Update regarding UNT Sports TV/Radio/Video Etc.

[El Paso Eagle]

33 minutes ago, keith said:

I think what OTA radio coverage we have has to be pretty far down the list.

I disagree. One thing we have seen is we do a poor job at taking care game day experiences. And yes, for out-of-town fans this is part of the game day experience. The Varsity App is good, just wish they did not have such a long delay compared to the TV broadcast

[untjim1995]

The Metroplex angle is tough when the best and most listened sports station (The Ticket) won’t even mention us in their week and a half long college football preview.

[MeanGreenDan]

48 minutes ago, keith said:

D'oh!  I wonder why that is...I can guess, but it would be interesting to know if that's something called out in the agreement we entered into with them.  In the long list of things to be concerned about, however, I think what OTA radio coverage we have has to be pretty far down the list.

It is because Learfield/Varsity have digital distribution rights, so the only way to stream online is through their (free) app.

[keith]

Just now, MeanGreenDan said:

It is because Learfield/Varsity have digital distribution rights, so the only way to stream online is through their (free) app.

Thanks.  So the AD knows or gets reports from Learfield/Varsity on the number of listeners.  It would be interesting to know how many unique users listen to the game, the platform used and where they are "tuning in" from.

[El Paso Eagle]

5 minutes ago, keith said:

Thanks.  So the AD knows or gets reports from Learfield/Varsity on the number of listeners.  It would be interesting to know how many unique users listen to the game, the platform used and where they are "tuning in" from.

I would guess a lot of people who watch the games (since all are available) do not listen. It would be nice if Learfield could sync the app stream to the video.

[UNTcrazy727]

2 hours ago, keith said:

Feels kinda weird to be all concerned about over-the-air radio coverage in 2022.  Most (all) of our games are available via a video stream or are on TV these days.  It would be interesting to know what the market for radio listeners of UNT sports is.  A few hundred or thousand?  Most radio stations stream directly or through some app and everyone and their mother has a phone these days.  Turn off the transistor and join the modern world.  

Amen. I've never had a problem getting clear audio through whatever app/stream is broadcasting the game. There's no need to complain about what radio station we're on when you can just download the Varsity Network app.

[SteaminWillieBeamin]

1 minute ago, UNTcrazy727 said:

I've never had a problem

Guess it's not a problem then. Solved! 

[SilverEagle]

16 hours ago, Rudy said:

The coverage map may be the same, but there's an issue when the school's own radio station does not want to carry the school's athletic events.

Yeah, to paraphrase a very annoying commercial currently running on TV "NT that's just so you".

Recruiting is challenging enough. Now our competition can say "why would you want to go to UNT...their own campus radio station doesn't want to carry their games"

Edited September 14, 2022 by SilverEagle

[UNTcrazy727]

7 minutes ago, SteaminWillieBeamin said:

Guess it's not a problem then. Solved! 

Thanks for the sarcasm...But everyone's problem would be solved if they downloaded the Varsity Network app. 

[KingDL1]

Well other than when I am stuck in the car driving. 

[TripleGrad]

5 minutes ago, UNTcrazy727 said:

Thanks for the sarcasm...But everyone's problem would be solved if they downloaded the Varsity Network app. 

100,000 watt college-owned radio station, and I need to install Yet Another Spyware Application on my phone, and then try to use that to listen to the game in my truck -- which has a radio?

"Just do it my way" is never the answer.

[SteaminWillieBeamin]

7 minutes ago, UNTcrazy727 said:

Thanks for the sarcasm...But everyone's problem would be solved if they downloaded the Varsity Network app. 

Or as noted, cell coverage and radio suck on game day near the stadium. Or when driving home from the game and varsity network is not on Google Auto natively, so reaching around in the dark to pull up  phone is not the best move to either. Should keep my eyes on the road and ears on the radio. 

So - perhaps it doesn't solve everyone's problems?

 

 

[Tom McKrackin]

6 minutes ago, SteaminWillieBeamin said:

Or as noted, cell coverage and radio suck on game day near the stadium. Or when driving home from the game and varsity network is not on Google Auto natively, so reaching around in the dark to pull up  phone is not the best move to either. Should keep my eyes on the road and ears on the radio. 

So - perhaps it doesn't solve everyone's problems?

 

 

Can you not add apps to your carplay?  Seems like loading the Varsity app would solve most if not all of your problems.  Agree that the wifi signal in the stadium could be improved though.

[UNTcrazy727]

3 minutes ago, SteaminWillieBeamin said:

Or as noted, cell coverage and radio suck on game day near the stadium. Or when driving home from the game and varsity network is not on Google Auto natively, so reaching around in the dark to pull up  phone is not the best move to either. Should keep my eyes on the road and ears on the radio. 

So - perhaps it doesn't solve everyone's problems?

 

 

If pushing a couple icons on your phone is too difficult I don't know what to say...should have plenty of time to open the app as you slowly get out of the stadium.

I get people hate change, but radio is dying. It makes sense our AD would be pushing us to get on a reliable streaming platform. They for damn sure aren't going to spend thousands of dollars to get us on a radio station with a better signal. 

[untjim1995]

14 hours ago, greenminer said:

One follow-up question is, do you believe the radio presence will grow? Will Wren be able to work some sponsorships that will breathe some new, fresh air into this?

If you believe there can be growth, then you're probably in wait-and-see mode on 95.3.

If you do not believe the commercial side will grow, then this move doesn't mean anything to you.  And the drop from 88.1 is just one more gut punch from the City of Denton (from within our own house!)

Its stuff like this that always irked me when I felt (hoped) the way you did back in the 90s and early 00's. 

Denton is just a different animal when it comes to UNT Sports. We have to be the only college football team that doesn't get played on a station in its hometown, muss less the school's own station

[SteaminWillieBeamin]

1 hour ago, TripleGrad said:

in my truck

You just need to buy a new truck. People just hate change. /s 

[greenminer]

1 hour ago, TripleGrad said:

100,000 watt college-owned radio station, and I need to install Yet Another Spyware Application on my phone, and then try to use that to listen to the game in my truck -- which has a radio?

"Just do it my way" is never the answer.

The answer shouldn't be to never adapt either.

On the list of spyware concerns - meaning, apps that track something on your phone - Varsity app is probably waaaay down towards the bottom.  It's an app design to provide a stream and get a little money off ads.  But if it means that much to you that you don't want to listen to the Mean Green, I understand that too.  Part of GreenMiner wishes we could all just unplug.  As Billy Joel once said, "Take the phone off the hook and disappear for a while.  You can afford to lose a day or two."

[keith]

Configure the app to follow all UNT sports.  Tell your iPhone or whatever you use not to track.  If your car/radio supports bluetooth audio, it will play right through your speakers.  A couple clicks and you are good to go.  There are options and this probably gives the AD better data about their listening audience then they can get from OTA radio.

 

[Rudy]

It's not that people can't download the app, it's that they shouldn't have to.

[VideoEagle]

2 hours ago, El Paso Eagle said:

It would be nice if Learfield could sync the app stream to the video.

Yes, it would be nice but it's not technologically practical. 

Years ago when the Dallas Cowboys broadcasts were on KVIL, the station made sure to delay the radio broadcast to sync up with the TV broadcast from over the air channels 4, 5 or 8. It was pretty simple as the delay was only about 2 to 4 seconds and the delay was the same for everyone watching, even those on cable TV.

Then came satellite broadcasts like DirectTV and Dish. Those were a LOT more delayed - often 5 to 10 seconds. There was the live game, the local broadcast and the satellite broadcast all with different delays. Which delay do you choose? KVIL decided to keep the local OTA and cable signal. 

Then when cable companies started carried HD signals, the cable companies changed so intead of all the signals going down the cable to your house at the same time, only the signal a decoder box was watching would be sent to save bandwidth. You might notice that is you are watching in the same program in two rooms the signal isn't exactly in sync. That's just in your house, imagine trying to sync when every TV is getting the signal at a different moment. 

Oh yeah, and now since the play by play is steaming, it is algo getting to every player at a different moment! 

Yes, it could be possible for the feed of play by play to go down the same signal path as each broadcast signal. But only if every cable, satellite and streaming organization was willing to cooperate. And they are not. 

That's why the school's play by play isn't going to be in sync anymore. 

 

[keith]

11 minutes ago, Rudy said:

It's not that people can't download the app, it's that they shouldn't have to.

You mean like for tickets?  I kid, I kid.  Look, you don't have to.  It's just an option and for some maybe more convenient.  For someone like me that lives way outside the 40/50 mile radius for OTA radio reception, being able to stream audio or video for games that are not carried on a national network is one of the greatest things ever for this Mean Green fan.   

[NT80]

1 hour ago, keith said:

You mean like for tickets?  I kid, I kid.  Look, you don't have to.  It's just an option and for some maybe more convenient.  For someone like me that lives way outside the 40/50 mile radius for OTA radio reception, being able to stream audio or video for games that are not carried on a national network is one of the greatest things ever for this Mean Green fan.   

Thus the request to expand the radius.   Problem solved for all....

[greenminer]

Did anyone find a desktop version of the Varsity Network (an app, not via browser website)? I could only see a link to iOS/iPadOS.  Did not find anything for Windows or MacOS.

@Harry?

[UNTcrazy727]

14 minutes ago, NT80 said:

Thus the request to expand the radius.   Problem solved for all....

Why would they do that when the app can be heard from anywhere in the country? No one is going to invest in a dying medium. 

[Rudy]

2 hours ago, keith said:

You mean like for tickets?  I kid, I kid.  Look, you don't have to.  It's just an option and for some maybe more convenient.  For someone like me that lives way outside the 40/50 mile radius for OTA radio reception, being able to stream audio or video for games that are not carried on a national network is one of the greatest things ever for this Mean Green fan.   

Yeah, If you live in Waco, the panhandle, Lubbock, etc, its great to have the app, but when half of the metroplex can't get the games on radio, there's a problem.