In 2004, Randy Olson founded JeffersonCountyInfo.com as a local website designed to expose the community to the world. The website quickly enjoyed a large loyal audience of traffic for the community content, as well as the unique LIVE webcast (broadcast) of area sports events to a worldwide audience over the internet. In June of 2005, Olson decided to restructure the website into an exclusive "all sports" website and point the users to a branded website known as AreaSports.net and strive to fill a massive void that was evident in the coverage of area sports, with a special emphasis on grade school and high school sports. Initially, some of the local media personnel at that time were invited to join in with the efforts of AreaSports.net. They declined the invitation, thinking that this website would just be a short-lived fad, and never a legitimate media outlet. Obviously, they underestimated the impact that this multi-media coverage would make in the area. Ironically, those same nay-sayers are now out of the media business completely. Meanwhile, both the technological features & audience of AreaSports.net continue to grow, just like the overall use of the internet continues to blossom.
New technology has allowed AreaSports.net to take sports coverage to another level, reaching well beyond the limitations of traditional radio, and print media. "People now get more of their information online than from any other source," said Olson. "Multi-media websites like this are able to combine all the aspects of audio, video, and print into one dynamic new media. We can broadcast games live, provide instant archiving on demand, and do it with higher quality audio because it is all streamed digital....not done on cell phones or marti equipment." A recent survey published in a December 2006 issue of The Wall Street Journal states again that the readership of traditional paper newspapers continues to decline, and that listenership to commercial radio stations has also dropped to an all-time low. In fact, the article states that the only "growing media" that shows consistant audience gains, is the internet....particularily websites with multi-media audio/video appeal. "People want their information NOW....which they prefer to get online," according to the WSJ survey. The explosion in the popularity of YouTube has also proven this fact. YouTube was recently purchased by Google for several billion dollars.
AreaSports.net recently introduced LIVE VIDEO streaming, known as RamVision for Mt. Vernon games, and SpartanVision for Waltonville games. Other schools were soon added, including Nashville, Pinckneyville, McLeansboro, and Kaskaskia College. The video feed is also archived along with the digital audio for immediate access "on-demand" so you never have to miss a game, no matter where you live. AreaSports.net also produced a live Video Broadcast of (10) games from the 63rd Annual Centralia Holiday Tournament in 2005, as well as live audio webcasts from the Conrad Allen Holiday Tourney in Wayne City, the Salem Invitational Tourney, and the Sesser-Valier Holiday Tourney. Additional Live Video webcasts were streamed from the 2006 Centralia Holiday Tourney and the Salem Invitational Tourney.
Olson points out that AreaSports.net can publish information immediately. "The website is updated several times daily," said Olson. " We can post scores long before you will ever hear them on the radio or read them in the paper and our new video streaming technology allows people to watch a game live, or watch it when they get home, on their schedule, instead of a certain night or a certain time." Sharing the play-by-play description with Olson is former coaching veteran, Marty Pulley. They cover the Rams, Lady Rams, South-7 Conference and some Mid-South Conference games, as well as Kaskaskia College and Rend Lake College. AreaSports.net was also the voice of the SIJHSAA Boys & Girls State Tournament again last year at Rend Lake College. Those games were also archived.
In May of 2006, the website launched a weekly Video Sports Talk Show called "The Sports Couch." This unique show is shot live in our Mt. Vernon studio every Sunday afternoon and then immediately archived for future viewing on the website. The show is hosted by Randy Olson, Marty Pulley, and Jack Clark. The weekly show features video highlights, sports talk, and interviews, and is about 90 minutes in length. In addition to streaming the show online, "The Sports Couch" is also aired every Sunday night and Monday night at 8pm on Charter Communications Cable TV Channel 10 in the communities of Nashville, Mt. Vernon, Centralia, Salem, Dix, Bluford, Woodlawn, Waltonville, Okawville, Odin, and Sandoval. It is the only video sports show of it's kind in southern Illinois. By producing our TV Show on Sunday, we are able to cover sporting events that occur on Saturday, which the other area media is unable to cover in a timely manner. To watch any of the previous "Sports Couch" shows in our broadcast archives---just click here.
In June of 2006, AreaSports.net began a broadcasting & marketing relationship with Stratmeyer Media, also known as 102.1 FM, WIBV....the Home of Today's Best Country. Through this arrangement, AreaSports.net now provides a daily 3-minute "AreaSports Report" that airs on 102.1 FM each weekday morning at 7:35am, 8:35am, and 9:35am. The same broadcast is also now posted each weekday morning on the front page of the website in the upper right-hand corner as an mp3 file that people can easily listen to while at their work desk. The fast-paced report routinely features more scores and area sports information than you will find in your morning paper (due to press deadlines) or on other local radio stations, who only read you the AP wire stories. "We know people appreciate the new mp3 feature on the website," said Olson. "The AreaSports Report averages around 500 click-through listeners each weekday." Listenership to WIBV, 102.1FM has also gone up and the radio station smartly teamed up with AreaSports.net to "simulcast" the play-by-play of the tremendous run by the O'Fallon Panthers boys basketball team in the 2007 post-season. The Panthers finished 2nd in the state in Class AA.
In August of 2006, AreaSports.net announced a new programming relationship with Charter Communications. This arrangement includes producing BOTH the video & audio play-by-play coverage of Mt. Vernon Rams football & basketball for the 2006-2007 school year. The state-of-the-art coverage is anchored in the booth by Randy Olson & Marty Pulley. All the Rams games that are produced & streamed on this website will now also air on Charter Communications Cable TV Channel 10.
In November of 2006, AreaSports.net began a marketing relationship with Kaskaskia College in Centralia to provide LIVE and archived broadcasts of Blue Devils & Blue Angels basketball. Charter Communications also carried most of the games in a re-broadcast on Cable TV.
The audience for AreaSports.net has been growing dramatically since it's launch, now averaging over 10,200 hits a day. The website has an ALEXA ranking that is among the Top 4 most visited websites in central & southern Illinois. "We are thrilled by the numbers, but also very humbled by the response of the public," said Olson. "It means that we have a huge responsibility to maintain a high level of performance and dependability to keep our audience satisfied." To email scores, photos, or schedule changes: areasports2005@yahoo.com You can also email us if you have teams that you would like to see & hear covered on AreaSports.net
In January of 2007, AreaSports.net provided a LIVE Video Play-by-Play broadcast of the Pinckneyville vs Nashville boys basketball game direct from Pinckneyville. This highly anticipated, well-hyped match-up between the #4 and #5 ranked Class A teams in Illinois drew enormous interest. Not only did 3,200 fans attend the game at Thomas Gym in Pinckneyville, but we also attracted 6,375 computers attempting to access this single game on the same link over a 90-minute time frame. Unfortunately, this overwhelmed our streaming server, and not everyone had full access throughout the game, some users were blocked out or knocked off. As a result, we have added new streaming technology that enables us to spread our viewers and bandwidth over multiple servers simultaneously, instead of just one, thereby allowing everyone LIVE access to see video play-by-play of a popular game. This improvement in technology should prevent anyone from being turned away or cut-off on future broadcasts. The same game referenced above has been accessed several thousand times in our Archive Replays on-demand.
In August of 2007, AreaSports.net added a second Video Play-by-Play Broadcast set-up and established a working relationship with the Salem High School Sports Booster Club and WJBD Radio in Salem. Bill Hawley and Toby Gullion of WJBD provided the description which resulted in video coverage of Salem Wildcats football games on AreaSports.net which are also archived for future viewing "on-demand."
In October of 2007, AreaSports.net reached an agreement with Rend Lake College to begin providing Live & Archived Video Play-by-Play broadcasts of selected Warriors and Lady Warriors basketball games. This schedule will coincide with the continued video play-by-play coverage of Kaskaskia College, as well as area high schools and grade schools.
In December of 2007, AreaSports.net began a working relationship with New Wave Communications Cable TV and the broadcasting department of Wabash Valley College to begin providing video play-by-play content of area high school games to communities served by New Wave Communications. The first pioneer broadcast for the new Cable TV affiliation was completed on December 12, 2007 which featured the Fairfield Mules and the Hamilton County Foxes of McLeansboro. The game was streamed and archived on our website at AreaSports.net and was re-broadcast to Cable TV homes in Fairfield, Mt. Carmel, Albion, Wayne City and McLeansboro. More games will be broadcast in the future for New Wave Communications, and they will begin to re-broadcast the weekly Sports Couch TV Show as well. In addition, some of the sports content produced by the Wabash Valley College broadcasting department will begin to be streamed & archived on AreaSports.net including Mt. Carmel Aces and Warriors Basketball.
As internet broadcast pioneers, AreaSports.net realizes that your computer is quickly becoming your TV, and we are preparing the local programming outlet for the future. Mike Walker of Digital Video Visions has been instrumental in helping to launch the video technology now employed on the website. Walker's editing skills were evident during the 2005 football season, when AreaSports.net combined with Walker to produce unique 2-camera sideline productions of the Mt. Vernon Rams during the school record 11-1 high school football season. Walker and Olson also teamed up with James Lee of Rendered Speechless Productions to produce a 65-minute Basketball Training DVD featuring Coach Doug Creel of the Mt. Vernon Rams. The DVD has been selling nationwide to coaches who want to learn how to "Win Basketball Games with Less Talent" as the title indicates.
AreaSports.net represents a great advertising opportunity for businesses. Due to the hit counters on our webcasts, we know exactly how many people watch each video webcast, just like we know how many people visit the website every hour of every day to check scores, schedules, stories, archive videos & photos. Data like this is not available to advertisers on radio or in print media. They can only guess at their audience size. This website also features a Business Directory and rotating business card banner ad options that can link directly to a business. If you would like to support the efforts of this website and effectively promote your business with an affordable advertising package, we welcome you to jump in on the ground floor of an exciting new media opportunity!
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