(10-21-22) The OHSAA released the ‘dos and don’ts’ for broadcast media covering any playoff football games. Newspapers are not charged a fee for coverage of any playoff.
Checks to broadcast any game are made out to the OHSAA, none of the funding is split with member schools.
October 19, 2022
OHSAA BROADCAST RELEASE: Statewide Football Playoffs Coverage
Spectrum, NFHS Network, MaxPreps and OHSAA Radio Network will have statewide coverage
COLUMBUS, Ohio – With the Ohio High School Athletic Association football playoffs getting underway next Friday, October 28, the OHSAA’s media partners are gearing up for statewide coverage. The football regular-season ends this Saturday night and the playoff qualifiers will be announced on Sunday.
Spectrum is the OHSAA’s official television partner and will provide exclusive television play-by-play coverage of the OHSAA football state championship games in Canton, along with selected playoff games each weekend. Spectrum’s coverage is also available at OHSAA.tv. Please see below for details regarding exclusivity. Spectrum will make its weekly playoff game selections on Monday mornings.
The NFHS Network is the official streaming partner of the OHSAA and will provide exclusive video streaming of selected football games, as well as tournament contests in the sports of field hockey, cross country, soccer and volleyball. NFHS Network coverage is available at: www.NFHSNetwork.com
Please see below for OHSAA media regulations regarding Spectrum and NFHS Network exclusivity.
The OHSAA Radio Network returns this fall and will cover the football state championship games and provide a 28-minute weekly show during the playoffs beginning next week. Radio stations are asked to contact Tim Stried at the OHSAA for affiliate plans, which include a fee waiver during the playoffs. Radio stations can follow their local area teams all the way through the playoffs, including the state championship games.
The OHSAA Radio Network
The OHSAA Radio Network was created to broadcast OHSAA state tournament contests and partner with radio stations to provide a waiver of broadcast rights fees in exchange for promoting OHSAA events and carrying network programming. The network broadcasts the football state championships and the girls and boys basketball state tournaments, along with football and basketball pregame shows.
There is no fee to carry network programming. No other details on how much cost or income to provide the network.
Broadcasts are delivered via satellite by Skyview Networks or online. All network broadcasts are on the OHSAA website.
Details are available at: https://www.ohsaa.org/news/radio
The MaxPreps live scoreboard is available for all regular-season and playoff games on the OHSAA football page at: https://www.ohsaa.org/sports/football.
Statewide stat leaders and more features are available at: https://www.maxpreps.com/oh/football/
Beware of Malicious Social Media Accounts Claiming to Have Broadcasts
The OHSAA is aware of many phishing attempts made by fake social media accounts claiming to have broadcasts of regular-season and postseason contests. Scammers create these malicious accounts to trick schools and fans into sharing these posts and entering their personal information, including credit card information, to watch a contest. The scam accounts will often use the OHSAA, NFHS Network, and school logos to further confuse schools and fans. Schools and fans should verify they are only sharing information from official accounts. Fake accounts should be reported using the social media platform reporting process. Note that the OHSAA does not broadcast any tournament games through social media platforms and the OHSAA only used the @OHSAASports handle to promote tournament contests and its official broadcast partners.
Primary OHSAA Media Regulations Related to Spectrum and the NFHS Network
If Spectrum News 1 is covering a game with its TV crew, then there are no other play-by-play video productions permitted for that game (live nor delayed). If Spectrum is covering a game only with its streaming crew, then the game is available for delayed play-by-play video productions (TV and streaming) if the facility can accommodate secondary broadcasts while also accommodating the primary audio broadcasts of the participating schools.
If the NFHS Network is covering a game, then only delayed play-by-play video productions are permitted if the facility can accommodate secondary productions.
If neither the NFHS Network nor Spectrum is covering a game, then live video streaming is permitted per the rate card at: https://ohsaaweb.blob.core.windows.net/files/News/Media/TournamentBroadcastRates.pdf
Football Playoff Credentials and Press Box Seating
In consultation with the OHSAA’s Media Advisory Committee, a priority scale has been established for press box seats during the football playoffs. Host sites are asked to follow the priority scale according to the media list submitted by the two schools participating at their site.
The priority scale for all OHSAA tournaments is posted at: https://ohsaaweb.blob.core.windows.net/files/Sports/Football/FB-MediaPressBoxMemo.pdf
Another item that the OHSAA does not share income with member schools is audio and video coverage of playoff games –
No information is provided on broadcast contracts with Spectrum or NFHS Network.
Stateline Sports Network 