Why Aren’t Games Broadcasted at Jenks?
By: Jack McInelly
At Jenks, it feels like there’s something always going on. Especially when it revolves around sports, where Jenks strongly excels at. Amongst most sports, Jenks has over 200+ state championships. The surrounding school districts simply can’t compete. Union, Broken Arrow, and Bixby combine for just under 200 championships. Except for maybe a few outliers, barely any of these amazing games are streamed for viewers at home. Bixby, Owasso, and Broken Arrow all broadcast their games, so why can’t we?
Pic Creds: Jenks Yearbook, Sutton Spinner
In the past, one of the reasons for the lack of broadcasting to people at home was to encourage in-person attendance and boost ticket sales. There is no denying that Jenks lags behind other districts in terms of live-streaming sports and other events. Surrounding schools will be broadcasted to the people at home. In the first year, the class will focus on have been broadcasting for years. However, Jenks has a plan to advance broadcasting technology. Starting in the next school year (2023-2024) Jenks High School will offer a broadcasting course. The main goal of this program is to train students to stream live events. As the program grows and more students take the class, more events stream football and basketball games. To get the details over the future, I spoke to Rob Loeber, director of communications at JHS.
“In a few years, we are confident we will be in a better place and even surpass some of our surrounding districts,” says Loeber.
This is a great step in the right direction for Jenks. Grandparents can watch their grandchildren play from the other side of the world. Athletes wanting to play in college now can get more exposure, leading to more opportunities to play at the next level. With students running the broadcasts, they can now follow and explore career interests they may have. This will also help with the lack of highlighting sports when it comes to broadcasting. If you have any further questions or information about the upcoming broadcasting course, you can message Rob.Lober@jenksps.org.
