All Sports Focus Capture

Martin County High School Chose Focus to Give Fans a ‘Pay per View’ Option

Sep 24, 2021

3 Min Read

Student population: 500
County size: 11K
Sports using Focus: 3
How they monetize: Pay per view and sponsorships
Amount made in 2020–21 school year: ~$5,500

If you’re looking for a take on why you should choose Focus for your broadcast, look no further. This Q&A with Martin County High School (Ky.) athletic director Chuck White will tell you exactly how they did it and why it’s working for them.

What made you decide to use Hudl to monetize your livestream?

We had a coaches meeting where we reviewed some different ways that we could retain money we were losing from COVID-19. We started researching ways we could monetize livestreaming the games. There were really only two that were feasible for us, NFHS and Hudl Focus. The great thing with Hudl is that we could put money into our accounts without being contracted like the NFHS network does. The NFHS network was trying to package Pixellot cameras in a two-year contractual deal. We were not able to directly profit off of our games through them, and this was a big deal for us. Hudl allows us to profit directly off of our regular season games. I am very pleased with the way Hudl set up their livestreaming, and we will be using it in the foreseeable future.

How did you choose between monetization options?

We have the ability through the Hudl Focus camera to be able to livestream our games, then we use BlueFrame to broadcast the games because it’s extremely easy to use. BlueFrame’s basic pay to view option also made it easy to profit off of the “tickets” sold. We were able to profit $5 off of every purchase. Our boys’ basketball team was able to capitalize on this feature more than anyone, due to the popularity of basketball and the amount of games that were able to be played. We have signed up for Hudl Focus Outdoor, which will directly benefit our football and soccer teams.

Was ‘pay per view’ the only way you monetized your broadcast?

We also had our local sponsorships that we always get for our sports. We were able to run virtual advertisements on BlueFrame between our ball games with their breaks, allowing for commercials and shoutouts to our paying sponsors.

What’s your game day process like?

Our game day process was very simple. Our IT director Josh Horn was able to do everything remotely at the scores table during the event. He live timed updated scores, ran the clock, and also provided stats on the broadcast during the game. The Hudl Focus camera and broadcasting abilities on BlueFrame are so user-friendly, almost anybody can pick up on the interface and run it seamlessly.

How did you let your fanbase know there was a broadcast to watch? And what’s their response been?

We were able to get the word out on social media, and through home phone calls from our district automated calls. We also told our kids on our teams to spread the word. Our fanbase now loves knowing that our home games will always be livestreamed. They like that we can consistently put out our games to be viewed live, during the events.

How much money have you raised by monetizing your livestream?

Our boys’ basketball team was able to clear over $2,000 and girls’ basketball was over $1,500. Volleyball was able to make roughly $1,000, and wrestling was just shy of $1,000. This is several thousand dollars that we would’ve missed out had it not been for Hudl giving us the opportunity to livestream.

Do you plan to change anything about your broadcast process next year?

We don’t plan on changing anything. If you don’t do your broadcasting through Hudl and their Focus cameras, you are really missing out.

What advice would you give to athletic directors who are looking to monetize?

Seriously look at what Hudl has to offer. We were fortunate to receive a presentation on how we could broadcast and profit our games. The package we have is everything we wanted and more. Our Focus camera in the gym allows us to record and automatically upload practices, games, share our game film with other schools, and broadcast the games. On top of broadcasting live to BlueFrame, Focus allows us to livestream our game film to our YouTube account as well. We have recovered thousands of dollars we would’ve missed out on this year. It goes far beyond what we expected. When I heard of the outdoor camera coming out for trial, I immediately expressed interest and wanted to be on the first shipment of cameras. Hudl allows us to broadcast with minimal effort on our end. We love it.

Start your monetization process today by adding Hudl Focus to your gym or stadium.