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Hockey Clashes Top MHSAA TV Lineup

January 3, 2018

By John Johnson
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties 

Games involving three of the top-ranked teams in Michigan high school hockey – Brighton, Calumet and Orchard Lake St. Mary’s – highlight this week’s schedule of high school sporting events on MHSAA.tv produced by Association members taking part in the School Broadcast Program.
 
Calumet, the third-ranked team in Division 3 in the most recent Michigan High School Hockey Coaches Association poll (Dec. 18, 2017), hosts St. Mary’s, the No. 3 team in Division 1, on Friday (Dec. 5) at 7 p.m. Brighton, the top-ranked team in Div. 1 and the defending MHSAA champion in that division, rolls into the Keweenaw Peninsula to face the Copper Kings on Saturday (Jan. 6) at 7 p.m.
 
A total of 72 sporting events – 44 at the varsity level – are on the schedule for this week, with more to be added as the week progresses. Be sure to check “Upcoming Events” on the MHSAA.tv home page daily for last-minute additions.
 
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 – the NFHS Network’s automated streaming solution - is used by schools that wish to live stream games but lack the ability to staff the events. The program also gives schools the opportunity to raise money through advertising and viewing subscriptions. Of the 72 games on this week’s schedule, 53 will be Pixellot productions.
 
Here’s this week’s MHSAA.tv schedule of video streams being produced by SBP members:
 
Wednesday, Jan. 3
Freshman Boys Basketball – Flint Kearsley at Otisville-Lakeville - 4 p.m. 
Wrestling - Montrose Dual - 5 p.m.
Wrestling –  Macomb Lutheran North Quad - 5:30 p.m.
JV Boys Basketball – Flint Kearsley at Otisville-Lakeville – 5:30 p.m.
Girls Basketball – Marion at Vestaburg – 7 p.m.
Boys Basketball – Farmington at Lake Orion – 7 p.m.
Boys Basketball – Flint Kearsley at Otisville-Lakeville – 7 p.m.
 
Thursday, Jan. 4
Freshman Boys Basketball – Grand Rapids West Catholic at Comstock Park - 4 p.m.
Freshman Boys Basketball - Roscommon at Harrison - 4:30 p.m.
JV Boys Basketball – Grand Rapids West Catholic at Comstock Park - 5:30 p.m.
JV Boys Basketball - L'Anse at Calumet - 5:45 p.m.
JV Girls Basketball - Wakefield-Marinesco at Dollar Bay - 5:45 p.m.
JV Boys Basketball – Lincoln Alcona at Rogers City - 6 p.m.
JV Boys Basketball - Roscommon at Harrison - 6 p.m.
Freshman Girls Basketball - Frankenmuth at Freeland - 6 p.m.
JV Boys Basketball – Crystal Falls Forest Park at Norway - 6:30 p.m.
Boys Ice Hockey - Negaunee at Marquette - 7 p.m.
Boys Basketball – Lincoln Alcona at Rogers City - 7 p.m.
Boys Basketball - L'Anse at Calumet - 7:15 p.m.
Boys Basketball - Dollar Bay at Lake Linden-Hubbell - 7:20 p.m.
Girls Basketball - Wakefield-Marinesco at Dollar Bay - 7:20 p.m.
Boys Basketball - Roscommon at Harrison - 7:30 p.m.
Boys Basketball – Crystal Falls Forest Park at Norway - 8 p.m.
 
Friday, Jan. 5
Freshman Girls Basketball - Big Rapids at Fremont - 4:30 p.m.
Girls Basketball - Webberville at Montrose - 5:29 p.m.
JV Girls Basketball - Ortonville-Brandon at Otisville-Lakeville - 5:30 p.m.
Girls Basketball - Big Rapids at Fremont - 6 p.m.
Girls Basketball - Fowlerville at Ionia - 6 p.m.
Girls Basketball - Allegan at Plainwell - 6 p.m.
Girls Basketball - Shepherd at Freeland - 6 p.m.
Boys Ice Hockey - Orchard Lake St. Mary’s at Calumet - 7 p.m.
Girls Basketball - Ortonville-Brandon at Otisville-Lakeville - 7 p.m.
Boys Basketball - Webberville at Montrose - 7 p.m.
Girls Basketball – Ashley at Vestaburg - 7 p.m.
Girls Basketball - Houghton at Lake Linden-Hubbell - 7:20 p.m.
Boys Basketball – Ionia at Fowlerville - 7:30 p.m.
Boys Basketball - Allegan at Plainwell - 7:30 p.m.
Boys Basketball - Shepherd at Freeland - 7:30 p.m.
Boys Basketball - Big Rapids at Fremont - 7:30 p.m.
 
Saturday, Jan. 6
Boys Ice Hockey - Brighton at Calumet - 7 p.m.

Highlights can be found each week on the MHSAA.tv website, the home page of the MHSAA Website, and the MHSAASports Channel on YouTube.

Pixellot Productions On Rise

September 19, 2018

By John Johnson
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties

A year ago, Pixellot – the automated production solution for schools wishing to stream live video of their athletic events on the NFHS Network and MHSAA.tv – was in use at six schools across Michigan.

With the new school year underway, nearly two dozen schools are actively streaming events using Pixellot, with half of those schools streaming indoor and outdoor events. Several schools have more than two Pixellot units in place.

“Schools are finding that Pixellot provides a great opportunity to get a lot of their games out to their fans in a way they could never achieve,” said Mark Uyl, executive director of the MHSAA.  “We have some schools which are using a mix of their traditional, student-staffed, School Broadcast Program efforts along with Pixellot to be able to add subvarsity coverage; and schools going exclusively with Pixellot with installations at multiple venues.”

Pixellot units use from two to four High Definition cameras that cover the length of the playing surface and then focus 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 commentary of the public address announcer or the radio style play-by-play of an in-person announcing team also can 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 also can be set up to isolate a camera on a fixed location, which allows for activities like cheer and wrestling to be streamed.

Schools actively engaged in Pixellot productions now include: Ann Arbor Greenhills, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, Brighton, Calumet, Dollar Bay, Frankenmuth, Freeland, Fremont, Grand Blanc, Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian, Harrison, Howell, Kalamazoo Christian, Macomb Lutheran North, Manchester, Norway, Novi, Otisville-LakeVille, Ovid-Elsie, Plainwell, Saginaw Heritage, Saline, Stevensville Lakeshore, Warren DeLaSalle and Williamston. Schools using indoor and outdoor units include Cranbrook Kingswood, Frankenmuth, Freeland, Grand Blanc, Howell, Manchester, Norway, Novi, Ovid-Elsie, Plainwell, Saginaw Heritage, Saline and Stevensville Lakeshore. Additional schools will have their Pixellot units coming online soon.

More than 70 percent of the programming taking place this week on MHSAA.tv will be Pixellot productions, featuring a football game Friday evening with two of the top-ranked Division 1 teams facing off for the top spot in the Saginaw Valley League’s Red division. Grand Blanc hosts Davison at 7 p.m. Both teams are 4-0 overall and 2-0 in league play, tied with Lapeer for first place.

Here’s this week’s MHSAA.tv schedule of video streams being produced by School Broadcast Program members and the NFHS Network:

Tuesday - Sept. 18

Wednesday - Sept. 19 

Thursday - Sept. 20

Friday - Sept. 21

Saturday - Sept. 22

Monday - Sept. 24

Tuesday - Sept. 25

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.

NFHS Network subscriptions begin at $9.95 a 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 also will be selling Season and Annual Passes at a discounted rate. A portion of every subscription sold by a school goes to benefit its program. 

Highlights of games broadcast during the past week by MHSAA School Broadcast Program contributors feature a pair of close football contests – Marquette’s 36-35 overtime win over Escanaba and Howell topping Novi, 21-17 – and a volleyball match with Lake Orion defeating Oxford, 3-0.

Highlights can be found each week on the MHSAA.tv website, the home page of the MHSAA Website, and the MHSAASports Channel on YouTube.

A complete list of participating schools can be found on the School Broadcast Program page of the MHSAA website.