ACTV-7 TV Carrying Ohio University Hockey Action
Contact: Anne Keyser, External & Alumni Relations Coordinator, College of Communication, 740-593-0030, keysera@ohio.edu
Editors: Photos of ACTV-7 broadcasting Ohio University hockey can be downloaded from the Web at: www.ohiou.edu/news/pix/active7a.jpg
www.ohiou.edu/news/pix/active7b.jpg
ATHENS, Ohio (February 7, 2001) -- Thanks to 30 student volunteers in the College of Communication, Ohio University hockey fans don't have to fight crowds at Bird Arena to catch the action on the ice. This season, the students are airing live broadcasts of three hockey games on the local ACTV-7 channel, complete with play-by-play and remote intermission commentary. The next game will air at 7 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 10, when Ohio University takes on Pennsylvania State.
The broadcast project began last August when students Brian Moss of Lakewood, Ohio, and Jessica Seeholzer of Boyds, Md., started gathering volunteers and funds to put Bobcat hockey back on television, a project left idle since 1998.
"There is more to getting a production like this under way than most people realize," said Moss, director of the project. "It's like running a business."
To get approval to broadcast three games, the crew submitted plans, dates and budgets to the staff at Bird Arena and the Telecommunications Center. Throughout the fall, Seeholzer went from business to business securing underwriters to cover the $200 per-game costs. The first game aired in November.
Preparation for each game begins at least three days in advance, and students arrive as early as 1 p.m. on game day to start hauling equipment from the Radio-Television Building to Bird Arena. Two cameras are positioned for aerial views of the arena, and one camera follows the teams and crowd on the floor. Microphones are stationed to catch everything from the cheers of the audience to the scrape of the puck. Moss meets with his staff around 5 p.m. to line up camera shots and point out the big players. When the doors open at 6:30 p.m., everything needs to be ready.
The live commentary during each of three 20-minute periods is unscripted, keeping the entire arena crew on their toes. Their only break comes at intermission, when they send the show to a host and co-host in a Radio-Television Building studio. The intermission show includes previous period highlights, taped interviews and statistics.
Mike Rodriguez, Telecommunications Center student professional development coordinator, is impressed by the student initiative.
"Airing live hockey games gives those fans who can't come to the arena a chance to watch at home," Rodriguez said. "For the students, the live remote is great experience, as most broadcasting outlets use broadcasts from remote locations."
ACTV-7 is a cable television service for viewers in the Athens, Ohio area. The service is a cooperative venture between the Telecommunications Center and academic departments in the College of Communication. Much of the local programming for ACTV-7 is produced by AVW Productions, a student production unit of the School of Telecommunications, in which class-related productions are also broadcast on this public cable channel. Other programming includes a daily newscast produced by students from Ohio University's E.W. Scripps School of Journalism.
