Taking a multimedia approach to high school sports coverage
Venture into a mid-to-small-size Pennsylvania market and pick up the local newspaper. Don’t be surprised if high school sports reign supreme. Case in point, a newspaper in Altoona is taking the initiative to grow its high school sports coverage to new heights. By utilizing a multimedia approach, the goal is to produce content that showcases high school athletes to a wider audience while securing new revenue streams. The results of this new endeavor are impressive.
In 2020, Altoona Mirror sports writers Scott Franco and Mike Boytim launched a weekly program on the newspaper’s YouTube channel dedicated to covering regional high school football. Considering 66% of sports section readers visit YouTube on a regular basis, this new endeavor had the potential to expand their audience. Produced from the Altoona Mirror offices and filmed by Dan Isenberg, the show, High School Football Preview, launched in time for the 2020 football season.
With a light-hearted, fun rapport and “rizz” to spare, the hosts delivered an engaging, informative program combining insightful analysis, interviews with coaches and players, game highlights and bold predictions. More than three years later, the success of the series has made the Altoona Mirror YouTube platform an essential part of regional sports coverage, with viewership rising almost 30% since its inception.
With growth came more opportunity. Andy Stine was added as a third host while the program continued to skyrocket in popularity. Last fall, the local public access channel serving Altoona, Breezeline Cable Channel 13 Educational Access, began running the program on the local airwaves during football season. This, in turn, caught the attention of a doctors group which was eager to be involved.
The Mirror secured UPMC Elite Orthopaedics as a sponsor in 2021. That sponsorship includes a mention before every show, UPMC-sponsored print and digital campaigns promoting the broadcast, and weekly Facebook posts. The new revenue stream previously envisioned had come to fruition.
The success continues as the program expands beyond the football season from January to June with “Scholastic Mirror.” This show focuses on all high school sports, including basketball, wrestling, gymnastics, baseball, rifle and more. In February, Channel 13 Educational Access is planning to air the show four times a week.
As the sports program increases in popularity on the Altoona Mirror YouTube site, a new audience emerges to engage with journalists and others within the community. The Mirror staff’s hard work is paying dividends. To quote Vince Lombardi, “There is only one way to succeed in anything…and that is to give it everything.”
In 2020, Altoona Mirror sports writers Scott Franco and Mike Boytim launched a weekly program on the newspaper’s YouTube channel dedicated to covering regional high school football. Considering 66% of sports section readers visit YouTube on a regular basis, this new endeavor had the potential to expand their audience. Produced from the Altoona Mirror offices and filmed by Dan Isenberg, the show, High School Football Preview, launched in time for the 2020 football season.