing relationships with rightsholders. (That last one could be a full-time job in some places.)
Coplin’s experience is on the TV side; he was a programmer for the NFL Network and produced special events. Google (NSDQ: GOOG) him and “wardrobe malfunction” is bound to show up, as in responsible for making sure the Janet Jackson moment didn’t recur. You have to dig back a decade to get to his direct digital experience “building video into websites for purposes of exploiting content.”
The NHL has been a leader in adding digital dimensions to league sports, including live and on-demand webcasts shaped and programmed like TV shows. It will be interesting to see how Coplin builds on that and whether his special-events and TV expertise can translate across all these screens.
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