IHSA TV Ideas?

[DJrodey24]

Hi guys,

I've been chatting lately with some of the "powers that be" that can make some things happen on the IHSA TV telecast for football (and hoops too). I figured I'd ask you guys for some ideas that make sense for the broadcast and overall coverage of IHSA football throughout the season, during the postseason and ending at the State Finals.

What we know:

*Pairings Show set up stays the same for 2023
*Finals at ISU create an interesting production challenge for the moment. (Remember: It's been 25 years, a whole new generation trying to make that work.)

So what would you like to see when it comes to IHSA Football coverage at the state level? (Please keep in mind the realities of television in today's economy).

I have a few grand ideas I'm already working on (would be happy to share if you'd like) but curious about the big and small stuff. Graphics need to be better, pronunciations, etc. Forget the "talent" aspect of it or who you want on the broadcast. What would make yours and student-athlete experiences better?

Hope you're all having a great summer!

-Matt Rodewald

 

[LakeCtyNewt]

More easily accessible
Does IHSA TV have to be aligned with NFHS?
I know you asked not to mention it, but announcers that actually prepare a little - very easy to get information on teams.
More player profiles - who are these kids? Where are they going to school what other sports do they play?

A game of the week. Each week there are great games all over the state. A game of the week would be a great way to feature a number of teams besides the ones we will see in the finals. All due respect, but Loyola and Mt Carmel do not have to be your featured game each week with Jim Blaney. Move it around. Show teams in smaller classes - down state. Profile all HS football not just the Chicago suburbs.

 

[doctor_d]

Biggest thing has usually been preparation when it comes to gathering info about the teams/schools/towns.

 

[johnndoe]

On principle, whatever happens, have all on-air individuals re-apply for their jobs on the playoff pairings show and the title game broadcasts.

 

[DJrodey24]

More easily accessible
Does IHSA TV have to be aligned with NFHS?
I know you asked not to mention it, but announcers that actually prepare a little - very easy to get information on teams.
More player profiles - who are these kids? Where are they going to school what other sports do they play?

A game of the week. Each week there are great games all over the state. A game of the week would be a great way to feature a number of teams besides the ones we will see in the finals. All due respect, but Loyola and Mt Carmel do not have to be your featured game each week with Jim Blaney. Move it around. Show teams in smaller classes - down state. Profile all HS football not just the Chicago suburbs.

IHSA / NFHS - That's not going away (and neither is GoFan). We all need to embrace it. Hopefully we will get more investment from NFHS come playoff time, I believe that will help a lot in the 2nd / Qtr / Semi rounds.

Player Profiles - I do believe that we will see more of this. Requires a consistent crew, editing chops and scheduling ahead of time. Sounds easy, but to do it right, all these things have to line up.

Announcers - I prepare a ton, my notes are detailed and my wife hates that I don't sleep that week. Plus, there's a lot of dialogue the weeks leading up to it, but it's important to understand this one aspect: It is tremendously difficult for an analyst to watch tape for 8 teams and 16 sides of the ball in 4-5 days, let alone someone who's willing to do that kind of work in today's modern football prep.

Game of the Week - I miss CN100. We all do. Weigel (The U) has partnered with the Catholic League for years in the regular season, I don't know if that will stay the same. I know there's chatter about airing one playoff game weekly. Very premature. But again, important to note: Regular season for Weigel (The U) is the Chicago market. Will there be a statewide expansion? I don't know. I would love to see it at least in the postseason.

 

[DJrodey24]

Biggest thing has usually been preparation when it comes to gathering info about the teams/schools/towns.

This is my biggest battle. I love profiling the towns and the school history for schools 6A on down. I expect that will be my challenge again for the 1A / 2A games this fall in Normal.

 

[sporthog9er]

@DJrodey24 why not baseball?

 

[stl705]

I only have 1 wishlist item:

1. Create a Game of The Week, and stream it free to Youtube.

 

[DJrodey24]

@DJrodey24 why not baseball?

I don't know the answer to that. I wouldn't rule out baseball on TV in the future, but let's see where the Sox TV network situation ends up. Might be a factor.

Some state championships do better than others. For instance, can you name the highest streaming events on the IHSA State Championship calendar?

 

[DJrodey24]

I only have 1 wishlist item:

1. Create a Game of The Week, and stream it free to Youtube.

Me too. That requires...

1) Advertisers
2) Their money pays a crew (photographers, producers, broadcasters, etc)
3) Enough people watch that sell advertisers on their future investment.

...I get the NFHS fee complaint, but this is one reason why.

 

[Bobby Boucher 9]

Get rid of Lee Hall bring back Boomer Grigsby

 

[Silver Rain]

Get the Saudis to take over, like they did with golf.

 

[PowerI66]

Replays of penalties when possible

 

[doctor_d]

This is my biggest battle. I love profiling the towns and the school history for schools 6A on down. I expect that will be my challenge again for the 1A / 2A games this fall in Normal.

Much appreciated. I will watch the broadcast for the vast majority of its duration regardless. But if we are nitpicking, then I’d have to say that some of your colleagues are not exactly as prepared as you are. Just don’t pronounce things wrong or maybe worse, make up stuff that clearly shows you are winging it.
Don’t call a team wing T just because they run the ball a lot (and never actually line up in the wing T formation at all for at least the past 30 years)
As I said, I will watch regardless, unless I attend. Also again, I feel like it’s nitpicking, but clearly some members of the broadcast team are much more knowledgeable and prepared than their peers.

 

[35Blackhawk42Spartan]

Maybe offset the regular announcer with a subject matter expert who has dedicated their life to covering HS football, ET. OR if they have a full plate, give hometown announcers a half each to showcase their skills and give viewers each a half of coverage from home and away calls. You may have some aspiring announcers. Partner with local/state college programs to seek out programs that would feed announcers who could earn internship credit. Are the local writers in a place to call a game and write an article, maybe not. But I see what they cover on twitter and its a lot with a lot of commentary.

I certainly don't mean to make it sound simple, it's not. I think it'd take a ton of work to do right.

Sorry I think you wanted to avoid this, but maybe this is somewhat of a solution to the core issue with announcers. I think what resonates with people is what made this the game to show. What is the backstory to the importance of a win or how does the community benefit from the coming together of crosstown rivalry, etc. What made this must see tv.......

 

[DJrodey24]

Replays of penalties when possible

I always like showing penalties from a teachable standpoint. The biggest thing that everyone has to realize is that it cannot be punitive to a 16 or 17 year old. Got to be careful with penalties in that regard.

The other aspect of this is that we don’t always get it on camera. It’s not the same kind of TV production as you would see on CBS or FOX on Sundays. Sometimes we're limited. I know there have been many times when I’ve called for it, and the producer in my ear says “we don’t have it.”

 

[MC63]

All due respect, but Loyola and Mt Carmel do not have to be your featured game each week with Jim Blaney. Move it around. Show teams in smaller classes - down state. Profile all HS football not just the Chicago suburbs.

With all due respect, teams from smaller classes and downstate will not likely generate ratings. Viewers want to see consistently talented, exciting teams play ... that's why LA and your favorite school are so frequently selected.

BTW Jim Blaney does a great job ... that partner of his who formerly coached at Fenwick needs some elocution lessons.

 

[DJrodey24]

Much appreciated. I will watch the broadcast for the vast majority of its duration regardless. But if we are nitpicking, then I’d have to say that some of your colleagues are not exactly as prepared as you are. Just don’t pronounce things wrong or maybe worse, make up stuff that clearly shows you are winging it.
Don’t call a team wing T just because they run the ball a lot (and never actually line up in the wing T formation at all for at least the past 30 years)
As I said, I will watch regardless, unless I attend. Also again, I feel like it’s nitpicking, but clearly some members of the broadcast team are much more knowledgeable and prepared than their peers.

It's fine to nitpick. That's kind of the point of this thread. I try to watch as much tape as I can. I have Hudl, have enough coaching chops to know what I'm looking at on a basic scale. Don't forget, we get 30 minutes with each coach on Monday heading into the Finals. We ask about everything and scheme is one thing we get after. Game Plan usually is very basic at that time of the week.

 

[DJrodey24]

Maybe offset the regular announcer with a subject matter expert who has dedicated their life to covering HS football, ET. OR if they have a full plate, give hometown announcers a half each to showcase their skills and give viewers each a half of coverage from home and away calls. You may have some aspiring announcers. Partner with local/state college programs to seek out programs that would feed announcers who could earn internship credit. Are the local writers in a place to call a game and write an article, maybe not. But I see what they cover on twitter and its a lot with a lot of commentary.

I certainly don't mean to make it sound simple, it's not. I think it'd take a ton of work to do right.

Sorry I think you wanted to avoid this, but maybe this is somewhat of a solution to the core issue with announcers. I think what resonates with people is what made this the game to show. What is the backstory to the importance of a win or how does the community benefit from the coming together of crosstown rivalry, etc. What made this must see tv.......

I'm going to be very honest with this. Hometown announcers for a half makes zero sense when you're trying to build a singular voice for the broadcast. They can add to our preparation if they choose, but sometimes we don't always know who they are. This is just small school chatter, but it's getting harder and harder to find people who follow these teams media wise throughout the year. This is why I keep an AP Top 10 vote. It's just for the access in November to people in the know.

That backstory / community aspect is literally the one thing that drives me to do it the right way. I know people in that town are going to watch the game on YouTube for years to come. It's not just another game to that town.

I'll tell you one thing: Local announcers would be super helpful if we could ever get my "Semifinal Saturday Whiparound" NFL Redzone-style show going.

 

[DJrodey24]

With all due respect, teams from smaller classes and downstate will not likely generate ratings. Viewers want to see consistently talented, exciting teams play ... that's why LA and your favorite school are so frequently selected.

BTW Jim Blaney does a great job ... that partner of his who formerly coached at Fenwick needs some elocution lessons.

You're right. Big following, brand name, automatic audience. But I'll speak for the IHSA when I say, there's something about that 5A / 6A game with a big community that hasn't done it in awhile but is well known. One good example is Morris (as much as it pains me lol) - everyone in the football community knows them as a brand name.

If you get a JCA / Morris Semifinal match up in Morris and you could move it to a stand alone game on the Friday before Semifinal Saturday, would you watch? Those are the kinds of matchups that Weigel and the IHSA look for and won't shy away from. But if they don't jump out at you, that's why you see the big school brand names like Glenbard West, Maine South, Catholic League teams, etc.

With that example in mind, Weigel did the MC/SR game on the air last year in the Semis. There were 15 other semifinals going, which of the other semifinal matchups do you think Weigel would have chosen to move to Friday night as a showcase game if they could have? Take a guess?

 

[cornerrat]

All.... The one semi (4A) that was played on Friday last season would of done quite well as the "showcase" game. Every year is different with it's own unique story. Regardless of class size. It is not just about northern teams and population density. Ratsy

 

[PowerI66]

I always like showing penalties from a teachable standpoint. The biggest thing that everyone has to realize is that it cannot be punitive to a 16 or 17 year old. Got to be careful with penalties in that regard.

The other aspect of this is that we don’t always get it on camera. It’s not the same kind of TV production as you would see on CBS or FOX on Sundays. Sometimes we're limited. I know there have been many times when I’ve called for it, and the producer in my ear says “we don’t have it.”

I wouldn't think it would be punitive unless there is commentary along with it. From a television audience standpoint, it is just to show whether it was the correct call or not. Like a close play in baseball or a foul in basketball.

Even if the only view of the play is the wide view, at least some eyes can be searching for it. Like if there is a holding call. I can assume it's coming from the line, so one replay just allows me to search for it really quick. Obviously with tempo teams this can also provide a challenge. Just grinds my gears when the call is made, then there is 30 seconds of walking it off and "well somebody probably grabbed a jersey" as the only commentary.

 

[DJrodey24]

All.... The one semi (4A) that was played on Friday last season would of done quite well as the "showcase" game. Every year is different with it's own unique story. Regardless of class size. It is not just about northern teams and population density. Ratsy

You're right in one sense, however, population density creates a higher chance of strong interest in your product when it comes to TV broadcasts. So yes, I think SHG-Rochester storylines are great in Springfield / Downstate, and that game would have done OK in my eyes, it's not a sure bet to TV execs. That's what gives them pause. It's a risk and it puts advertisers at risk.

 

[DJrodey24]

I wouldn't think it would be punitive unless there is commentary along with it. From a television audience standpoint, it is just to show whether it was the correct call or not. Like a close play in baseball or a foul in basketball.

Even if the only view of the play is the wide view, at least some eyes can be searching for it. Like if there is a holding call. I can assume it's coming from the line, so one replay just allows me to search for it really quick. Obviously with tempo teams this can also provide a challenge. Just grinds my gears when the call is made, then there is 30 seconds of walking it off and "well somebody probably grabbed a jersey" as the only commentary.

You're looking at it from a sports standpoint. Totally get it. I'm trying not to get the "education" element of it all. We do have to keep reminding ourselves that these are kids. We just have to be careful.

Like I said, I get frustrated too if "we don't have it" but that is the reality of it sometimes. We're limited in production sometimes and yes tempo teams make it a lot tougher now.

 

[lurker74]

I also think we need to remember that Edgy's is way, way, WAY more hardcore high school football people than the average person on the street. Asking for additional cameras, replays, research, "game of the week", etc. requires resources and money that there likely isn't a real demand for "in the big picture".

 

[ClownBaby]

With all due respect, teams from smaller classes and downstate will not likely generate ratings. Viewers want to see consistently talented, exciting teams play ... that's why LA and your favorite school are so frequently selected.

BTW Jim Blaney does a great job ... that partner of his who formerly coached at Fenwick needs some elocution lessons.

Hate to break it you but no one is watching HS that great rating for MC/LA is like an extra 2500 people. Honestly I would be interested see the ratings I bet they are nothing.

 

[EdgyTim]

I spoke with Matt yesterday and we will have a podcast talking all IHSA TV and the various issues etc. surrounding IHSA football/sports and media etc early next week

 

[JCHillmen]

Hate to break it you but no one is watching HS that great rating for MC/LA is like an extra 2500 people. Honestly I would be interested see the ratings I bet they are nothing.

This is very true. And as good as the quality of play LWE, LA, MC, MS, WWS, etc. have every year, the interest in their games comes not from the quality of football, but from the reach and span of their student, alumni, parent, and community base.

A massive smaller school game might bring a slightly smaller set of eyeballs due to smaller communities, but it will be in the same ballpark. A big Lemont vs Naz, Cary-Grove vs Batavia, JCA vs Morris, etc type game is the perfect platform to share. I know it's two decades ago and the economic landscape has changed, but JC vs R-B in 2001 on a Friday night was a spectacular setting and the environment and impending buildup to the game would likely lead to more eyeballs than even two massive 8A schools playing.

Definitely can't say that only the 10 largest schools by a combination of enrollment and football reputation are worth airing. None of these programs-even St. Rita, MC, and LA- are that big of a draw for Marquee or WCIU. They probably make more money by airing a Svengoolie rerun. Nobody is tuning in for quality of play here. There are college and professional options for that. They are tuning in for interest level and people take an interest in high school football for many dozens of reasons before quality of play is a consideration.

 

[crusader_of_90]

Wonder what a promoted ESL/MC game could garner.

 

[DJrodey24]

... They probably make more money by airing a Svengoolie rerun.

Now you know why the production quality isn't where you want it, and why you don't see baseball state finals on TV anymore. That's local channels add newscasts a year before elections. Cheap to make + campaign ad revenue.

It's about money. All the money they can get in an increasingly fragmented media landscape. Digital is still the wild west and 2,500 people makes a difference in that space. So don't downplay it too much.

When it comes to ratings, I think back to the 2012 IHSA Boy's Basketball State Finals. Simeon and Proviso East were #1 and #2 all year, Proviso East unbeaten. Simeon had Jabari Parker. Plus, Kendrick Nunn, Kendall Pollard, Sterling Brown, Javon Carter (now a Bull). (Oh and Fred Van Vleet was there that weekend too for Auburn)

Proviso led by 5 with 2:00 min left before Simeon won. A good battle. Where was the game? Something called NBC Chicago Nonstop!

It's got a 0.5 rating on a Saturday night against the NCAA Tournament, It was a Top 5 show in Chicago, up against a bunch of sports. It was a big deal considering who couldn't find the game. It's a big reason the IHSA started examining the idea of getting off the 1st weekend of the tournament.

So when you build up a storyline well, get brand name teams and talent, find a window where you're not up against TV competition (this year Amazon Black Friday NFL Game), you perform well. But that's a lot to fight.

This is why I will advocate for a Friday night TV showcase game each round in the IHSA Playoffs. Coaches hate it, they'll fight it, but kids can adjust. More room for eyeballs than on Saturday.

 

[DJrodey24]

Wonder what a promoted ESL/MC game could garner.

Two big statewide markets, plus we could use a "test" run for Hancock Stadium.

It'd probably do pretty well. I'm asking about it.

 

[DJrodey24]

I also think we need to remember that Edgy's is way, way, WAY more hardcore high school football people than the average person on the street. Asking for additional cameras, replays, research, "game of the week", etc. requires resources and money that there likely isn't a real demand for "in the big picture".

That's okay. I started the thread with that in mind. Gotta know what you really want.

 

[DadCoachSports]

Couple questions or statements?

How much does it actually cost to produce a game on a Friday night?

Pekins local sports crew did a great job broadcasting games on Youtube TV.

I like the idea of having a local "newsman" in the booth with the TV announcers. Even if it is a short segment on a teams early offensive and defensive series. Just an example but a guy like Dick Q from the North Suburbs to fill in some of the pieces he knows about the team from the season.

Shouldnt Hancock have all the bells and whistles already? Doesnt ISU already stream their home games?

 

[SouthofI80FootballFan]

Delegate some time during the broadcast to highlight the community and the school. And this will take no effort on the IHSA side.

Have the schools, if willing, to create videos to highlight their team, school, and community. Many schools have the resources to do this and I think it would be a nice touch to the broadcast. It would be better than the map showing where the community is located.

During pregame and halftime, try to get a local media or newspaper guy to give more detailed information.

I guess what I am saying is to delegate some of the responsibilities to local people.

 

[ClownBaby]

Rather than investing in TV broadcasts why don’t they invest in building a streaming platform off of their website? Brother Rice and Batavia both have excellent streaming platforms as do countless D3 football programs so this isn’t a huge investment to produce a much higher quality product then what they currently have. This would also allow them to broadcast every boys and girls state title and with the savings in production costs they could put that money back into in air talent, research assistants and graphics to produce something much high quality at a lower cost. On air TV is dead and each year the IHSA is struggling to find broadcast partners so why not take the time to set it up properly and chose when you go online rather when you are forced to and they have to put something together on the fly.

 

[35Blackhawk42Spartan]

I'm going to be very honest with this. Hometown announcers for a half makes zero sense when you're trying to build a singular voice for the broadcast. They can add to our preparation if they choose, but sometimes we don't always know who they are. This is just small school chatter, but it's getting harder and harder to find people who follow these teams media wise throughout the year. This is why I keep an AP Top 10 vote. It's just for the access in November to people in the know.

That backstory / community aspect is literally the one thing that drives me to do it the right way. I know people in that town are going to watch the game on YouTube for years to come. It's not just another game to that town.

I'll tell you one thing: Local announcers would be super helpful if we could ever get my "Semifinal Saturday Whiparound" NFL Redzone-style show going.

You are more of an expert in this area than me! If you are building a singular voice that would be counter productive. Good luck and theres a ton of us on here who would support any version. I also have to echo others on Batavia's production of games. Not my town, but that have a great production going there.

 

[DJrodey24]

Delegate some time during the broadcast to highlight the community and the school. And this will take no effort on the IHSA side.

Have the schools, if willing, to create videos to highlight their team, school, and community. Many schools have the resources to do this and I think it would be a nice touch to the broadcast. It would be better than the map showing where the community is located.

During pregame and halftime, try to get a local media or newspaper guy to give more detailed information.

I guess what I am saying is to delegate some of the responsibilities to local people.

This is interesting, and I don't want to be negative. I just want to point out the realities of this idea.

So I work as the Director of Communications for Central 301 - I write, I do social media, I do graphics and I do video content. This video that I did regarding students reading letters they wrote to themselves in 2nd grade took me a day to shoot, edit, write, organize and then make pretty.



Something like this, maybe more sports oriented, but the same kind of energy to fill halftime would be great. However, most districts smaller than us (5,000 students and down) don't have a person that can do this. "Hey students can do this?!" Easier said than done. Not reliable for a lot of reasons.

Now I've mentioned to past TV partners that it would great to go shoot a day in "the town" of a small school, maybe we will. But there's a lot going on during Thanksgiving week. Remember all those graphics? 16 teams worth build in 4 days. Hard to spare people to go shoot a video when it isn't physically convenient.

That being said, I know I explore ways to circumvent this issue, because it truly should be about community, weaving together the fabric of Illinois for the State Finals. I've got all sorts of "beauty shots in my head" and "narration pieces" written down.

 

[DJrodey24]

Couple questions or statements?

How much does it actually cost to produce a game on a Friday night?

Pekins local sports crew did a great job broadcasting games on Youtube TV.

I like the idea of having a local "newsman" in the booth with the TV announcers. Even if it is a short segment on a teams early offensive and defensive series. Just an example but a guy like Dick Q from the North Suburbs to fill in some of the pieces he knows about the team from the season.

Shouldnt Hancock have all the bells and whistles already? Doesnt ISU already stream their home games?

Let me get back to you on the cost. Part of why is I don't want to give away how much I make

I watched the Pekin/LZ game (Tyler Erkman is family believe it or not) and I was impressed by the crew for that level. I know it sounds pompous, but you want a network feel for playoff games if you can because you want to feel like the games matter. It's a very abstract thing to connect to.

Years ago, I had the idea of having a pair of reporters on with me when I was sideline / hosting and filling time between games. I thought this was a nice "quick and dirty" way to catch people up on teams before the actual team makes the call in the booth.

We transfered it to the panel discussion on the pairings show because CSN embraced the Sports Talk Live format and it worked there too. But remember how awkward all the writers looked

It's different now, but we could always explore that again.

ISU should be fine, but the crew we bring may have never been there before. It's not always the same.

 

[DJrodey24]

Rather than investing in TV broadcasts why don’t they invest in building a streaming platform off of their website? Brother Rice and Batavia both have excellent streaming platforms as do countless D3 football programs so this isn’t a huge investment to produce a much higher quality product then what they currently have. This would also allow them to broadcast every boys and girls state title and with the savings in production costs they could put that money back into in air talent, research assistants and graphics to produce something much high quality at a lower cost. On air TV is dead and each year the IHSA is struggling to find broadcast partners so why not take the time to set it up properly and chose when you go online rather when you are forced to and they have to put something together on the fly.

On air TV may be dead, but sports rights are alive and well. The IHSA has a product that's live and with advertisers at the ready. Not many, but that can grow. Still, on air TV is looking for content because of so many cord cutters, so it's coming full circle now.

Public Access BATV has been doing well for years for what it is. They invest nothing though and the product is not State Level quality. (And I've been on BATV!)

Also, who has research assistants?! Not me. You guys are it!

 

[DJrodey24]

You are more of an expert in this area than me! If you are building a singular voice that would be counter productive. Good luck and theres a ton of us on here who would support any version. I also have to echo others on Batavia's production of games. Not my town, but that have a great production going there.

Am I allowed to support anything from Batavia? Might need a ruling on that