Watching Wichita State basketball on TV is a growth industry

Myles Solomon represents five NCAA Division I men’s basketball coaches, including Wichita State’s Gregg Marshall.

He monitors the ups and downs for all of them on his TV or smartphone. Like many out-of-town fans, Solomon finds it easier in recent years to watch the Shockers. This season, a person who lives in Chicago or Dallas or Phoenix can watch every WSU game, either on traditional TV or through ESPN’s Internet services. When his schedule is packed, Solomon will split his viewing into four screens to keep up on coaches, such as College of Charleston’s Earl Grant, and the three assistants that he works with.

“I have to keep track of clients all over the country,” said Solomon, who lives in Atlanta. “You want to know what they’re going through and what’s happening in their lives. In season, they don’t necessarily need me a whole lot. You like to let them know you’re present and paying attention.”

Wichita State’s exposure on TV grew dramatically in recent seasons and hit a peak this season with every game on TV — even the exhibition and Sunday’s game against NCAA Division II Newman. In the past, a handful of non-conference games normally were not televised, other than on WSU’s in-house subscription service. Last season, three non-conference games were not televised and games against DePaul, Missouri State and Southern Illinois were shown only on ESPN3, ESPN’s Internet platform. While the option exists that four conference games could slip to ESPN3 only this season, WSU’s games are likely to be chosen for ESPNU on those days when ESPN selects its top MVC matchup to televise.

For long-distance fans, it’s Shocker viewing paradise. Many other college games, including from other Missouri Valley Conference schools, are also available, both live and on replay.

“I think it’s fantastic,” Solomon said. “I think ESPN is going to put themselves out of business because it really puts the power in the hands of the viewer. You make your own decision.”

Tommy Rudawsky is a senior at Chaminade College Prep School in St. Louis and plans to attend WSU, because of its sport management program. He started rooting for the Shockers in grade school and last season estimates he attended 18 games. When he can’t make a road trip to Koch Arena or a nearby MVC school, his TV and Internet connection give him the Shockers.

When I was in the sixth grade, it was really hard,” he said. “There were virtually no games on. Now, if you can’t watch a game it’s a surprise.”

WSU associate athletic director John Brewer attributes the growing availability to ESPN’s enthusiasm for portable viewing and people’s growing familiarity with technology. A fan with the right tier of cable or Internet TV subscription can add devices such as Apple TV, Roku, Xbox and Google Chromecast to show ESPN3.com on their TV sets. The WatchESPN app allows people to watch games (and replays) on their smart phone or tablet. Those options allow fans outside the Cox cable TV viewing areas to watch games shown on Cox 22. Cox began sharing its broadcasts with ESPN3 last season.

“Our goal is to provide to the consumer, to the Shocker fan every game that we play in a high-definition format,” Brewer said. “That’s what we’ve done.”

Fans who subscribe to Cox will see every game, either on an ESPN channel, Fox Sports Kansas City or Cox. Fans in Kansas and Missouri who don’t subscribe to Cox are the ones scrambling to find a friend or a sports bar to watch the 12 remaining games on Cox. They can watch on WSU’s ShockerVision, a subscription service with no blackout areas. Local fans who do not subscribe to Cox can watch replays on ESPN3.

Brewer often finds himself battling a perception problem with ShockerVision, an HD service that uses WSU’s radio broadcast for play by play. He regularly receives complaints that the feed on ShockerVision is fuzzy, slow or jerky. If all the technology is current and compatible, he said subscribers should get a picture comparable to high-definition TV.

“We are pushing a high-definition feed at a very high bit rate,” Brewer said. “Depending on the end user’s technology and internet service connection, that can be a challenge. If your computer and your technology is up to date, it should be like watching it on your television.”

This story was originally published November 20, 2014 at 3:49 PM with the headline "Watching Wichita State basketball on TV is a growth industry."