Provided to the MAB by MHSAA:

The MHSAA will coordinate audio broadcasts of championship events in a variety of sports formatted for over-the-air use for the 2023-24 school year.  The MHSAA will again offer a rights fee waiver program for the school year to network affiliates wishing to originate postseason tournament events. Stations qualify for this year-long rights fee waiver by meeting all the conditions below:

• Carrying at least four games in any combination of the Girls and/or Boys Basketball Finals feed (network origination or local origination).
• Airing the weekly “This Week in High School Sports” program at least once a week, including it in a broadcast of a high school sporting event that the station originates. The program will be available every week during the Football and Basketball seasons. “This Week In High School Sports” is an MP3 downloadable file that will be available by Tuesday afternoon each week. “This Week In High School Sports” is five (5) minutes in length, and network stations will be invited to submit stories and sound bites.
• Submitting their Declaration of Clearance and paying a one-time administrative fee of $100 for the 2023-24 school year no later than Sept. 29.

Membership does have its privileges. Affiliates will have their broadcast rights fees waived for MHSAA postseason events and they may reposition their broadcasts to sell as podcasts, downloads and CDs with no additional fees.

The Declaration of Clearance Form for 2023-24 is now online. Go to the MHSAA Website, and at the bottom of the page, under Media, click on Broadcast Info to get to the form. To assist us in our preparations, we encourage you to submit the Declaration of Clearance form no later than September 29 and help provide valuable statewide recognition for the student-athletes who participate in MHSAA tournaments. If you wish to join the network at a later date or clear selected programming, you will be given the option to do so, but you will not receive a rights fee waiver.

This a reminder to all stations that you must have an online account with the MHSAA to apply to cover tournament games. The entire process is now online, and those stations which are not members of the MHSAA Network are required to prepay their rights fees by credit card in advance before they will be approved for broadcast. Please contact our office so we can register you – media@mhsaa.com.

There are no significant change to the Multimedia Regulations for 2023-24 that affect audio broadcasts.

• All audio outlets must apply for Tournament Media Credentials to avoid the need to issue passes on a per event basis. More information can be found on the Credentials page of the MHSAA Website - https://www.mhsaa.com/live/media-credentials. I suggest applying for credentials now and not waiting to see if your local teams advance in the postseason.
• The online Broadcast Application form will provide you an opportunity to submit the names of your staff members going to a tournament center to the tournament manager. Please fill this out even if you have Tournament Media Credentials.
• Your outlet will also be sent a confirmation via e-mail once your application has been approved.
• You are responsible for your own transmission arrangements. Schools are not required to have telephone lines or internet access for outlets.
• If you arrive at a site without having made application with the MHSAA office to originate a contest, tournament managers have been instructed to not allow such outlets to originate.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact this office. We appreciate your support of interscholastic athletics and look forward to serving you in the year ahead.

Download the MHSAA Network Services brochure here.