By Michael Lindsay
With the fall sports season fast approaching, Upper Cumberland Reporter is proud to announce multiple new live shows and content improvements for 2023.
“We’re excited about the new content coming,” said UCR Co-Owner/COO Noah McKay. “We’re putting an emphasis on a constant flow of content surrounding high school sports in the area.”
UCR is the largest media company in the Upper Cumberland with more than 37,000 Facebook followers and nearly 5 million website clicks in 2022. UCR covers 17 schools in 11 counties with live-streamed games, written content, photo galleries, highlight videos, coaches shows and more.
Along with their already-stellar lineup, UCR is adding two new live shows, volleyball live streams, increasing the number of football streams and improving the game of the week broadcast in 2023.
More details on 2023’s changes below:
UC Gameday Morning
UCR is proud to announce their new Friday morning gameday show in the fall, UC Gameday Morning.
“UC Gameday Morning will be the kickoff to Fridays during football season,” McKay said. “It’ll be an opportunity to talk about other sports as well, like volleyball, soccer and golf. Fridays will be a big deal for us in the fall. We want them to be a big deal for the athletes and the communities, and we plan to do our part to make that happen.”
UC Gameday Morning will feature appearances from the UCR team and guests to discuss the week in fall sports and look ahead to the football action that Friday night.
UC Gameday Morning will air live on the UCR Facebook Page on Friday mornings during football season, time TBD.
Friday Night End Zone
Following the thrilling football action on Friday nights, UCR will recap it all with the Friday Night End Zone Show.
“It will be after games end on Friday night,” McKay said. “It will be a live show on Facebook where we talk about the games and stories in a more casual fashion. We want people hanging out in the comments section and wherever we are.”
Friday Night End Zone will air live on UCR’s Facebook page following the conclusion of football games in the Upper Cumberland and will feature appearances from UCR’s full-time team, commentators and guests.
6 Live-Streamed Football Games Every Friday Night
UCR is increasing from 4 live-streamed games to 6 every Friday night to bring even more high school sports directly to fans in the Upper Cumberland, all for free.
“It’s a challenge,” McKay said on live-streaming 6 games. “But it’s a fun one. It starts with the team we’ve built in Michael Lindsay, Jacob Vinson and Rusty Ellis as the full-time employees. They take a lot off of my plate and accomplish a lot of things.
“We’ve got the best commentary crew you’re going to find,” McKay added. “We’ve got 13 commentators along with camera operators and photographers. We’ve got over 20 people who help us out on Friday nights, and it’s all about the kids and putting a spotlight on them.”
UCR will live-stream every Cookeville, Livingston, Monterey, Upperman and White County game along with a rotating 6th stream. UCR also features a Game of the Week each Friday night with the biggest matchup on the Upper Cumberland.
Football Game of the Week Improvements
UCR’s Game of the Week will be bigger than ever with multiple improvements to enhance content available to viewers.
“The production value is going up,” McKay said. “We want it to look great and show off what the athletes are doing. We’ve got a few bells and whistles to add. We’ll have multiple camera angles and instant replay.”
Upper Cumberland Reporter is also adding a third voice to their game of the week broadcast crew alongside Noah McKay and Justin Matheney.
“We’ll have Halle Ledbetter as a sideline reporter, who people will recognize from her playing days at Livingston Academy,” McKay said. “We’re excited to have her and know she will do great things.”
Midweek Volleyball Livestreams
UCR is hitting the hardwood in the fall as volleyball has been added to the 2023 livestream schedule.
“People have been asking for this for a long time,” said McKay. “Jacob Vinson is going to stream volleyball on the UCR Facebook page, and we’re really excited about that. Jacob has called volleyball at the collegiate level, and now he’s going to do it in the Upper Cumberland.”
UCR’s volleyball streams will feature multiple teams throughout the Upper Cumberland during the week on the main UCR Facebook page.
