Apple (AAPL) is deepening its push into sports, adding its Apple Watch to the list of its products that can be found in and around major league teams.
The tech giant and the NHL announced on Friday that referees have been using the Apple Watch throughout the current season as a means of monitoring the game without having to take their eyes off of the action on the ice.
The new system includes an Apple Watch Series model or Apple Watch Ultra and a specialized app that provides the refs with data like the game clock, a countdown to the end of a period, and a notification letting them know when a player is coming out of the penalty box.
“Being able to provide the official the game clock on the wrist so [the referees aren’t] looking up, trying to find the scoreboard when [they’re] skating … was really important to make sure there’s focus on the ice and the players and the play,” said Andres de Corral, vice president of digital services at Presidio, the company behind the app.
To ensure the refs aren’t dependent on looking at their watches, Presidio’s app provides haptic feedback patterns that vibrate for end-of-period and penalty box alerts.
“So notifying the official, ‘10 … 3, 2, 1, there’s a 200-pound person that’s about to exit a penalty box flying at you … Careful,’” Corral said.
Each referee has their own NHL-issued Apple Watch. They can’t use their own personal watches while refereeing games. What’s more, the watches aren’t loaded with unnecessary apps and only get notifications from Presidio’s software. (You can’t have a referee getting Uber Eats while on the ice, after all. Or can you?)
David Lehanski, executive vice president of business development and innovation at NHL, said the league has been working with Apple on the Apple Watch initiative for years. The pair teamed up in the past, putting iPads on teams’ benches so players and coaches could watch replays of the game in real time to figure out how to change up strategies on the fly.
Other sports leagues also rely on Apple’s products, including MLB, which allows teams to use iPads in their dugouts so that players can get information on their latest at-bats and other game statistics. The World Surf League (WSL) also uses the Apple Watch, giving surfers information on waves and scores.
Of course, working with sports leagues isn’t just about helping out players and referees; it’s also a marketing exercise for all parties. Apple gets its products in front of sports fans, proving that they’re not only useful but, in the case of the NHL and WSL, durable enough to survive, say, taking an accidental hit from an enforcer fighting another player or being sloshed around in massive waves. And the leagues get to show off their tech savvy.
