By Jennifer Moody
Orange Media Network
Student broadcasters at Oregon State University were looking for sportscasting opportunities. Linn-Benton Community College wanted to improve streaming for its home games.
Good timing brought the two together. Now, audiences can tune in to Orange Media Network’s KBVR-TV to view selected Roadrunner volleyball, baseball and men’s and women’s basketball games.
“We’ve been livestreaming, but we were struggling to find students who had an interest,” said Mark Majeski, LBCC director of athletics. “It just so happened (OMN) reached out with exploring possibilities here. It kind of was serendipitous.”
A baseball broadcast will be aired May 6.
Volleyball and basketball games from earlier this year can be found online on YouTube at www.youtube.com/@KBVRTV, or on the KBVR-TV website at kbvrtv.orangemedianetwork.com/category/kbvr-tv/sports.
Majeski said the community college has been livestreaming sports for at least the five years he’s been there, but it’s been limited by having only one or two cameras and a single person running back and forth to switch shots.
“OMN has several cameras, an engineer, a producer, a director – the operation that OSU students bring is a notch or two above what we can do on our own,” he said. “This raised the level of quality for our livestreamed events.”
Steven Sandberg, OMN assistant director and adviser to the broadcast teams, said working with LBCC gives OMN an opportunity to do professional-level sports broadcasts with teams that deserve more exposure.
Also, he added, “This gives students a chance to flex their muscles and try something they may not have an opportunity to do.”
Cole Keady of Eugene, an OSU senior majoring in media communications, is the show’s producer.
He started working as part of the crew for “Amateur Hour” sports broadcasts last year, shooting cornhole and dodgeball competitions, and producing a table tennis tournament broadcast over the summer.
Those were fun, he said, but he was looking to try his hand at a standard sport that plays regularly. That way, he said, you can get a sense both of how the game is played and where to set cameras and audio without having to start from scratch each time.
It’s a great opportunity, he said, for students to learn how to televise a sport, and to carry over that learning for potential future careers.
“We’re essentially doing what the PAC-12, the NBA, the NFL, even what the Blazers are doing up there in Portland,” he said.
It’s also a great opportunity for area viewers to get a better look at Roadrunner athletics, Keady said.
“Sports is an institution. It’s a vital part of our culture. It’s been integral to TV and to broadcasting ever since we’ve had the means to do it,” he said.
“It highlights individuals who dedicate their time and their lives to show off their skills and talents. They deserve to see that highlighted.”
Also, he added, four-year university athletes tend to monopolize the TV spotlight. LBCC has been excited to claim a share of it.
“LBCC doesn’t necessarily have the infrastructure to show their games. We’ve got the resources to do it,” he said. “They’re stoked to have us, every single time.”