Contact: John Johnson
517.332.5046 or [email protected]
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Oct. 4 – Statewide video coverage of all Michigan High School Athletic Association Finals will take place beginning in the 2010-11 school year for the very first time as the MHSAA Network and When We Were Young Productions will collaborate with FOX Sports Detroit to deliver the games in one of the most comprehensive cable and online high school sports packages in the nation.
FOX Sports Detroit and the MHSAA have signed a multi-year extension of an agreement where live coverage of most Football, Boys Basketball and Girls Basketball Finals will take place; and the new arrangement with the MHSAA Network will also plan for live coverage of Finals in Ice Hockey and Girls Volleyball. In addition, FOX Sports Detroit will continue to be the home of the exclusive announcement of the qualifiers and pairings for the MHSAA Football Playoffs on the annual Selection Sunday Show.
The FoxSportsDetroit.com Website becomes the exclusive home to live video streaming of the events that will be shown live on FOX Sports Detroit. MHSAA Finals in all other team sports this year, plus Finals in Track & Field and Swimming & Diving in both peninsulas, all rounds of the Team and Individual Wrestling Finals, and the Semifinal round of the Basketball, Football, Ice Hockey and Volleyball Tournaments will be streamed live on both the FoxSportsDetroit.com and MHSAA.tv Websites. All of the action will be archived online at MHSAA.tv.
All other team Finals – Baseball, Competitive Cheer, Lacrosse, Soccer, Softball and Team Wrestling – as well as the Lower Peninsula Swimming & Diving Finals and the championship matches of the Individual Wrestling Finals and will be shown on a delayed basis on Fox Sports Detroit or FOX Sports Detroit PLUS. Highlights programs of Finals in Bowling, Cross Country, Golf, Gymnastics, Skiing and Tennis will also air. This entire package will also be shown on Comcast Television, which is carrying MHSAA Network regular-season programming and pre-Finals MHSAA Tournament action in a number of sports for the third straight school year.
Comcast will also be the cable home of all of this content on its popular Video On Demand service, including all the championship running events at the MHSAA Track & Field Finals, where each event will be produced individually for on demand enjoyment. MHSAA Network programming on Comcast reaches over one million homes in the southern half of the Lower Peninsula.
“We’re pleased that we can now bring most of our Final events to cable and satellite viewers statewide, and that all of our sports will receive coverage on the web through our continued partnership with FOX Sports Detroit,” said John E. “Jack” Roberts, Executive Director of the MHSAA. “The MHSAA Network, through the work of When We Were Young Productions, continues to serve high school fans in large numbers, and has proven that our viewers watch and appreciate this content – during the regular season and our tournaments – regardless of who is playing.”
“High school sports are as much a part of the fabric of life here in Michigan as any of our pro teams. The passion and excitement is just as engaging, just as real,” said Greg Hammaren, Senior Vice President/General Manager, FOX Sports Detroit. “We’re immensely proud to extend our wonderful partnership with MHSAA and expand it with the help of When We Were Young Productions and Comcast. This agreement is a shining example of the excellent value and community service that cable providers and FOX Sports Detroit represent.”
Here is a detailed rundown of 2010-11 MHSAA Championships on FOX Sports Detroit and the FoxSportsDetroit.com website (Note- Video streaming subject to available Internet connectivity at tournament venues. Dates & times subject to change):
Fall Championships
Oct. 24 – Selection Sunday Show – LIVE on FOX Sports Detroit
Nov. 6 – Boys Soccer Finals – LIVE on FoxSportsDetroit.com & MHSAA.tv; delayed on FOX Sports Detroit
Nov. 18-19 – Girls Volleyball Semifinals – LIVE on FoxSportsDetroit.com & MHSAA.tv
Nov. 20 – Girls Volleyball Finals – LIVE on FOX Sports Detroit & FoxSportsDetroit.com
Nov. 20 – Football Semifinals – 16 Games – Most LIVE on FoxSportsDetroit.com & MHSAA.tv+
+ Subject to availability of streaming capabilities at host sites
Nov. 20 – L.P. Girls Swimming & Diving Finals - LIVE on FoxSportsDetroit.com & MHSAA.tv; delayed on FOX Sports Detroit
Nov. 26-27 – Football Finals - LIVE on FOX Sports Detroit* & FoxSportsDetroit.com
* All games live except Division 4 Final on Nov. 26
December – Fall highlights program of MHSAA Finals in Cross Country, Tennis and L.P. Girls Golf on FOX Sports Detroit
Winter Championships
Feb. 19 – U.P. Swimming & Diving Finals - LIVE on FoxSportsDetroit.com & MHSAA.tv
Feb. 25-26 – Team Dual Wrestling Quarterfinals & Semifinals - LIVE on FoxSportsDetroit.com & MHSAA.tv
Feb. 26 – Team Dual Wrestling Finals - LIVE on FoxSportsDetroit.com & MHSAA.tv; delayed on FOX Sports Detroit
March 4-5 – Competitive Cheer Finals - LIVE on FoxSportsDetroit.com & MHSAA.tv; delayed on FOX Sports Detroit
March 3-5 – Individual Wrestling Finals – Rounds 1-8 - LIVE on FoxSportsDetroit.com & MHSAA.tv
March 5 – Individual Wrestling Finals – Championship Matches - LIVE on FoxSportsDetroit.com & MHSAA.tv; delayed on FOX Sports Detroit
March 10-11 – Ice Hockey Semifinals - LIVE on FoxSportsDetroit.com & MHSAA.tv
March 12 – Ice Hockey Finals - LIVE on FOX Sports Detroit & FoxSportsDetroit.com
March 12 – L.P. Boys Swimming & Diving Finals - LIVE on FoxSportsDetroit.com & MHSAA.tv; delayed on FOX Sports Detroit
March 17-18 – Girls Basketball Semifinals - LIVE on FoxSportsDetroit.com & MHSAA.tv
March 19 – Girls Basketball Finals - LIVE on FOX Sports Detroit & FoxSportsDetroit.com
March 24-25 – Boys Basketball Semifinals - LIVE on FoxSportsDetroit.com & MHSAA.tv
March 26 – Boys Basketball Finals - LIVE on FOX Sports Detroit* & FoxSportsDetroit.com
* All games live except Class B Final
April – Winter highlights program of MHSAA Finals in Bowling, Gymnastics and Skiing on FOX Sports Detroit
Spring Championships
June 4 – Track & Field Finals - LIVE on FoxSportsDetroit.com & MHSAA.tv
June 11 – Girls & Boys Lacrosse Finals - LIVE on FoxSportsDetroit.com & MHSAA.tv; delayed on FOX Sports Detroit
June 18 – Baseball-Softball Finals - LIVE on FoxSportsDetroit.com & MHSAA.tv; delayed on FOX Sports Detroit
June 18 – Girls Soccer Finals - LIVE on FoxSportsDetroit.com & MHSAA.tv; delayed on FOX Sports Detroit
August - Spring highlights program of MHSAA Finals in Golf and Tennis on FOX Sports Detroit
For a complete rundown of MHSAA Championships coverage on FOX Sports Detroit, FoxSportsDetroit.com, MHSAA.tv, MHSAANetwork.com and Comcast Television, visit the MHSAA Website. (Note - A PDF chart of the schedule can be found by clicking here)
About The MHSAA
The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by over 1,600 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract approximately 1.6 million spectators each year.
About The MHSAA Network
The MHSAA Network delivers coverage of regular season and MHSAA Tournament competition across multiple platforms -- cable television, radio and the internet – to fans of high school sports across the state and around the world. In addition to providing content to cable partners Comcast Television and Fox Sports Detroit, the MHSAA Network features two websites – MHSAA.tv and MHSAANetwork.com – where fans can click to view or listen to content; and a radio network of nearly 40 stations statewide which annually carry the MHSAA Basketball Finals and the commentary MHSAA Perspective, which airs for 30 weeks during the school year.
About FOX Sports Detroit
FOX Sports Detroit's coverage of the MHSAA goes to more than 3.2 million cable and satellite households throughout Michigan and portions of Northwest Ohio and Northern Indiana. The regional network is home to more than 350 live local events per year among the MHSAA, Detroit Red Wings, Detroit Tigers, Detroit Pistons, Central College Hockey Association, and area college football/basketball. Comprehensive coverage is also provided on the web at Foxsportsdetroit.com.
About When We Were Young Productions
When We Were Young Productions is a leading provider of high school sports content and distribution platform development. Based in Madison, Wis., with a Michigan production office in Hartland in Livingston County, WWWYP was founded in 2002 and has successfully partnered with a number of high school associations and cable providers.
About Comcast Corporation
Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) (www.comcast.com) is one of the nation’s leading providers of entertainment, information and communication products and services. With 23.2 million video customers, 16.4 million high-speed Internet customers, and 8.1 million Comcast Digital Voice customers, Comcast is principally involved in the development, management and operation of cable systems and in the delivery of programming content.
Comcast’s content networks and investments include E! Entertainment Television, Style Network, Golf Channel, VERSUS, G4, PBS KIDS Sprout, TV One, 11 regional sports networks operated by Comcast Sports Group and Comcast Interactive Media, which develops and operates Comcast’s Internet businesses, including Comcast.net (www.comcast.net). Comcast also has a majority ownership in Comcast-Spectacor, which owns two professional sports teams, the Philadelphia 76ers NBA basketball team and the Philadelphia Flyers NHL hockey team, and a large, multipurpose arena in Philadelphia, the Wells Fargo Center, and, through Global Spectrum, manages other facilities for sporting events, concerts and other events.
Comcast’s Michigan Region serves more than one million customers statewide and employs approximately 4,000 people. Comcast has three major call centers located in the state and houses its Michigan Region headquarters in Southfield.
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Farmers Insurance is a year-round MHSAA Corporate Partner