Quote:
Originally Posted by FrankJ
The other Frank does it a again
...Today’s second good question come from Wil Payne, a mentor from FRC Team 422, The Mech Tech Dragons, from Richmond, VA, USA:...
Answer:
Hi Wil. I agree with you. FIRST needs to up its game when it comes to broadcasting our events. This is widely recognized here at HQ. Collin Fultz, FRC Team Advocate, is leading a team to work on improved broadcast of FRC events leading up to the FIRST Championship, though as you point out, many are already doing better with this than we are at Championship right now. We’ve been working with some of these areas to learn best practices. Our FIRST Championship planning team is also working on some new and exciting broadcast activities for the Championship itself.
In many ways, FIRST Championship is easier for HQ to get our arms around with respect to broadcast quality than local events. While it is much larger, FIRST HQ has direct responsibility for the full process at Championship and access to the necessary resources. At local events, some elements, such as the bandwidth of the network, can vary greatly, and options may be limited, even with the best intentions of the local organizers. We will have over 100 local events in 2015, and many will be in high school gyms. In some of those schools, you take what you can get with respect to bandwidth, and there is no cell service available even if you wanted to use a mobile hotspot to bypass the school’s connection. Also, with the number of events we are dealing with as the HQ organization, we need to be extra careful in making sure we are following all the rules. In our broadcasts, can we include a live audio feed at events that may pick up copyrighted music playing in the background? Is it 'OK' or 'not OK' for us to show the faces of spectators who didn't necessarily agree to be photographed? Is a warning sign as spectators walk in enough? Remember, unlike many sporting events, we don't require tickets, so spectators haven't purchased anything that comes with a full set of "Terms and Conditions'. What about international events - are the rules in Mexico, Israel and Canada the same as we have in the United States?
I believe these and other challenges can be solved in one way or another, and we are working through them now. I'd love to have a system in which every FRC event is broadcast with multiple (viewer-selected) camera angles in HD, viewers can easily find and watch every broadcast they wish, and all matches are archived by year, event, match, and team number, forever. We are some way from this dream right now, but we are making progress. We'll keep everyone informed as things move forward.
Frank |
Need to checkout what the Little League Baseball World Series does for their games reference non-ticketed spectators on the "hill" being shown during broadcasts.
http://www.llbws.org/visitors/tickets.htm
As always, admission onto the Little League Baseball World Series complex is free and there is no cost for Little League Baseball World Series tickets.
Howard J. Lamade Stadium, where the final rounds of the Little League Baseball World Series have been played every year since 1959, seats approximately 3,300.
The hillside terraces just beyond the outfield fence of Lamade stadium, which offers excellent viewing, can accommodate up to 30,000 more fans. Little League Volunteer Stadium, where early round games are also played, seats about 3,000.
There is limited General Public seating in Lamade Stadium and Volunteer Stadium for all games.
Seating for Thursday, August 14 to Thursday, August 21, General Public seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis on the day of the game(s). General Public seating tickets/passes may be distributed prior to the respective games by Little League Baseball World Series ushers/personnel upon entering Lamade Stadium/Volunteer Stadium to assist World Series ushers/personnel in coordinating seating. These General Public tickets/passes, if utilized, are not available in advance.
General Public tickets, if available, for Saturday, August 23, which includes the International Championship Game and the United States Championship Game, may be obtained at the Will Call Window which is located behind Lamade Stadium towards the third base side. General Public tickets are available on a first-come, first-serve basis and each individual in line may obtain only one ticket.
General Public seating, for Sunday, August 24, which includes the Consolation game and the Little League Baseball World Series Championship Game, is not available. General Public tickets for these games were distributed through the 2014 Little League Baseball World Series Ticket Lottery.
Seating is also available on the famous “hill” or terraces overlooking the outfield fence of Lamade Stadium, where no ticket is required. Souvenir tickets for the terraces are available at the Will Call Window.
(Again, however, these tickets are not required for seating on the terraces.)
Various games were broadcast on either ABC/ESPN/ESPN2/ESPN3/Longhorn Network/NESN/etc. Every broadcast I watched on ABC showed the crowds on the “hill” – so need to find out how the spectators were informed and the Little League and the networks were covered.