7 years, 1 month ago Mike Moyers
QND & Mendon Unity video coverage on line through IHSA/NFHS
A few years ago a fellow by the name of Cliff Hancock pulled into the station’s parking lot. He came inside and proceeded to tell me all about the newest thing: streaming video of high school sports on the internet. Cliff, who looks and acts a lot like my friend Dick Wentura, had developed a network that covered a number of states and he, being the door to door salesman he is, was selling channels on the network city by city. It’s called City Link TV. We bought in.
Cliff and I have become friends and he stops by occasionally when he’s passing through our area. We’ve also grown our channel selection from 2 to 4 over the years, during which time we’ve provided coverage of both QHS and QND sports on wtad.com. We’ve streamed some high school graduations, City Council Meetings, Park Board Meetings: you name it. It’s been a work in progress.
I feel this past season has been the best yet as our lead videographer, Josh Humphrey, has gotten the procedure down pat. Using the most pedestrian equipment, Humphrey shoots and produces the game we cover using anywhere from 2 to 4 cameras. He runs the commercials during the breaks and uses the audio as supplied by announcers from either WTAD or KZZK depending on the game we’re covering.
City Link automatically archives each game on its bank of servers so if you missed the live coverage you can go back see it all again.
Our run covering Quincy Notre Dame on wtad.com has come to an end this season as the Illinois High School Association is under contract with the NFHS Network. They’re a big outfit who specialize in much the same product as we do, except theirs is a subscription based viewing and wtad.com’s is not.
Needless to say, we’ve enjoyed covering QND and QHS this year and appreciate the time and support provided by both schools, their coaches and athletic directors. And we appreciate those of you who have tuned in and let us know how much you enjoy being able to watch the game in the comfort of your own home, laptop or phone at no charge.
It’s been our pleasure. We hope to be able to continue this service in the future.
