Adobe has entered into a partnership with the National Hockey League (NHL) to become its Official Creative, Marketing and AI Partner, bringing its artificial intelligence and customer experience technologies to the league and its 32 clubs.
Announced ahead of the 2026-27 NHL regular season, the partnership will see Adobe provide its CX Enterprise solutions to support content creation, personalisation and fan engagement across the NHL's digital and physical touchpoints. The league said it has more than 200 million fans across 147 countries and is looking to use technology to support its global expansion.
A key part of the partnership will involve Adobe GenStudio, the company's AI-powered content supply chain solution. The NHL plans to use the platform to produce and adapt content for NHL.com, its mobile app, social media and digital advertising. Content can also be customised for different markets and languages while maintaining the league's brand standards.
The NHL will also use Adobe Experience Platform to develop a real-time view of fan preferences and behaviour. These insights can be activated through Adobe Journey Optimizer to personalise interactions across channels including web, mobile, email and in-arena experiences.
The approach is intended to allow the league to coordinate personalisation across its operations rather than running separate initiatives across individual markets. For example, content could be tailored depending on whether a fan is browsing statistics online, engaging through the NHL app or attending a game.
Adobe and the NHL are also exploring how generative AI could enable fans to create their own hockey-related content. In the future, Adobe Express could provide NHL-themed templates alongside generative AI capabilities powered by Adobe Firefly, allowing fans to create personalised images and other content for sharing across social platforms.
David Lehanski, NHL Executive Vice President of Innovation and Growth Strategy, said the partnership is intended to help the league develop new ways of telling stories around its players, clubs and major sporting moments while expanding opportunities for fan participation.
Lara Balazs, CMO and EVP of Global Marketing at Adobe, said the company's enterprise technologies would enable the NHL to scale relevant content across the channels where its audiences spend time.
The technologies are expected to support fan engagement across the NHL's 32 club markets as well as major properties including the Stanley Cup Playoffs, NHL Global Series, North American events and game broadcasts. The partnership reflects the league's wider push to connect digital content, customer data and AI-powered personalisation as sports audiences increasingly engage beyond traditional broadcasts and live venues.
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