Bucknell University

Customer Experience

“D&E Communications is the most reliable provider we have had in the league this year. D&E goes the extra mile to do a first-rate job. They even had their engineers at our first games, just to make sure everything went smoothly, and that level of service is unheard of!” remarked Veteran broadcaster, co-producer of the Patriot League “Game of the Week” and attorney Frank Santore

Read the Case Study.

Case Study

Problem

How could the Bucknell University basketball team broadcast their games to a fan base that has grown to be a nationwide audience?

The solution was a contract between Broadcast Marketing Services (BMS) in Birmingham, Ala., and New York-based SIRIUS Radio, to broadcast the Bucknell basketball games nationally as part of the Patriot League’s “Game of the Week” series on SIRIUS radio.

The main issue involved in making the broadcasts a reality was the technology needed to make the connection between the games and the SIRIUS network. The next hurdle was how build a solution in record time so as to not miss any of the games.

D&E’s Solution

Providing the Sojka Pavilion at Bucknell with the ability to connect to the SIRIUS broadcast required some special engineering that the team at D&E Communications took on as a top priority.

Bill Ingram, account executive with D&E Communications, said that the solution that makes the SIRIUS broadcasts possible was the installation of a special high-quality digital circuit at Sojka Pavilion, Bucknell’s basketball arena.

This special circuit provides a single telephone line that can carry simultaneous voice, data and video communications. In this case, only voice was needed to enable the SIRIUS game announcers to send their broadcast back to New York where it would then be sent to one of three SIRIUS satellites and broadcast to subscribers nationwide.

Ingram noted that the special circuit was the ideal solution because it is flexible, portable and digital. Network news reporters often use similar technology when reporting from remote locations such as on-the-spot interviews with political candidates. They also are popular with sports commentators.

D&E engineers went to work on January 5th, and by January 8 everything was in place to broadcast the game between the Eagles of American University and the Bison of Bucknell. Seven basketball games were broadcast this season, and everything has been working smoothly, to the delight of listeners all over the country.

Veteran broadcaster, co-producer of the Patriot League “Game of the Week” and attorney Frank Santore helped negotiate the contract and said he was amazed at how quickly D&E Communications worked to get the job done. “We signed the contract just before Christmas and when D&E got the order their engineers had less than two weeks to get the line up and running
so we could air our first broadcast. Larger companies require at least 30 days notice. D&E got the job done in just a few days with excellent service and terrific quality.” Santore has been broadcasting NCAA Division 1 basketball games and regional baseball for almost 20 years.