Livestream: A Win-Win for Everyone

Cody Van Den Berg Staff Writer

Livestream has been changing in this day and age with the Covid-19 virus going around. At Iowa Lakes Community College, due to the fact that there were no games being played, the college was not able to livestream any of the games this semester. Next semester Iowa Lakes is planning to livestream eight games. Jason White, instructor for the multi-media broadcasting class says, “The students will get a great feel for the class this semester since we are going to try and livestream as many games as possible.”

Jason White also says, “Since there will be no fans at this point for the spring semester for sports, the service we are providing is more important than ever.” With no fans attending the games, they will need to depend on the livestream to be able to view the games. White continues, “It also adds value for the increased viewership. We will need increased camera work for the livestream. We are going to have more people with the new equipment. The students will have more viewers now. We are really thankful that we have this opportunity to livestream the basketball games this year. We are very excited to finally use the new equipment.” White also says, “I am proud of the fact we are going to have sports and that we are planning on broadcasting live. My plan is to do eight games total and enable my students to gain a lot of experience.” White also adds, “If it doesn’t work for the livestream, our plan is to do a video playback instead to at least offer the fans something to watch.”

The Sioux Center radio station (KSOU) also has had to adjust to COVID-19. All high schools around the state of Iowa are limiting their fans to having only two people per player in the gym. Mark Buss who is in charge of the live streams at the Sioux Center radio station says, “It has not changed the way we live stream, but it has changed because more people are viewing the livestream now. We still do our best to

make sure the live streams are running smoothly. If we do encounter a problem with our livestream, the plan would be to still have the radio broadcast for the audience to listen to. Another plan we would have if we had problems with the livestream is that we would continue to have the livestream on our Facebook page so that people can go view it on there.”

Buss further comments, “Livestream is a great part of giving back to the community. This year most people will not be in the gyms to watch the games, but now they will still get to have the opportunity to watch the games via livestream.” Buss also mentions, “We will be using two cameras this year; one camera will show all the Sioux Center home games this year, and another livestream (camera) will cover another school around the area.”

“We have been doing these livestreams for four years now and it’s a great opportunity for fans watch from home and especially grandparents. The livestreams also give us a lot of sponsors which are really helpful to have at our radio station.”

“We can only control what we can control, but it is our job to get these livestreams running so people can watch both for entertainment and for information. I really hope fans enjoy watching them from home when I get to be there courtside. I think it’s a win-win for everyone!” Buss states.

Yes, Covid-19 has impacted many areas including the livestreaming of games. Thankfully, this is one area that it even more needed during these times! Thank you livestream!