Stack Streaming are proud to work alongside the Mechanicsburg (PA) Area School District – a mid-sized, suburban public school district serving the Harrisburg suburbs of Mechanicsburg and Upper Allen Township in Pennsylvania.

The Mechanicsburg Area School District have long tried to increase awareness and coverage of their high school sports – which range from football, basketball and field hockey to wrestling, soccer and lacrosse, among others.

So, how have the Mechanicsburg Area School District found their Stack Streaming experience?

“A very user-friendly platform”

At the forefront of their increased digitization is Mike Garland – a broadcaster who began in the profession during his teenage years and has now spent over three decades honing his craft. 

Having enjoyed a slight pre-existing relationship with the Mechanicsburg Area School District before 2020, it was at this point when he was first properly approached by them during the Covid-19 pandemic.

A partnership was established with Meridix (now known as Stack Streaming) not long after, and there has been no looking back. 

Aside from covering a variety of sports, the platform is also used by the Mechanicsburg Area School District to showcase many other special events, including high school graduations for family and friends who are unable to attend. 

“One of the things we really like is the price point – it really does work for us and we try to utilize the platform as much as we can,” Garland said.

“We try to put at least one thing on the platform 11 months of the year – July is the only month where we don’t have very much happening. 

“It’s been a very user-friendly platform. There have been things suggested along the way by ourselves to the Stack Streaming team – some of which have been implemented and others which haven’t. 

“But in every instance, they have always been very receptive to listening to our needs and entertaining and actioning solutions wherever possible.”

Understanding the functionality of the platform

From a broadcasting background already, Stack Streaming gave Garland the opportunity to try a new platform and assess its capabilities.

When tailoring it to the needs of the Mechanicsburg Area School District, he admits he soon came to the conclusion that Stack Streaming’s accessibility meant the platform would also be ideal for individuals with a range of experience.

“It was exciting to see the opportunities which it offered, especially given I come from a broadcasting background,” Garland added.

“Not only do I do this locally for the high school, I also work with the National Football League (NFL), NCAA and national broadcasting entities from a production standpoint. 

“I’ve been able to take some of the things I’ve learned along the way and implement it into the Meridix (Stack Streaming) platform. Others possibly do more with the platform than I do, but I try to make the most of it based on the skills I have. 

“The platform is simple enough that someone with a reasonable skill set can produce their own game through a streaming platform.

“I can run our commercials, re-joins, opens, closes and pre-recorded interviews. I can also broadcast games with ease, and it’s a very user-friendly platform. 

“I go into the admin tool and like that I can customize colours, change out logos and things like that. 

“The score overlay is really nice too, and the ease of access is top-notch.”

Stack Streaming’s potential

At present, the Mechanicsburg Area School District offer their wide array of streams free of charge. 

Instead, they opt to monetize in other ways by selling commercials to local businesses and playing them back during live broadcast. They also have a presenting sponsor, with a pre-roll playing before the broadcast itself kicks in for users who have just tuned in. 

Stack Streaming are proud to give streamers 100% control of the banner, pre-roll, and on-air ad space.

The platform even offers an integration with third-party ad networks, and with many other monetization tools available, Garland says there are many ways to move forward and fully utilize the tools available.

“I like that it’s almost a blank canvas in some respects,” he said.

“We’ve recently started implementing instant replays into our broadcasts. Meridix played no part in that, but the fact that we’re able to take the video we’re shooting, run it through another platform in OBS then through our broadcasting tool is really cool.

“There are some nice bits of functionality which make Stack Streaming a really good option for organizations like ourselves who are keen to shine more of a spotlight on our sports in a high-quality and professional way.”

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Photos courtesy of the Mechanicsburg Area School District.