Nashville, Tenn. (March 5, 2025) – The Nashville Predators, National Hockey League and NewsChannel 5 (WTVF) today announced a collaboration to broadcast the data visualization “Music City Hockey in Smashville” presented by Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt at 6 p.m. CT on April 1. Airing on NewsChannel 5 as Nashville takes on Columbus that evening, fans can join team mascot GNASH during an adventure with his Music City friends to watch a Predators hockey game.
“We are excited and honored to take part in a new, different and incredibly fun way to engage the passionate SMASHVILLE community,” Predators CEO Sean Henry said. “We love celebrating the uniqueness of our home in Nashville, and showcasing the connection between our team and our Music City roots is the perfect way to do so. Our goal is to create a program full of fun and adventure to connect with families and create new fans, while also delivering a broadcast that focuses around educating our community about hockey, SMASHVILLE and our players. We’d like to thank the NHL, NewsChannel 5, the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt and our fans for helping us bring this special opportunity to life.”
“Music City Hockey in Smashville” will showcase the Predators and their vibrant home along downtown Nashville’s iconic Broadway. During the program, kids can tag along with GNASH as he ventures through Music City, using clues from Predators radio play-by-play announcer Max Herz and TV analyst Chris Mason to find and meet up with his friends at different landmarks throughout the Nashville area.
The animated program will also feature appearances from Predators players answering questions about hockey, teamwork, music and other fun topics.
“The team at NewsChannel 5 is excited to partner with the Predators for this fun, family-friendly event,” NewsChannel 5 Senior Vice President of Local Media Lyn Plantinga said. “It is a unique view of hockey, and a night of special touches that could only happen in Nashville.”
“We are thrilled to support this fun and engaging event to bring parents and children together to cheer on our longtime friends, the Nashville Predators and GNASH,” Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt President Meg Rush, M.D., MMHC said. “For more than a decade, the Predators have brought countless smiles to our children and families through their visits to Monroe Carell, ‘Champ of the Game’ and their generosity that supports our play rooms and various programs to improve care. This new animated adventure is sure to bring even more joy and excitement to the SMASHVILLE community, including our patients and families at Monroe Carell. Let’s go Preds!”
NHL animated data visualizations represent a continuation of the NHL’s global efforts to feature innovative applications of NHL technology, such as NHL EDGE Positional Data (NHL Puck & Player Tracking), and deliver the game of hockey to fans of all ages in fun and engaging ways. These new animated programs are produced in association with Sony’s Beyond Sports. Powered by Sony’s Beyond Sports’ cutting-edge technology, real-time data from NHL EDGE Positional Data merges with Sony’s Hawk-Eye Innovations’ optical tracking, and animates it to bring every shot, save, pass, check, and goal to life in NHL animated programs. “Music City Hockey in Smashville” content will also be available on-demand on @NHL on YouTube and NHL.com after the initial airing.
Predators corporate partners Hattie B’s Hot Chicken and Lochnivar will support the animated program with integrations throughout the broadcast.
This marks the Predators’ debut appearance in an animated data visualization. The “Music City Hockey in Smashville” broadcast on April 1 is one of six animated programming collaborations between the NHL and its clubs through the remainder of the 2024-25 regular season.
Smashville Loyal re-invents season-ticket memberships into an exclusive loyalty experience featuring tenure-based benefits designed to reward your commitment with all-encompassing experiences that go beyond hockey! Place your initial payment to become Smashville Loyal today and receive early access to the first seat selection event for 2025-26 Nashville Predators season ticket plans on Thursday, April 10. To join now, call 615-770-7800 or visit NashvillePredators.com.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
