As a young journalist with next to no interest in sport of any kind; my Monday morning chore was to call about 10 schools and colleges to get the weekend’s sporting results.
From soccer, to hockey, and athletics, I’d have to get the names of the teams, any star players (and their ages), location of the game, and of course the score (be sure not to get that wrong!).
However, that donkey work paid off every Thursday when all the parents of all the players at all the schools would buy the paper or visit the website to see if their child was pictured or mentioned.
School and college sport is a big thing. It’s a huge market. Who’s playing for whom, what teams are playing where, player profiles, match details, winners and losers. Upsets and surprise successes. And who’s playing where next week.
The trouble is, too many broadcasters focus on playing music and trying to conquer the world when all the action – and revenue – is right there in their backyard, at the school sports field down the road.
Not only is sharing local sports results on air a fantastic service to the community, but broadcasting match reports from the sidelines is easier than it’s ever been.
Just a phone, a list of players and their jersey numbers, and live commentary of key games can be broadcast. Imagine that, all the parents and grandparents, all the people who can’t attend can hear what’s going on.
Plus off-pitch interviews with players, coaches, and supporters.
Not only is it a fantastic service to local listeners, it’s a missed business opportunity.
Imagine the businesses that could be approached to sponsor or support your sports results segment, or live match commentary.
Local sport has got to be the biggest missed opportunity in local radio. And all you really have to do is turn up, and say what you see.
If you run a community radio station of any sort, or produce a podcast of local news to keep your community up to date, then don’t ignore local sport.
It’s the biggest game in town.
