
Tech Focus: Local-Sports Streaming - Efforts by Schools, Minor Leagues Accelerate During Pandemic Production values rise as online presence becomes a must-have' By Dan Daley, Audio Editor
Wednesday, August 18, 2021 - 7:00 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
While major networks have been building their own sports-streaming infrastructures, the DIY side of the business has also been busy, with entrepreneurs establishing one-stop workflow solutions that take feeds from high schools, small colleges, and (very) minor leagues to create professional-looking online sports presences. And, as with many other aspects of sports media (and life in general), the pandemic has accelerated that trend.
The pandemic seems to have shifted customer behavior towards streaming from something that's nice to have to something that they have to have, says Meridix CEO Tyler Feret. We had been expecting that to happen but not until 2022 or '23, but it really picked up over the last year, and there's still growth to be had.
Meridix's Tyler Feret: Now that streaming is expected by audiences, there is a high bar for good productions that will engage them.
The company picks up internet streams from a range of clients - local sports through area aggregators like Texas scholastic streamer SportsGram, junior leagues, the Westmoreland Sports Network, and other regional radio and television broadcasters - and basically becomes their backend workflow. Services include streaming optimization for various types of mobile devices, broadband environments, apps such as Twitch, and proprietary apps (which Meridix can build for clients). Other features include library services that let sports clients archive games for on-demand retrieval, along with social-media integration, including chats, alerts, and highlight reels.
Feret expects growth to continue but with revenue increasingly coming from improved workflows and other enhancements that the company can offer this class of customer. Among those enhancements are increased use of the Secure Reliable Transport (SRT) open-source streaming protocol, which is designed to optimize streaming performance across less predictable networks, and cellular bonding, a process whereby two or more cellular modems are combined in a way that allows use of the combined bandwidth. Cellular bonding transmits live streams via multiplexed cellular signals when Ethernet or Wi-Fi isn't available. Instead of expensive satellite transmission, multiple cellular modems are deployed to combine 3G, 4G, LTE, and other cellular signals to boost connectivity.
We can also use a hybrid of both approaches, says Feret. The goal is to make [streaming] as seamless as possible - no matter where you're originating from, from the biggest event in a major urban center to using an iPhone in a rural area - and to make it reliable enough that it's mostly a matter of pressing a button to make it happen.
Audio also has become a larger part of the picture for local-sports streaming.
People are paying a lot more attention to sound for their sports streams, he contends, suggesting that the recent explosive growth of podcasts and audiobooks, as well as hi-res audio music-streaming services like Tidal, has put new emphasis on quality audio for streaming. We have a number of clients, such as internet radio stations, that just publish audio.
Challenges Streaming sports at this level has its own hurdles, particularly in academic environments, where turnover of parents and students, as well as coaches, means that the institutional memory for the technical side of sports media might disappear in the course of a semester.
No one ever has a 25-year broadcast career at one school, Feret points out, so the process has to become as easy, simple, and reliable as possible, because the people running it can change every few months.
In addition, as local-sports streaming moves from nice to have to must have, it needs to become more financially self-supporting. He says this usually involves ads and sponsorships, tools for which are increasingly offered by streaming platforms, but production values have to increase to attract those dollars.
Now that streaming is expected by audiences, Feret says, there is a high bar for good productions that will engage them. Monetization is more important than ever now.
Fortunately, while Moore's Law continues to decrease the cost of the technology needed to stream, production values are increasing. For what a school used to spend just for the streaming elements, he explains, they'll get multi-camera shoots and graphics.
Indeed, the technology around streaming sports - a sector increasingly closely watched by venture capital - can routinely offer many options that would have been considered futuristic only a few years ago: for example, PlaySight's connected cameras, which automatically follow and capture play action on a court, field, or rink; access to an entire streaming sports network; and even a video-assisted review that serves as a virtual referee. The company's marketing maxim - Turn your league or team into a content machine - suggests what the future might hold for DIY sports streaming.
Things that were once considered somewhat exotic are now a regular part of the process, notes Feret. We're in the golden age of the prosumer video and audio experience.
Most recent headlines
14/03/2025
BURLINGTON, Mass. Avid has expanded its executive leadership team (ELT) with the appointment of three experienced executives: Tom Sharma as chief technology off...
14/03/2025
CUPERTINO, Calif. TVU Networks, a pioneer in live video production and a leader in cloud-based media solutions, is marking its 20th anniversary at the 2025 NAB ...
13/03/2025
(L-R) Stephanie Suganami, Tatanka Means, John Malkovich, Ayo Edebiri, and Juliette Lewis attend the premiere of Opus at Eccles Theatre in Park City. (Photo by...
13/03/2025
Spotify took center stage at the London Book Fair this week, reaffirming our commitment to the audiobook market and showcasing our impact on the publishing indu...
13/03/2025
At Spotify, we work every day to lift up new voices, giving creators the opportunity to live off their art. Through Spotify Audiobooks, our in-house publishing ...
13/03/2025
Every time airborne law enforcement (ALE) teams fly, they expect their equipment to perform. Whether airborne units are conducting support for ground teams, bor...
13/03/2025
Sunday February 9 saw the annual return of the US' biggest television event, the Super Bowl LIX. Jamie McCombs, Fox Sports Audio Consultant / Sr. Audio capt...
13/03/2025
On Sunday March 2, stars across the film industry gathered at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles for the 97th Academy Awards. Production Sound Mixer Paul Sandweis...
13/03/2025
WUPPERTAL, Germany Riedel Communications will feature its new StageLink family of smart edge devices, Smart Audio and Mixing Engine (SAME) and Virtual Smart Pan...
13/03/2025
TAG Video Systems and Harmonic Partner to Deliver Enhanced Real-Time Monitoring ...
13/03/2025
DigitalGlue Invites NAB Visitors to Experience New Features in Managed Storage P...
13/03/2025
FOR-A America Theme - Connecting the Present, Building the Future - Comes to Lif...
13/03/2025
CTIA, the wireless industry association, has named former FCC Chairman Aji Pai as its President and Chief Executive Officer, effective April 1. He replaces Mere...
13/03/2025
he National Association of Broadcasters is urging the FCC to end its investigation of that controversial CBS interview with Kamala Harris stating there is no ...
13/03/2025
MIAMI CBS News & Stations continues to expand its use of augmented and virtual reality technologies with the planned launch of an augmented reality/virtual real...
13/03/2025
Srividhya Srinivasan, co-founder and chief customer success & innovation Officer at Amagi, tells TVBEurope how staying ahead of the latest trends is essential f...
13/03/2025
WASHINGTON FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced that the agency has launched a massive, new deregulatory initiative that could potentially subject virtually all ...
13/03/2025
SUNNYVALE, Calif. SDVI has announced that it has integrated its Rally media supply chain management platform with the Spectra Vail multi-cloud data management s...
13/03/2025
ATLANTA Gray Media has announced that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has granted a waiver of its local ownership rules to permit Gray Media to acqu...
13/03/2025
TV Tech: What do you anticipate will be the most significant technology trends at the 2025 NAB Show?...
13/03/2025
Watch Student Naomi Soleils Folk Pop Performance on The Voice The songwriting major sang Stars by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals during the blind auditions.
...
13/03/2025
Roku Debuts NWSL Zone' Within Roku Sports to Spotlight Live Games, Content Feature marks Rokus first women's league-branded zone within service By Bra...
13/03/2025
Pixels, Images, Video, AI - and Us: A Perspective on AI from NDI Inventor Andrew...
13/03/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Lighting Design Group's Steve Brill, Dennis Size ...
13/03/2025
IOC, Comcast NBCU Ink $3B Media-Rights Extension for Olympic Games Through 2036;...
13/03/2025
NCAA March Madness Live Returns with Expanded Availability of MultiView Vertical...
13/03/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Cosm's Devin Poolman on What It Takes To Deliver the Immersive...
13/03/2025
Sky Business, Sky's B2B division, providing connectivity and content to busi...
13/03/2025
Rohde & Schwarz launches R&S NRP140TWG(N) thermal power sensor: A new benchmark ...
13/03/2025
We asked the questions, analysed the answers and now we're excited to share the results of the fifth edition of the ICG Marketing Survey.
Our 2025 survey p...
13/03/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. - March 13, 2025 Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced a breakthrough in video streaming innovation with the launch of new origin capabilitie...
13/03/2025
Haivision Showcases Mission-Critical Video Solutions at SOF Week 2025
Haivision's video wall systems, ISR technology, and DoDIN APL-certified video distri...
13/03/2025
Company Leads the Way with New Software-Based Production Platform, 12G Switcher,...
13/03/2025
A new Apple Immersive concert experience, Metallica, is coming to Apple Vision Pro this Friday, March 14. Filmed in Mexico City during the sold-out second-year ...
13/03/2025
Here is your host, Patrick Kielty!
Shake your Shamrocks, Patrick Kielty will be...
13/03/2025
This St. Patrick's weekend, RT invites you to celebrate all things Irish, showcasing the very best of Irish sport, entertainment and live coverage from the...
13/03/2025
What's next in AI is at GTC 2025. Not only the technology, but the people and ideas that are pushing AI forward - creating new opportunities, novel solution...
13/03/2025
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
By combining T-Mobile's robust network, Thal...
13/03/2025
Bundle up - GeForce NOW is bringing a flurry of Blizzard titles to its ever-expanding library.
Prepare to weather epic gameplay in the cloud, tackling the genr...
13/03/2025
AI is leveling up the world's most beloved games, as the latest advancements...
13/03/2025
PC game modding is massive, with over 5 billion mods downloaded annually. Mods p...
12/03/2025
O Spotify acaba de lan ar o relat rio Loud & Clear deste ano, uma vis o transpar...
12/03/2025
Spotify acaba de presentar el informe Loud & Clear de este a o, una mirada trans...
12/03/2025
Ramadan, a period of profound spiritual significance for Muslims worldwide, is a time for fasting, prayer, reflection, and community. Enrich your experience thi...
12/03/2025
Spotify has just unveiled this year's Loud & Clear report, a transparent loo...
12/03/2025
More than 70% of FAST programming has been produced since 2010, according to new Gracenote report
NEW YORK March 12, 2025 Gracenote, the content data busin...
12/03/2025
GEONA, Nev. Independent digital and linear advertising rep firm Viamedia will adopt cloud-based ShowSeeker Pilot as its primary ad campaign and order management...
12/03/2025
BRUSSELS Mediagenix has announced that Wael Yasin has joined the company as sales director Central Europe....
12/03/2025
LONDON A new study highlights opportunities for shoppable TV and the massive impact online consumer spending is having on the economy, with Omdia predicting tha...
12/03/2025
CUPERTINO, Calif. Interra Systems has announced that Comcast Technology Solutions has integrated recent updates to BATON Version 9 into its operations....