How do you get your sports?

Not just sports news or sports photos or sports video, but your sports?

That’s the question facing professional sports leagues in 2016, as fans jettison their cable boxes and leave their desktops behind. In a world where the phone in your pocket might be your primary source of content delivery, how can they deliver their product to you?

“Cord-cutting is a concern for us. The biggest concern with it is we don’t know exactly – nobody knows – how big and persistent this phenomenon is going to be,” said Rob Manfred, Major League Baseball commissioner, to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports.

“The cable model has served this industry really well. Anything that interrupts that model is something we have to worry about. Having said that, I do think our over-the-top capacity at BAM (MLB Advanced Media) and BAM Tech gives us downside protection that is a little more robust than other businesses.”

The NHL doesn’t have the television contracts that baseball does in the U.S., but it is developing the same “downside protection” with BAM. After entering into a blockbuster deal last year, the rollout of new products and revamped current ones begins on Feb. 1. Nearly all of it targets the mobile experience, and much of it targets fans who consume games using something other than their cable box.

But Gary Bettman, NHL commissioner, says it’s not all about cord-cutting.

“It’s more complicate than that. There’s a whole host of other factors,” he said. “Ultimately, it’s about delivery to fans the way they want it.”

One of the reasons this deal was so important? The NHL has, in nearly every study, the most tech savvy fans.

“And more avid, and more affluent, and better educated. That’s why when we decided to do this relationship with BAM, we knew we could do some great things together,” said Bettman.

The greatness of these new “things” debuting on Feb. 1 will be determined by fans and consumer. But an initial look at them on Monday night at Madison Square Garden proved promising. (They’ll also be on display at the NHL All-Star Game in Nashville.)

Here are seven essential innovations in the BAM and NHL tech overhaul.

View photos (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) More

1. NHL Premium Changes The (Late) Game

How many times have you been on social media or gotten a text that alerted you to an incredible finish in an NHL game, whether it’s a pulled goalie or a game entering overtime.

The NHL has decided to tap into this with NHL Premium. It’s a $2.99 monthly streaming service that delivers the last five minutes of any game – well, any out of market game – plus overtime to your mobile device. You can set your app to send push notifications for any team, and you’ll get an alert that says the game has entered the final five minutes.

This is pretty cool. As an NFL Red Zone devotee – and someone who will flip to any game on Center Ice that’s tied or close near the end – it’s a handy way to watch the definitive moments of a game. The last five minutes of a close NHL game can be must-see. (Unlike in the NBA, where they’re the only five minutes you need to see.)

2. NHL.tv Replaces GameCenter Live

Launching on Feb. 1, NHL.tv is a rebranded and turbo-charged version of GameCenter Live, the NHL’s video streaming product.

Among the new features for NHL.tv on mobile are favorite-team customization, in which the “home” feed for any game is automatically fed to your player; six-camera mosaic layouts, with alternate angles; better DVR controls; and most importantly, an increase of the frames-per-second rate from 30 to 60.

Story continues