The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

[Squarebanks]

Re: The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

Pretty lengthy article in the News Miner about the nWCHA. Topics include UAH applying in January, tourney site (strong possibility of Grand Rapids), and broadcasting (or lack thereof).

http://newsminer.com/view/full_stor...ed-WCHA-previewed-at-hockey-coaches-luncheon?

 

[gfmorris]

Re: The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

I was not at our coaches' luncheon on Friday [nor the game on Friday night, both due to another commitment], but apparently Dr. E.J. Brophy, our AD, related that all the stops were being pulled out with our bid. Because I was there, I'm hesitant to say what all that means, but I'm happy with it. I'm going to see if I can get Dr. Brophy and/or Dr. Altenkirch on the record about it between now and January.

GFM

 

[uaafanblog]

Re: The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

Pretty lengthy article in the News Miner about the nWCHA. Topics include UAH applying in January, tourney site (strong possibility of Grand Rapids), and broadcasting (or lack thereof).

http://newsminer.com/view/full_stor...ed-WCHA-previewed-at-hockey-coaches-luncheon?

I'm sure some people will recall that I'm a big advocate for the nWCHA to make all webcasts FREE. I don't think there could be a sinlge more valuable marketing tool for the league. I'm not quite sure what to think about McLeod saying that the league is looking into being an umbrella for all the webcasts. On one hand it might be an indication that they are looking at making the webcasts free but on the other hand he injects some complexity into it by talking about what technology can offer. The latter increases costs for the league and would tend to make cost conscious A.D.s interested in recouping revenue with some sort of pay-per standard.

They couldn't make a bigger mistake in my mind. The broadcasts should be free. With the huge geographic distribution they can cover a larger potential viewership across ALL junior league areas. What you want here is an opportunity for 12 and 13 and 14 year olds to be able to watch these games without having to convince mom and pop to pony up their credit card for some fee. The more kids that age you have familiar with the specific teams in the league the more likely they'll want to play for one of those teams. Easy access is what this has to be about.

Hundreds of people watch UAA's free webcasts that otherwise wouldn't pay the ridiculous 7.99 fees that AmericaOne charges or the 14.99 month long bundles that some schools offer through their own services. This is an important issue for the very long term. Don't allow your ADs to screw this up because they think they can make and extra $1500 a month selling it.

 

[FadeToBlack&Gold]

Re: The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

Sharing officials with other leagues? *headdesk* JFC what a Mickey Mouse operation.

 

[Goon]

Re: The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

Sharing officials with other leagues? *headdesk* JFC what a Mickey Mouse operation.

So the various league are going to end up arguing over officials. I suggest the nWCHA can keep its band of bumbling buffoons in strips.

 

[bigblue_dl]

Re: The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

Sharing officials with other leagues? *headdesk* JFC what a Mickey Mouse operation.

Is this really uncommon? I'm guessing we would have already seen it as a common practice if we had more geographical overlap before now. CHA officials were shared with WCHA...I don't know about AH, HE and ECAC, but I wouldn't be surprised if there are refs that work in multiple leagues there. There are probably some that do junior leagues and ECHL/other minor pro leagues as well.

 

[Huskiefan906]

Re: The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

I'm looking forward to FUTURE NCAA berths for the nWCHA but I hope the Alaska playoff rule and lack of Tv do not begin the path to Div2 hockey.

The last 2 seasons have been amazing and I hope there is still a strong showing against the other
conference for years to come.

 

[aparch]

Re: The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

The sharing of officials makes sense. Sure the WCHA will have a core group of officials, but with the overlap between the B1G, NCHC and WCHA territory, it's advantageous for all parties. Officials at FSU and BGSU can also cover B1G games and NCHC at Western and Miami. Same with Mankato and Bemidji. And, it should, (I strongly emphasize should) create more parity between the officials. Gone is our b**ching about the difference between CCHA and WCHA zebras. If it's going to be called shi**y in one league, it gets called shi**y in three leagues.

I really hope McLeod has seen some of the ideas floated here for streaming. Even if a majority of games are pay, a key marketing tool (as Donald continues to stress) is free. Free streaming games will get viewers to see your school. It's good marketing. Make one matchup per night or even per weekend free. Find a league corporate sponsor or half dozen who will underwrite the broadcast. ("The Red Baron WCHA matchup between Michigan Tech and Alaska Fairbanks presented by Wells Fargo.")

And for God sakes, hire the people who have been making the CCHA's YouTube page so awesome this year. Previews, recaps, archived clips...

 

[gfmorris]

Re: The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

There's talk at UAH about free Webcasts of all indoor sports. We'll see how that happens.

GFM

 

[uaafanblog]

Re: The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

The thing about streaming on the web is that it can be super inexpensive if you want it to be or you can spend money on your own website development and buy or write your own code. With sites like ustream.tv and veetle.com and justin.tv you don't need any expertise to make it happen. You just use their software/set-up. I've seen kids with iphones streaming bantam hockey games. And those sites don't suffer the ridiculous buffering issues that UAA's current provider goes through every weekend.

All a school has to do is invest in the camera and sync to their radio people and viola ...

Maybe that's why AD's see it as some potential money maker? I haven't done any research on how much revenue is really out there but lets figure that the most popular hockey teams get say 500 purchasers at 7 bucks on scam services B2 ... How many schools in the nWCHA are going to pull that sort of number? Zero. Thing is ... the BHHC is going to be chasing that revenue stream hard. Schools like UND, DU and CC will never give their streams away. They have grotesquely overpaid staffs to compensate.

I can only encourage everyone to write their ADs.

 

[aparch]

Re: The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

Utilizing a free video host such as those sites would be a dramatic step backward for this league (some may argue it would be right in line with their actions).


I think ideally, the solution is a b2 type service hosted by the WCHA where you can purchase single games, team passes, or league wide broadcasts. Because of the demand for QUALITY broadcasts, universities and/or the league will need to pay (assist) for a minimum of one HD camera (three would be ideal), simple replay/playback, and a minimal graphics package mostly on screen for scores (a graphics standard to maintain the WCHA brand across all nine or 10 teams). To offset those costs, there will likely be some charge for this service.

But hook those recruits, fans, and outside fans looking for a hockey fix with a free game of the night. Make it so fans want to purchase this product.

Hosting a shi**y feed on Justin.TV isn't going to cut it.

 

[gfmorris]

Re: The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

To the UAH talk: at our last coaches' luncheon, our AD said that everything was on the table. I fully expect that this means a travel subsidy. As I was not at the meeting, I cannot tell you for-sure what I can and cannot say. I hope that I haven't said too much.

Our bid is next month, and our president will be on it.

GFM

 

[aparch]

Re: The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

I wish UAH the best, and hope to see them in the league.


I'm sure some UAH posters still resent me for my posts three/four years ago with the CCHA, and I understand that. There was a divide forming in the CCHA between the "have" and "have not" schools. Also, there was a lot of posters pushing for the CCHA to blindly accept UAH for "the good of the sport." Those same posters are now rooting for teams that formed a new league just because of jealousy and still never included UAH.

I feel better informed about this situation after years of discussion, and feel the member schools in the New WCHA are better able to accept UAH because they're, to steal an overused NCHC line, "like-minded schools."

 

[DB Cooper]

Re: The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

Utilizing a free video host such as those sites would be a dramatic step backward for this league (some may argue it would be right in line with their actions).


I think ideally, the solution is a b2 type service hosted by the WCHA where you can purchase single games, team passes, or league wide broadcasts. Because of the demand for QUALITY broadcasts, universities and/or the league will need to pay (assist) for a minimum of one HD camera (three would be ideal), simple replay/playback, and a minimal graphics package mostly on screen for scores (a graphics standard to maintain the WCHA brand across all nine or 10 teams). To offset those costs, there will likely be some charge for this service.

But hook those recruits, fans, and outside fans looking for a hockey fix with a free game of the night. Make it so fans want to purchase this product.

Hosting a shi**y feed on Justin.TV isn't going to cut it.

I watched LSSU and Notre Dame for free on the ND web site saturday night. Quality was good. Announcers a little whiney. Don't know what it costs or how many people watched. I'm an advocate for free internet streaming. Break the trend of athletic department greed. Let's face it, these teams aren't going to attract many paying customers anyway. Sell advertising and sell the schools.

 

[Shirtless Guy]

Re: The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

I watched LSSU and Notre Dame for free on the ND web site saturday night. Quality was good. Announcers a little whiney. Don't know what it costs or how many people watched. I'm an advocate for free internet streaming. Break the trend of athletic department greed. Let's face it, these teams aren't going to attract many paying customers anyway. Sell advertising and sell the schools.

Trust me, we tried to sell the league on a WCHA.tv setup where you could go for everything but it sounds like enough teams want to hang on to their own setups...at the very least, we need to find a way to get the WCHA to agree on a provider so those with monthly subscriptions can get everything, not just home games, etc. I do think this is the way of the future, I wish the WCHA would see it to and accept that the best way to stay relevant is to become a unified front...I do think they can charge, but it needs to be low, it needs to allow league passes, team passes, etc.

 

[beaverhockeyfan]

Re: The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

BSU just announced a couple of weeks ago that they are replacing their AD at the end of the year due to financial reasons (ie, the athletic department needs to be more self sufficient and raise more funds). I am not sure how much they get on the Internet streams of their games, but I would venture to guess it isn't much. With their multi-year home game contract with Lakeland Public Television (in HD), all of Minnesota has access to the games (through cable or over the air), as do parts of North and South Dakota, Iowa and Wisconsin. Also, if you are in the Minneapolis-St. Paul DirecTV market, the home games are available there as well.

So I am not sure how the idea of free Internet streaming would help out BSU. I can see this all working out like the whole UAH situation, each school is going to look at it from their own point of view and vote based on what benefits them the most with the least cost to their program. The WCHA leadership can make suggestions, but it all comes down to a vote of the member schools.

 

[RaceBoarder]

Re: The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

BSU just announced a couple of weeks ago that they are replacing their AD at the end of the year due to financial reasons (ie, the athletic department needs to be more self sufficient and raise more funds). I am not sure how much they get on the Internet streams of their games, but I would venture to guess it isn't much. With their multi-year home game contract with Lakeland Public Television (in HD), all of Minnesota has access to the games (through cable or over the air), as do parts of North and South Dakota, Iowa and Wisconsin. Also, if you are in the Minneapolis-St. Paul DirecTV market, the home games are available there as well.

So I am not sure how the idea of free Internet streaming would help out BSU. I can see this all working out like the whole UAH situation, each school is going to look at it from their own point of view and vote based on what benefits them the most with the least cost to their program. The WCHA leadership can make suggestions, but it all comes down to a vote of the member schools.

I think it's fair to say that BSU would take a step back based on these facts... But that is only 1/2 of their schedule.... And you guys are the only school in the nWCHA that has a deal like this... I don't think any other school has more than 5 or so TV games per year, local or otherwise....

The whole conference needs to get on the bandwagon when it comes to broadcasts... The broadcasts NEED to be out there...

 

[manurespreader]

Re: The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

What the league needs to do is make this revenue neutral for schools. Once that happens, then you have a lot more room to be creative. I'd have a charge at the league level for all games live, then one week later all games become free. I would also suggest that the marginal revenue from this would more than make up for small losses each school might incur in making it available.
In addition I would have inside the WCHA as part of the package, with video highlights.

 

[uaafanblog]

Re: The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

Utilizing a free video host such as those sites would be a dramatic step backward for this league (some may argue it would be right in line with their actions).

Because getting exposure for member schools is a bad thing.

I think ideally, the solution is a b2 type service hosted by the WCHA where you can purchase single games, team passes, or league wide broadcasts. Because of the demand for QUALITY broadcasts, universities and/or the league will need to pay (assist) for a minimum of one HD camera (three would be ideal), simple replay/playback, and a minimal graphics package mostly on screen for scores (a graphics standard to maintain the WCHA brand across all nine or 10 teams). To offset those costs, there will likely be some charge for this service.

Nothing here but classically flawed and backward marketing thinking of how to maximize the ROI after you spent money you didn't need to spend. These are the sorts of stupid moves the BHHC will be attempting. There is NO MONEY to be made on nWCHA webcasts.

Anyway, mininum bandwidth to push an true HD quality signal is 2.2Mbps. Right now I'd guess that outfits like b2 push 700kpbs maximum. Who here can receive a 2.2Meg stream without frame loss? I used to be able to. My current provider wouldn't handle it.

But hook those recruits, fans, and outside fans looking for a hockey fix with a free game of the night. Make it so fans want to purchase this product.

The only people buying webcasts at any of our schools are parents, friends and hardcore junkies like people who post here. Casual fans that might go to a game at the rink when the hometeam is playing don't buy feeds when the team is on the road. Why did I grow up in texas in the 1960s and 70s as a Notre Dame Basketball fan? Cos they were on TV.

Hosting a shi**y feed on Justin.TV isn't going to cut it.

UStream, Veetle and Justin all provide higher quality, better reliability and simpler to acquire feeds than shi**y b2.

 

[MavsFan]

Re: The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

I think it's fair to say that BSU would take a step back based on these facts... But that is only 1/2 of their schedule.... And you guys are the only school in the nWCHA that has a deal like this... I don't think any other school has more than 5 or so TV games per year, local or otherwise....

The whole conference needs to get on the bandwagon when it comes to broadcasts... The broadcasts NEED to be out there...

Mankato has all their home games on Charter local cable. This year they added a Hi-Def channel, but I've always been at the games, so I haven't watched to see the quality.