FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, January 28, 2013
Contact: Hal Phillips
617-849-8503
hphillips@mandarinmedia.net
Contact: Doug Finck
207-774-0051, ext. 155
dfinck@ourmaine.com
Night of Rivals Spotlights New Technology, Old Foes
LEWISTON, Maine — Cutting-edge broadcast technology and two of Maine’s premier
sporting rivalries will play out side by side the first full week in February, when WPMETV airs the first two installments of a new, live sports program, Night of Rivals.
Night of Rivals will debut Monday, Feb. 4 at 7:30 p.m., with the St. Dominic Academy
vs. Lewiston High hockey game, followed by the Edward Little v. Lewiston basketball
doubleheader on Thursday, Feb. 7 (6 p.m.).
Live, local sports programming in high-definition remains a rarity in Maine, but the
technical delivery of these two February events will further evolve the way local events
are broadcast here, according to Night of Rivals co-producers Standing Oak Media and
Mandarin Media.
“Live sporting events are complex productions that require a lot of specialized
equipment, and over the past few years we’ve seen huge advances in digital technology,”
explained Randy Visser, president of Gray-based Standing Oak. “The signal from both
Night of Rivals broadcasts will be delivered to WPME-TV via a unique bonded cellular
system provided by LiveU.tv. We’re talking about broadcast quality signals sent directly
to the station using cell phone technology, which really opens up the market for live,
local programming. We can also stream the same high definition stream over the Internet
and make it available directly off school web sites.”
“Of course, Night of Rivals is about something far more emotional — the chance to
present two tremendous, local high school rivalries to fans across the region, over the air,
in High Definition with all the bells and whistles. How cool is that?”
WPME-TV is available on channel 35 over the air and via the DirectTV/Dish Network.
It’s also a staple on every cable package in Central and Southern Maine:
• On Time Warner Cable, WPME-TV is channels 17 and 517 (the high-definition option)
in Cumberland and York counties; channels 3 and 703 in Kennebec, Androscoggin,
Oxford and Lincoln counties; channels 4 and 703 in Knox County; channels 11 and 711
in Franklin County; and channels 5 and 705 in Carroll and Coos counties, NH.
• On Comcast, WPME is channels 4 and 505
• On Metrocast, WPME is channels 18 and 718
The Feb. 4 broadcast will originate live from the Androscoggin Bank Colisée in
Lewiston, and Maine high school hockey doesn’t get any more “high stakes” than
Lewiston v. St. Doms, two of the state’s perennial powers (they’ve won 44 state titles
between them). When this fixture rolls around, even the mighty Androscoggin River
cannot effectively parse the loyalties among Twin City hockey fans.
“St. Doms folks will be sure to point out that they’ve won 24 titles, and Lewiston just
20,” said Mandarin Media’s Hal Phillips, who will call the game beside color analyst
Barry Mothes, longtime hockey coach at Greely High School.
“But the location of St. Doms in Auburn and Lewiston right across The Bridge only
scratches the surface. These kids grew up playing together on various youth teams, so
there’s something extra — something immediate — building on that history. When they
square off at the high school level, with state tournament seeding at stake and a packed
house of partisans at the Colisée, it’s going to be electric.”
Lewiston and St. Dom’s skated to a 2-2 draw in the season’s first meeting on Dec. 23.
Night of Rivals shines its spotlight on the hard court Feb. 7, when Edward Little High
School of Auburn crosses The Bridge to face Lewiston High in a pair of regular-season
finales. The girls tip off at 6 p.m., while the boys take the court at approximately 7:30
p.m.
“The Red Eddies have one of the premier basketball programs in Maine Class A, but you
know what they say: You throw the records away when these two schools play each
other, in anything,” said Phillips, who will call the doubleheader beside noted L-A
basketball authority Bim Gibson. “The boys’ game Feb. 7 should be particularly
intriguing. Lewiston went to EL on Dec. 21 and lost by five; they were tied with 20
seconds to go. With the Blue Devils on home court, this one’s a toss-up.”
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WPME-TV is owned by MPS Media License of Portland, LLC and is operated by New
Age Media through a joint services agreement. WPME-TV is the My Network affililiate
for central and southern Maine. For more information contact Doug Finck at 207-7740051, ext. 155. Email: dfinck@ourmaine.com
Standing Oak Media is a network of experienced video producers and media educators
committed to multi-disciplinary production and problem-solving, from custom video
engineering, to live multi-camera broadcast events to HD web streaming, domestic and
international. For more information, contact Randy Visser at (207) 807-0703 or
randyvisser@me.com
Mandarin Media is a multi-media agency that practices agency. With offices in Portland,
Singapore and Saigon, MM specializes in producing for clients sophisticated PR, web
development and video/broadcast results in English- and Chinese-language markets
worldwide. For more information, contact Hal Phillips at 617-849-8503 or
hphillips@mandarinmedia.net