Contact: John Johnson
517.332.5046 or [email protected]
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Jan. 31 – A challenge to schools wanting to stream live video of their athletic events to their communities is being able to adequately staff those productions.
“We had signed up for the School Broadcast Program over a year ago and we were really exciting to get our games out to the community, and when it came to it, we just couldn’t get the manpower to run the equipment,” said Drew Johnson, the athletic director at Otisville Lakeville High School in Genesee County. “That first day, we had everything lined up, we were ready to go, and two of our three kids missed school that day for being sick. It was just a hassle.
“So when we heard about Pixellot, it was a quick and easy decision.”
Just three weeks ago, Lakeville became the first school in Michigan and one of the first in the country to install a Pixellot unit in its gymnasium, automating the process of streaming live video on MHSAA.tv and the NFHS Network.
Pixelott is a unit equipped with four High Definition cameras which cover the length of the playing surface, and then focus in on the ball and player movement to deliver the action. The unit communicates with the scoreboard to insert a time and score graphic on the screen. Ambient audio is picked up by the device, but the play-by-play of an in-person announce team can also be patched in.
All that has to be done from a school’s perspective is type in the event schedule, and promote the fact that the games are available on MHSAA.tv. Pixellot does the rest. The unit can also be set up to isolate a camera on a fixed location, which allows for activities like wrestling to also be streamed.
“We’re going to do everything that takes place in our gym,” Johnson said. “We’re also excited about being able to record our practices as well.”
Johnson added that the school will look into installing additional Pixellot units at its middle school auditorium for musical events and Lakeville’s outdoor athletic fields in the future.
In its eighth year, the School Broadcast Program gives members an opportunity to showcase excellence in their
schools by creating video programming of athletic and non-athletic events; with students gaining skills in announcing, camera operation, directing/producing and graphics.
The program also gives schools the opportunity to raise money through advertising and viewing subscriptions.
All sporting events – live or delayed - are available on a subscription basis only for their first 72 hours online. They become available for free, on-demand viewing approximately 72 hours following their completion.
Here’s this week’s MHSAA.tv schedule of live video streams available being produced by SBP members (All times Eastern Standard):
Tuesday, Jan. 31
Wednesday, Feb. 1
Thursday, Feb. 2
Friday, Feb. 3
- Ice Hockey - Grand Rapids Catholic Central vs. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood @ MIHL Showcase, 4 p.m.
- Boys Basketball - Lowell at Cedar Springs, 5:30 p.m.
- Girls Basketball - Burton Atherton vs. Montrose, 5:30 p.m.
- Girls Basketball - Allegan at Plainwell, 6 p.m.
- Ice Hockey - Notre Dame De La Baie Academy vs. Detroit Catholic Central @ MIHL Showcase, 6 p.m.
- Boys Basketball - Coopersville at Comstock Park, 6 p.m.
- Girls Basketball - Lapeer at Davison, 6 p.m.
- Boys Basketball - Allegan at Plainwell, 7 p.m.
- Boys Basketball - Burton Atherton vs. Montrose, 7 p.m.
- Girls Basketball - McBain at Beal City, 7:30 p.m.
- Girls Basketball - Coopersville at Comstock Park, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 4
Monday, Feb. 6
Tuesday, Feb. 7
Be sure to check the Upcoming Events page at MHSAA.tv for schedule additions every day.
The NFHS Network has announced new pricing for 2016-17, eliminating the Day Pass and lowering the cost of a Month Pass to $9.95. Subscribers will have access to all live video and streaming statistics across the country. All content becomes available for free, on demand viewing 72 hours after being shown live. Some schools will also be selling Annual Passes at a discounted rate. A portion of every subscription sold by a school goes to benefit its program.
A complete list of participating schools can be found on the School Broadcast Program page of the MHSAA website.
Fans can also access scores of games in-progress on the NFHS Network website via ScoreStream. Click on the Scores button in the upper right corner.
A weekly staple on the MHSAA.tv website and the MHSAASports Channel on YouTube is back for another year with highlights of selected games last week produced by members of the Association’s School Broadcast Program.
This week’s highlights package consists of clips from last week’s Boys Basketball game with Bark River-Harris at Powers North Central, a game in which the Jets set a state record for consecutive basketball victories; an Ice Hockey game pitting Detroit Catholic Central at Brighton, in a battle of two of the top teams in the state; and a demonstration of Pixellot in action during a Boys Basketball game with Millington at Otisville Lakeville.
Schools interested in becoming a part of the School Broadcast Program should contact John Johnson at the MHSAA Office.
The MHSAA Network’s weekly radio show/podcast This Week In High School Sports, now has over 85 radio stations and audio webcast outlets as part of their weekly prep coverage. This week’s show features Powers North Central Boys Basketball winning streak; discusses Wrestling & Technology in its Be The Referee segment, and finishes with an MHSAA Perspective on how the local nature of high school sports led to two long-time basketball state records being broken.
This Week In High School Sports is posted on Tuesday each week by Noon, and can be found on the home page of the MHSAA Website. You can listen to this week’s show and view a list of outlets carrying the program by Clicking Here. Be The Referee is also posted as a standalone podcast on Tuesday each week, and can be found on the home page of the MHSAA Website. You can listen to this week’s message by Clicking Here.
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