MHSAA TV Returns for 2015-16
September 2, 2015
By John Johnson
MHSAA communications director
A growing number of games can be followed on the MHSAA.tv website as more schools begin to stream their game statistics live using Digital Scout.
Digital Scout enables schools to enter statistics while a game is in progress on mobile devices – such as phones and tablets – and fans can follow along on their own handhelds or on laptops or desktop computers with a subscription to the NFHS Network. The software is free for schools to use and available for football, basketball and volleyball.
Live stats were available for more than 40 football games during opening weekend, and one game had both live stats and video from a school participating in the MHSAA’s School Broadcast Program. A number of volleyball matches also were available.
In its seventh 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 the schedule of School Broadcast Program members planning to stream competition this week for broadcast at MHSAA.tv (As of Aug. 31):
- Wyoming at Comstock Park – Football – Thursday – 7 p.m. – LIVE
- East Kentwood at East Lansing – Football – Thursday – 7 p.m. – On-Demand Following Game
- Goodrich at Flint Kearsley – Football – Thursday – 7 p.m. – LIVE
- Blanchard Montabella at Pinconning – Football – Thursday - 7 p.m. – On-Demand Following Game
- Holt at Rockford – Football – Thursday – 7 p.m. – LIVE
Several schools joined the School Broadcast Program over the summer – all members of the Detroit Catholic High School League, Flint Kearsley, Holly, Livonia Stevenson, Marquette, and Midland Dow – bringing the total number of members to 63. Of this group, Flint Kearsley will be live streaming its first event Thursday. More SBP programming is expected once students hit the classroom for the new year next week. A complete list of participating schools can be found on the School Broadcast Program page of the MHSAA Website.
Schools interested in becoming a part of the School Broadcast Program should contact John Johnson at the MHSAA Office.
In its second week of the season, at midnight, is MHSAA Football Friday Overtime on FOX Sports Detroit. Mickey York and Rob Rubick host the weekly 30-minute highlights show. The show will re-air most Saturday and Sunday mornings – and will be archived on the FOX Detroit Website. This week, FFOT will re-air at 8:30 a.m., 3:30 p.m., and 11:30 p.m. on Saturday; and at 8 a.m. and 10:30 p.m. on Sunday on FOX Sports Detroit. The show also will re-air on Saturday at 7 p.m. on FOX Sports Detroit-PLUS.
The following games are scheduled to be highlighted this week on Football Friday Overtime:
- Caro at Millington
- Frankenmuth at Birch Run
- Monroe Jefferson at Grosse Ile
- Carleton Airport at New Boston Huron
- Detroit Mumford at Detroit Denby
- Oxford at Rochester Hills Stoney Creek
Below are MHSAA-produced highlights from NFHS Network games from last week, including moments from the Walled Lake Western/Lowell and Rogers City/AuGres-Sims football games and East Lansing/Petoskey boys soccer game.
MHSAA.tv Live Postseason Views Approach 1 Million for 2020-21
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
July 14, 2021
Live postseason events streamed on MHSAA.tv during the 2020-21 school year were viewed nearly 1 million times, with 15 events drawing more than 10,000 live views apiece.
The final championship weekend of the Spring – featuring Girls Soccer Finals and Baseball and Softball Semifinals & Finals, all across four divisions June 17-19 at Michigan State University – saw nearly 70,000 live views on MHSAA.tv despite record attendance of those events at Old College Field.
The Division 2 Softball championship game – which ended with Owosso claiming its first Finals title in any sport, drew a weekend-high 5,677 live views on the network. The previous weekend, the Division 1 Girls Lacrosse Final won by Rockford on June 12 led the way with 4,284 live views.
The total number of live postseason views on MHSAA.tv for 2020-21 was 962,371. The most-viewed live tournament events were the Individual and Team Wrestling Finals, which with all rounds over all four divisions combined drew 244,044 live views. Among individual games broadcast solely by MHSAA.tv, the Division 3 Boys Basketball Semifinal matching Iron Mountain and Schoolcraft (15,393 live views) and the Division 1 Volleyball Semifinal featuring Novi and Lowell (13,484) ranked among the most watched.
MHSAA.tv is a partner of the NFHS Network. Postseason events streamed on MHSAA.tv included most sports’ Finals, and Semifinals and Quarterfinals for some – especially sports where multiple concluding rounds were hosted by the same tournament site.
MHSAA.tv also ranked second among NFHS Network contributing states with 18,973 live events (postseason and regular-season combined) streamed during the 2020-21 school year. That total of nearly 19,000 live postseason events was an increase from 7,710 events streamed live during 2019-20 and 3,900 during 2018-19, and placed Michigan behind only Illinois.
The School Broadcast Program is responsible for nearly all production of regular-season events. Having now concluded its 13th year, the SBP 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. Rockford – one of the state’s largest schools with nearly 2,500 students – broadcast 242 events, drawing an SBP-high 74,437 live views and 89,604 total with on-demand replays included. Much smaller Pewamo-Westphalia, a school of 300 students, received the second-most views of SBP members in 2020-21 with 56,009 including live and on-demand. Marquette, Lake Orion, Cedar Springs, Montrose and McBain also were among top SBP providers.
In addition to bringing local events on air nationally, the School Broadcast Program gives schools the opportunity to raise money through advertising and viewing subscriptions. NFHS Network subscriptions begin at $10.99 per month. Subscribers receive access to all live and on-demand video from across the country. School Broadcast Program participants receive a portion of every subscription sold by a school to benefit its program.
Broadcasts from the majority of Michigan schools – especially those lacking the ability to staff events for production – are streamed using a Pixellot automated camera. Michigan schools have 774 Pixellots in service, third-most in the country behind only Texas and California. Most Michigan schools have one camera at an outdoor stadium and a second at the main indoor gymnasium.
A complete list of participating schools can be found on the School Broadcast Program page of the MHSAA Website.