Sports

XU focuses on online streaming

In today’s world everything is online, and that includes Xavier
sports. Last year the Xavier Athletic Department launched
a live streaming program that broadcasted nine Xavier sporting events online free of charge. All nine games were home contests, and they were considered to have been the biggest games of the season with three Senior Day games.
This year the Xavier Athletic Department has significantly increased its online coverage by offering 24 games. The schedule is divided between men’s soccer, women’s soccer and volleyball and features a mix of non-conference and conference games. “Having the ability to stream any home game, match, event will give additional exposure to those sports like volleyball and soccer,” Sports Information Assistant and Video Coordinator, Colin Waters, said. Along with the games, unique pre-game, halftime and postgame shows will be offered throughout the broadcast. This provides the fan with a better viewing experience that goes beyond simply showing what a recorded game would, and it is expected that this fifteen-game addition will draw more viewers. One of the unique features of the program is that one of the games being shown will be a “fans’ choice.” Fans can choose between a women’s soccer game against Virginia Commonwealth University or a volleyball game against Duquesne. The featured
game will be determined by both fan voting and the number of viewers in the previous games for the two sports.
Excluding the “fans’ choice” game, men’s soccer has eight
games, women’s soccer has seven and volleyball has eight. Similar to last year, all three Senior Day games will be streamed online. There is no sign up necessary to watch the live streams and Xavier fans across the country have access to this service. This accommodates many alumni who are not able to attend games but still support their Muskies. It is currently unknown as to how much potential these live streams have this season in terms of viewership, but it is a quality service that should keep any Musketeer fan happy. With the rapid expansion from last year’s programming, Xavier fans can expect even better coverage in the future and should feel blessed that the Xavier Athletic Department is devoting
so much effort to display the university’s sports teams.