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Record Online Viewership for BBC & HTC
January 5, 2009
HTC and Beach Ball Classic Celebrate Record Online Viewership for 2008 Torunament
Viewers in 30 countries and 46 states enjoy Beach Ball Classic Games via HTC Technology
HTC and the Beach Ball Classic are excited to announce that the annual Beach Ball Classic was not only viewed in the stands at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, but fans around the world in 30 foreign countries (36% more this year) |
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Fans as well as recruiters were able to view the LIVE webcasts of 21 Beach Ball Classic games beginning Saturday, December 20 when the University of North Carolina Tarheels women’s team faced off against the University of Illinois women’s team in the Carolina’s Challenge. And, for the second time, the Crescent Bank Holiday Invitational Championship game was broadcasted LIVE via the internet on Tuesday, December 23. To complete the Beach Ball weeks, HTC provided LIVE broadcasts of 16 boys’ championship bracket games and 3 consolation bracket games starting on December 26 through December 31 for the Championship game when the St. Patrick Celtics defeated the Wheeler Wildcats, 72-53.
All live and archived video was available via the internet on www.sccoast.net. Fans could also view the games by visiting the Beach Ball Classic website at www.beachballclassic.com and clicking on the “Watch Live presented by HTC” link. For the second time, www.myrtlebeachonline.com, the on-line arm of The Sun News, also participated as a link for viewing the live games. Each game was recorded and archives were made available for viewing after each game.
“It was amazing to see the overwhelming response from fans not only in the United States, but around the world that have chosen to view some of the best high school basketball online. We are thrilled to see that thousands of fans have taken advantage of this unique opportunity made possible by HTC,” said John Rhodes, Beach Ball Classic Executive Director.
“The statistics prove that the demand for online viewing is there and providing this option is critical to families and fans that are unable to attend the tournament in person. Online viewership of the tournament has risen every year and the 2008 Beach Ball Classic was no exception with our records indicating more than 42,000 pageviews (24% more this year) and in excess of 13,000 visitors (30% more this year) in the United States and hundreds more from overseas logged on this year for the tournament,” said Tom Vitt, HTC Director of Marketing. “We were proud to be the local partner to make this a reality for basketball fans around the world for the fourth consecutive year.”
The Beach Ball Classic, one of the premier invitational high school basketball tournaments in the country, was eager to try new media for the tournament’s 25th anniversary. “As the leader in high school basketball tournaments, we were very excited about being one of the first and possibly the only holiday tournament to date to broadcast our games LIVE via the internet,” says Rhodes. “It’s been a valuable recruiting tool for the Beach Ball Classic as it provides live coverage of the games to hometown fans that can’t make the trip to Myrtle Beach. With up and coming NCAA and NBA players on just about every team, interest in each team’s home market is very high, so there is a built in audience for the streaming video.”
“We were proud to have the option to provide streaming video of all winners’ bracket games, all the way through to the Championship Game Wednesday night,” continues Rhodes. “With the help of HTC, we were streaming these games live via the internet, and we feel like we are on the cutting edge of what will eventually become the way we view sports. This is an outstanding example of local partners making our event available worldwide. Fans of each high school could watch their teams live via a broadband connection.”
“Utilizing video and audio from Lucky Dog Television Productions, the video was encoded on site at the Convention Center,” explains Vitt. “The encoded video signal was then forwarded to a media server. The feed was then made available in a streaming video format over the Internet so all interested viewers could watch the event.”
HTC is looking forward to offering more local events via the internet in the near future. Fans can view the archives via the internet on www.sccoast.net.
For more information concerning the Beach Ball Classic for 2009, contact John Rhodes, Executive Director, at 213-0032 or visit www.beachballclassic.com.
