Last week, the athletics media relations office at Florida International University (
FIU) launched a new radio network, airing the live commercial broadcast for Panthers’ football. For the 2012 season, FIU opted for an online-based streaming solution instead of the terrestrial radio route. The school partnered with Arizona-based Stretch Internet to stream the games over their system which allows the vibrant and young FIU fanbase the ability to listen to the games via all mobile devices, iPads, iPod Touch and traditional internet connectivity.
[Additionally, the University of Albany also opted for online broadcast this year ("See Also" section for that article link.)]
According to
FIU Director of Sports Information Joe Hornstein, who also serves as 2012-13 CoSIDA President, the athletics communications staff will now coordinate all network responsibilities towards the airing of game day radio broadcasts. The rationale behind the project was to bring the effort in-house, from production to distribution to advertising sales. In year’s past, the school had bounced around AM radio stations, never cementing a long-term affiliation. With NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL franchises, plus the Miami Hurricanes, and local affiliates for FSU, UF and USF football, the South Florida AM landscape had become crowded on Saturdays. The school was faced with options that ranged from diminished signal reach and costly third-party sales agreements.
“I could make the argument with the youth of our institution [which was established in 1965] and that our football program is first having its 10th anniversary this season, a majority of our listening audience are the demographic who are able users of portable listening devices, whether it be iPhones, Androids, iPads and alike,” said Hornstein.
If you have questions for Hornstein about this project and setting up a streaming radio network, contact him at
jhornste@fiu.edu.
courtesy of FIUSports.com
MIAMI, Fla. (FIUSports.com) – When FIU football kicked off the new season at Duke (Saturday, Sept. 1), a new era in broadcasting FIU athletics events also began. In tapping into a new medium, FIU fans will have the ultimate convenience of being able to tune into high-quality live-audio of FIU football broadcasts from anywhere in the world, on such iOS devices as iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Apple TV, in addition to Android phones or traditional online internet connections.
It will be as simple as going to the new
FIUSports.com website through one of these devices and click the audio link provided by Stretch Internet. From there, Stretch Internet will provide FIU with an intuitive, user-friendly interface that allows fans to easily navigate to the live game broadcast.
“FIU has thrived as an innovative and forward-thinking university,” said Pete Garcia, Executive Director of Sports and Entertainment. “The way in which our FIU fanbase, as well as many sports enthusiasts, now choose to watch and listen to live events has evolved. We are seeing that right now in the growth and development, the importance and reliance of our mobile devices and internet technologies.
“Today, we watch our sports and entertainment, on-demand, wherever we are,” added Garcia. “In response many networks, television and radio, produce programming exclusively to the world-wide online community, whether it be watching games through an ESPN3.com or WatchESPN.com channel or listening to live-radio on audio apps accessible to iPhones, Androids, and other smart-phone mobile devices.”
In the broadcast booth for FIU football are Jerry del Castillo, on play-by-play, and Pete Pelegrin with the color analysis. Along with live game coverage, the duo will conduct a 30-minute pre-game show, halftime interviews and 15-minute post-game show.
del Castillo was the play-by-play voice for FIU “en Español” from the inaugural game in 2002 through the 2009 season. His resume also includes the same play-by-play duties with the University of Miami from 1994-2002. He has called four national championship games, the Orange, Rose, Sugar and Gator bowl games, and three college world series. In addition, he was also color analyst on Miami Heat Spanish-language radio broadcasts for three seasons.
Pelegrin, presently the author of the acclaimed Panther Prowl blog at FIUSports.com, is a former FIU beat writer for the Miami Herald. Pelegrin covered FIU football for the Herald since the program started in 2002. In 2010, he joined FIU Athletics as a lead writer for the official FIUSports.com website. Last season, Pelegrin started doing play-by-play and color analyst for FIU baseball online broadcasts.
“Today, it’s our football games,” continued Garcia. “Tomorrow, we will consider expanding our new broadcast capabilities to additional FIU events and feature programs. In the next five years, our alumni base in South Florida will be nearly 200,000-strong, our enrollment will be above 60,000. We need to be prepared in meeting their needs.”
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