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MHSAA TV Serves Up Key TVC Match

October 4, 2017

By John Johnson
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties 

A battle for control of the Tri-Valley Conference Central takes place today (Oct. 4) on MHSAA.tv when Freeland hosts Saginaw Swan Valley in girls volleyball at 7 p.m.

Swan Valley enters this week’s action 31-8-2 and ranked seventh in the latest Class B coaches poll. Freeland, which garnered honorable mention this week in the same poll, is 26-5-2 overall. Both teams are 3-0 in league play.

Freeland is one of more than 60 MHSAA member schools across the state participating in the

School Broadcast Program, and one of nearly a dozen schools to be streaming live video of its home athletic events using the NFHS Network’s Pixellot technology.

Pixellot 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. Freeland is one of several schools in the state using Pixellot in its gymnasium and at its football/multipurpose field.

In its ninth 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. Pixellot is used by schools wishing to stream games but which lack the ability to staff the events. The SBP program also gives schools the opportunity to raise money through advertising and viewing subscriptions.

Here’s this week’s MHSAA.tv schedule of video streams being produced by SBP members:

Tuesday, October 3

Wednesday, October 4

Thursday, October 5

Friday, October 6

Monday, October 9

Tuesday, October 10

NFHS Network subscriptions begin at $9.95 per month. 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. School Broadcast Program participants will also be selling Season and 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.

Highlights of games produced in the past week by MHSAA School Broadcast Program members are in their fifth week. Featured events are in girls volleyball with Clarkston at Lake Orion, football with Lowell at Cedar Springs and football with Lansing Catholic at Fowlerville. Highlights can be found each week on the MHSAA.tv website, the home page of the MHSAA Website, and the MHSAASports Channel on YouTube.

More than 15 football games are featured each week on the State Champs! Sports Network Extra Point – powered by the Michigan High School Athletic Association – Saturday at 10 a.m. on FOX Sports Detroit.

The half-hour program features highlights from more than a dozen games each week, including clips from games produced by MHSAA School Broadcast Program members. The program airs multiple times each weekend on FOX Sports Detroit and on Comcast Channel 900, and will be archived on the State Champs YouTube Channel. Consult your local listings for additional playback times.

Here are some of the games to be featured this week on State Champs! Extra Point:

  • Chelsea at Ypsilanti
  • Warren Mott at Romeo
  • Redford Union at Redford Thurston
  • Clarkston Everest at Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes
  • Warren Fitzgerald at Madison Heights Madison
  • Hudsonville at Caledonia
  • PLUS - Additional coverage from Grand Rapids, Lansing, Flint, Upper Peninsula and School Broadcast Program games.

The MHSAA also has a presence on other State Champs! Network programs throughout each weekend. The MHSAA Minute is a weekly part of the State Champs! High School Sports Show on FOX Sports Detroit at 9 a.m. every Sunday – with multiple replays on FOX Sports Detroit and Comcast Channel 900 throughout the week. That program also is archived on the State Champs YouTube Channel. Consult your local listings for additional playback times.

This week’s MHSAA Minute on State Champs talks about concussion protocols and the Association’s concussion insurance program.

The MHSAA also has content on the State Champs Scoreboard! High School Football Radio Show on Friday nights during the football and basketball seasons, originating on WXYT-FM (97.1) in Detroit and carried on more than 10 radio stations across the state. This Week In High School Sports and Be the Referee are weekly features on the program.

NFHS Offers Pixellots, School Support

July 7, 2020

National Federation of State High School Associations

As high schools nationwide continue to deal with the fallout from COVID-19 and make plans for the restarting of activities this fall, the NFHS Network – the leader in streaming live and on-demand high school sports – has announced an unprecedented offer for schools that are facing possible attendance restrictions at events during the 2020-21 school year. 

Through its High School Support Program, the NFHS Network is offering up to two free Pixellot automated-production units for schools that lack production capabilities to stream events on the NFHS Network.  

The offer of two Pixellot units – one for indoor events and the other for outdoor contests – has been extended to all 19,500 high schools in the 51 NFHS member state associations. The NFHS Network is a joint venture of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), its member state associations and PlayOn! Sports. 

In addition to receiving two free Pixellot production units, schools will receive a larger percentage of subscription revenue generated from their events, effective Aug. 1, in an effort to offset revenue losses from reduced attendance. 

“We recognize that the next several years will be challenging for our high schools and state associations,” said Mark Koski, CEO of the NFHS Network. “Many are facing budget cuts and reduced resources, and attendance at athletic and other school events may be restricted. From the NFHS Network’s inception seven years ago, we have been driven by the goal to create a platform that showcases every high school event across every sport and every level of competition. Consistent with this goal, we want the High School Support Program to demonstrate our continued commitment to help our partner schools manage through the inevitable complications created by COVID-19.”  

The Pixellot automated production solution was introduced to high schools three years ago and has quickly become an integral component of the NFHS Network’s offerings. The Pixellot solution allows every event to be streamed live without requiring personnel to produce the games. There are currently more than 5,000 Pixellot units in high schools across the country which will produce in excess of 250,000 live games this upcoming school year with no human involvement. 

In addition to livestreaming 27 sports, the NFHS Network also covers performing arts, graduations, award ceremonies and other school events. To date, the NFHS Network has distributed more than $25 million back to participating high schools and state associations. 

For more information about the High School Support Program, click here. Schools wishing to sign up for free Pixellot units should visit here.