By Lauren Otis, Business Editor
A Sarnoff Corp. subsidiary company has started a venture which is banking on the fact that Fairleigh Dickinson alumni are just as passionate about their alma mater’s sports as Penn State or University of Southern California alumni are.
The company, West Windsor-based Pajama Channels, has launched and is developing a new webcast product called TeamWatch whereby Division II and III colleges can broadcast sports events easily and cheaply, enabling alumni and fans to watch a full season of home games rather than just tournament or other special games.
”Penn State is not going to have a whole lot of problem getting their sports broadcast,” said Sarah Paris-Mascicki, a Pajama Channels founder and its vice president of marketing. But small schools, whose smaller sports budgets and staff hinder them, can sign up for TeamWatch and install its bank of unmanned “smart cameras” which are programmed to track a sports event from beginning to end, transmitting it over the Internet, Ms. Paris-Mascicki said.
Ms. Paris-Mascicki said the webcast product should benefit not only fans, but the colleges themselves who can increase team exposure, support sports programs and even benefit fundraising efforts.
Pajama Channels installs cameras and a computer system on site, and hosts the broadcast itself through a link to the college’s own web site, Ms. Paris-Mascicki said. Without needing to be manned, the cameras are programmed to automatically turn on at the scheduled date and time for each game, and automatically and intelligently follow the action, she said.
The system requires “different software modules to handle different sports,” she said, and Pajama Channels is developing these modules as they go. Currently, the unmanned cameras can be programmed to track volleyball and basketball games, with soccer, lacrosse, field hockey and other sports to follow, she said. “We are providing you with an automated hassle-free video stream,” she said, as well as the means for fans to log onto the Internet from anywhere and watch.
Other commercial ventures have launched which provide streaming video over the Internet for sporting events, including a company called Narrowstep, which has offices in Princeton, New York City and London. The difference between Narrowstep and Pajama Channels is “we provide the full service end to end,” Ms. Paris-Mascicki said, by providing the video as well as the platform to broadcast it over the Internet.
Currently, TeamWatch systems have been installed at Fairleigh Dickinson University and New Jersey Institute of Technology as pilot programs, with several other schools lined up, Ms. Paris-Mascicki said. “We are going to work out the kinks and bugs with them,” she said.
”At FDU we’ve found that devoted boosters, alumni, ex-FDU athletes, and players’ families often have a deep connection with FDU athletics, and for many of these fans, TeamWatch is the best way to keep in touch,” stated FDU Athletic Director William T. Klika Jr. in a Sarnoff release.
”From an administrative standpoint, TeamWatch provides a creative and relevant way for the university to build relationships with alumni, enhance efforts to recruit new student athletes, increase school recognition, and raise interest in our programs,” Mr. Klika stated.
So far, Ms. Paris-Mascicki said, “we are being really well received. We are excited about it.”
