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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.

MHSAA TV Ends 17-18 with 28-Game Finale

June 12, 2018

By John Johnson
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties  

A total of 28 games over three days will close out the championship coverage of MHSAA Tournaments for the 2017-18 school year with live streaming audio and video in three sports on MHSAA.tv and the MHSAA Network.

Baseball and Softball Semifinal coverage begins Thursday and runs through Saturday’s Finals from Old College Field at Michigan State University. On Friday and Saturday, you also can catch the Lower Peninsula Girls Soccer Finals from Williamston High School.

Today and Wednesday, the final events of the year for the MHSAA’s School Broadcast Program will be originated by Comstock Park and Cedar Springs High Schools, which are hosting Semifinal games in Girls Soccer. Here’s that schedule:

Tuesday – Girls Soccer Quarterfinals – Division 4

Wednesday – Girls Soccer Quarterfinals – Division 3

The NFHS Network will feature landing pages on MHSAA.tv for the Baseball, Softball and Girls Soccer games this weekend. Audio of all games will be available on the home page of the MHSAA Network.

Here’s the complete schedule of games on MHSAA.tv and the MHSAA Network this weekend: 

Thursday Baseball Semifinals (Quarterfinals on Tuesday)

  • 9 a.m. – Division 2 – Livonia Clarenceville/Orchard Lake St. Mary’s winner v. Grand Rapids West Catholic/Stevensville Lakeshore winner
  • 11:30 a.m. – Division 2 – Muskegon Oakridge/Saginaw Swan Valley winner v. DeWitt/Tecumseh winner
  • 2:30 p.m. – Division 1 – Grosse Pointe South/Macomb Dakota winner v. Midland/Holland West Ottawa winner
  • 5 p.m. – Division 1 – Grand Ledge/Brownstown Woodhaven winner v. Birmingham Brother Rice/Northville winner

Thursday Softball Semifinals (Quarterfinals on Tuesday)

  • 10 a.m. – Division 1 – Garden City/Warren Regina winner v. Alpena/Caledonia winner
  • 12:30 p.m. – Division 1 – Howell/Plymouth winner v. Clarkston/Hartland winner
  • 3 p.m. – Division 2 – Dearborn Divine Child/Richmond winner v. Spring Lake/South Haven winner
  • 5:30 p.m. – Division 2 – Escanaba/Saginaw Swan Valley winner v. Eaton Rapids/Flat Rock winner 

Friday (June 16) Baseball Semifinals (Quarterfinals on Tuesday)

  • 9 a.m. – Division 4 – Indian River Inland Lakes/Gaylord St. Mary winner v. Beal City/Muskegon Catholic Central winner
  • 11:30 a.m. – Division 4  - Plymouth Christian/Unionville-Sebewaing winner v. St. Joseph Lake Michigan Catholic/Petersburg-Summerfield winner
  • 2:30 p.m. – Division 3 –  Gladstone/Standish-Sterling winner v. Madison Heights Bishop Foley/New Lothrop winner
  • 5 p.m. – Division 3 – Michigan Center/Riverview Gabriel Richard winner v. Montague/Schoolcraft winner

Friday Softball Semifinals (Quarterfinals on Tuesday)

  • 10 a.m. – Division 3 – Negaunee/Sanford Meridian winner v. Sandusky/Millington winner
  • 12:30 p.m. – Division 3 – Clinton/Allen Park Cabrini winner v. Stanton Central Montcalm/Coloma winner
  • 3 p.m. – Division 4 – Rudyard/Rogers City winner v. Frankfort/Coleman winner
  • 5:30 p.m. – Division 4 – Waterford Our Lady/Unionville-Sebewaing winner v. Centreville/Ottawa Lake-Whiteford winner

Friday L.P. Girls Soccer Finals (Semifinals on Tuesday)

  • 1 p.m. – Division 4 – Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett/Lansing Christian winner v. Kalamazoo Christian/North Muskegon winner
  • 4 p.m. – Division 1 – Troy/Novi winner v. Midland/Grand Blanc winner

Saturday Baseball Finals

  • 9 a.m. – Division 2
  • 11:30 a.m. – Division 1
  • 2:30 p.m. – Division 3
  • 5 p.m. – Division 4 

Saturday Softball Finals

  • 10 a.m. – Division 2
  • 12:30 p.m. – Division 1
  • 3 p.m. – Division 4
  • 5:30 p.m. – Division 3 

Saturday L.P. Girls Soccer Finals (Semifinals on Wednesday)

  • 1 p.m. – Division 3 – Warren Regina/Flint Powers Catholic winner v. Grand Rapids Catholic Central/Freeland winner
  • 4 p.m. – Division 2 -  Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern/Richland Gull Lake winner v. DeWitt/Bloomfield Hills Marian winner

A $9.95 subscription allows viewing of live content on MHSAA.tv and the NFHS Network for 30 days. All events will be archived for free on-demand viewing beginning three days after their completion. Subscriptions must be cancelled before the 30-day period is over to avoid recurring charges. Instant Downloads of all games are available for $19.95.

The MHSAA Network website has provided free live audio coverage of various MHSAA Championships since the 2005-06 school year. Instant Downloads of all games are available for $4.99.

Completing 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 wishing to live stream games but lacking the ability to staff the events. The program also gives schools the opportunity to raise money through advertising and viewing subscriptions.  

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