What benefits does the Web offer for reaching Michigan fans?

"...When we started out we put our ticket information up there, who to call, information on the coaches [etc.]. And as time went on we realized a lot more was wanted. The first thing we did was put up all the scores, articles of interest, components the average sports fan would really enjoy. And this process really grew. As the fans required more and wanted more, we fed them more...

As we put up our content on video and audio throughout the country, we received letters from all over the world...'Thank you for very much for doing this...' We think it's a real opportunity to take to our fans and alumni around the world insights into what's going on with Michigan athletics.

Are you suprised at the number of visitors to the site and the response?

"I think most people didn't realize the effect of the Web because it's so dynamic and it's growing at a pace that I think most people don't realize. And what's interesting too is as we promote the concept of bringing video and audio to the Internet, as the technology improves, as the pipeline gets bigger and compression gets better, we're going to have pretty good quality for the average fan. If someone has a T-1 line they can get pretty good stuff from us. It's quite good, but the average person doesn't have a T-1 line. However, [in the next few years] wide bandwidth is going to be very popular and will be very convenient and cost effective for many people.

What do you see taking place over the next few years?

"...We're working on a project right now in which we can get high quality video through Internet2. The major universities across the country are connected. And we're working on a committee that we hope will represent athletic interests throughout the country. So we can exchange high quality audio and video over the Internet, which would allow each institution to put up that information on a closed circuit t.v. And we can see all the athletic events at other institutions when our althletes are playing away. And that can be done right now.

What we anticipate will take place in the future is that the distribution of our content will be under our control and not an ABC or an NBC or a CBS. And that's going to be a while before that takes place. But that's what we see as the ultimate end of this process. As the content improves, the bandwidth gets bigger, the compression gets more developed and the components we think are right there for the average fan to get real good quality video. And we believe in the next 6 to 10 years that that quality will be the same kind of quality that you get in your tv.

How many fans are using the site?

"We hit a high point last November when we had about 100,000 plus unique users over a month's period of time (10 million hits)...So those numbers are certainly not awesome by any means, but it does show that there is a strong interest in what we're doing. And its building on almost a steady basis. Users are spending more time on our site than they even did last summer.

What is the content on the site?

"The basic rule is that if it's on the air or it's on television we put it on the Internet. Now our contract with ABC and ESPN and NBC sometimes stops us from doing it on live. But after a certain period of time we can put highlights on and that's what we've done to this point. As an example, every single hockey game has been put up on the Internet and can be seen throughout the world. And, of course, you have a little 2" by 2" picture and its difficult to follow that puck, but it does give you the basics and it has pretty good audio and it serves a purpose that we believe will be cultivated and certainly improved technically over the next several years.

What facilities do you have for producing content?

"...Our production facility allows us to have a studio [in Chrysler Arena and Michigan Stadium] and produce our own shows. At one time our coaches shows were done in Detroit. We do them here now and control them ourselves. And what this production facility allow us to do is take that content and allows us to first put it up first of all on a satellite if we chose to do so and send it throughout the world with television quality. Second we have the opportunity to put it on Channel 14, our athletic channel. We, whenever possible, put all of our information there. In a closed circuit enviroment we're allowed to do that.

That also allows us to put it out on the Internet... And anything tied to that such as coaches interviews, the kinds of face-to-face components that take place after the game, we get that on and also send that out as well. And that allows us to really get that information and distribute it throughout the world. And when we are restricted by an ABC or a CBS we block that out in terms of a live broadcast. But we certainly always do audio live and next fall during football season we'll do photographs live with our statistics. So as the game goes on we give people the statistics they can see, graphics that are there, the audio portion, and we can do photographs as well. So that component we think will enhance the fan's excitement about what is going on."

How many simultaneous users can access the site?

What can people expect to see over the next one to two years?

How will you pay for the expansion of Mgoblue.com?

"We've looked at this quite extensively...We have several advertisers that use our site. And there's obviously revenue that can be generated just as we have signage in Chrysler and Yost and other venues. And so we receive revenue from that and it's obviously helpful and we think there is real opportunity.

What happens when you are going out and doing these kinds of investments, there has to be a way to pay for the cost. Especially the cost of going out and acquiring all these components. So these unique kinds of things that we're doing, unfortunately one day we will have to charge for. And the tough thing is that in most cases most things are free on the Web. There are things that people have to pay for. But what we feel is that we're going to offer 85 percent of our text, video and audio and components for free. But what we do is come to a point where we'll have a surcharge or a subscription method that will allow them to get the kinds of extra things we're doing right now. We are refining those things now, there are glitches. We do not want to start out asking people for money when we don't have the process refined, so that we know it's good quality. The expertise is there. We hope the process will be in place in the next year. And we hope to have a way that we can bring revenue in and pay for the cost of covering all these sports. And it won't be a lot of money, but we think that the value people will get will be well worth it."

What might the future look like?

"We think as time goes on we, the universities, can control [our content] and no longer be at the mercy of the CBS's and ESPN's. That's certainly going to take some time. And it will probably evolve over a period of time. Where we control some distribution and ABC and ESPN will control some distribution...

Perhaps we will all watch tv on some combination of computer and the tv and we at the university will have the opportunity to control that...and allow people to have their own camera angle. See what they want to see. Not to have a person in the booth saying you're going to see this or you're going to see that.

They will have a chance to see the different views of the cameras. To see them all together if they choose. Have it all run back because it's in digital format. Get the statistics as you go. Look at the history. Tie things together that promote the game, whether it be merchandise or a book about the coach. There are so many things that happen now that we can tie together with the technology. That makes it a very exciting thing.

Is there anything else people should know?

If anyone is interested in passing on to us examples of content they'd be interested in seeing and hearing about, areas our fans would like to know more about... I'd encourage them to contact me through my e-mail cecchini@umich.edu.

Suggestions on how we can improve content, on how we can better provide the context of that content and any view that they might have that they'd be willing to share I would love to hear about it.

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