(quickly getting off topic but some people are probably interested in this
as it relates to hockey broadcasts)
 
"John T. Whelan" <[log in to unmask]> writes:
>
>         Or just stop going through broadcast.com.  Seven of the twelve
> ECAC schools had at least some hockey broadcasts on the net last
> season, and only two of them used AudioNet.
 
Well, the reason I know a little about this is that we have been looking
into putting the Merrimack broadcasts on the net.  We have done a bit of
research to see what else is out there, and while there are a few other
services similar to broadcast.com, they seem to be both more expensive and
not as reliable.
 
But I suspect you are referring mainly to schools setting up their own
server.  Anyone can do that, but it does still require an investment, just
a different one.  And, a big problem with us doing it that way is that we
would need to find someone who could and wanted to "own" the project, which
means obtaining the equipment, setting it up, and babysitting the thing in
case something happens during the broadcast.  Manpower and time investment
is a significant expense and unless you have someone who wants to and can
do it, it is difficult to get past that roadblock.
 
Plus, you get more streams through broadcast.com, unless you also want to
make the investment of a software upgrade.
 
> And Cornell's broadcasts
> were also available directly; the AudioNet URL just pointed you at the
> other address.  As I understand it, schools going through
> broadcast.com still have to provide their own RealAudio server; all
> they seem to get out of the arrangement is publicity.
 
Actually, BCST (let's use the stock symbol now :-)) will do most of the
work for you.  I don't know if Cornell had its own server but many places
don't.  BCST will charge you a flat fee to basically do all the work
involved with putting your broadcast on the net.  You pay them up front,
and they will call the radio station at a predetermined time (so it's their
dime) and receive the signal over the phone line, encode it and send it out
on their server, make sure that problems do not occur during the broadcast,
and archive the broadcast for later listening.  It is a significant
undertaking and so I am not surprised that they raised their rates.
 
Basically, if you do not have the resources or time to produce the
broadcast yourself, which is the situation most people are probably in,
then you need to go through someone like BCST.  You do get a lot for your
fee, not the least of which is no worries, they do it all.  But you have to
be able to come up with the money, too.  And in general it's going to be
very hard to make your investment back with a net broadcast in college
hockey.  You hope that it will lead to other things that will benefit your
program and school -- I have heard that some schools can trace increased
alumni donations back to net broadcasts although I do not know any numbers
-- but by itself it is not a profitable venture, especially for a smaller
school.
 
My feeling is that there has to be a certain rate -- I don't know if BCST's
new rates are there yet -- beyond which college hockey programs in general
will not be able to continue to put their broadcasts on the net.  There
will still be some, but the higher the rate, the less likely a school will
be able to do it.
 
---                                                                   ---
Mike Machnik                [log in to unmask]               *HMM* 11/13/93
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