TommyTV is not merely the name of Taylorville High School’s live sports streaming presence; it’s an academic program all about live television production.  Students can be involved in any area of the work, including cameras, graphics, video editing, and even being appearing on air.  They have had opportunities to visit professional TV production environments, which some are striving for in the future. 

TommyTV broadcasts all home football games and most such away games, as well as all home basketball games for both boys and girls.  They also broadcast select events in the school’s other sports.  Their football and basketball broadcasts carry the audio commentary heard on WTIM Your Information Station and 96.5 The Chill.

Broadcasts can be viewed from TommyTV’s YouTube and Facebook pages.  In addition to the traditional broadcasts, TommyTV provides a unique alternative viewing experience called “Director’s Seat.”  This stream shows all of the camera and graphics shots as the behind-the-scenes team sees them and also features their live communication as the broadcast plays out.

Ella Hohenstein, Hannah Nieders, Alexis Henry, and Noah Williams are among the students involved with TommyTV.  They say they most enjoy putting together well produced broadcasts they are proud of.

The group’s recent trip was to the Big Ten Network’s broadcast headquarters in Chicago.  They visited that along with the production facilities at Northwestern University, which operates as part of the network’s Student U program.

TommyTV has a tradition of hosting what it calls the Tommy Awards.  It’s an Oscars-style show honoring the best of Taylorville schools and the city as a whole.  TommyTV produces its own broadcast, much like how the Oscars and similar shows are televised.  This year’s Tommy Awards are scheduled for May 9.

More information on Taylorville High School is available at ths.tcusd3.org. 

Alexis Henry, Ella Hohenstein, Hannah Nieders, and Noah Williams appeared as guests on the WTIM Morning Show as part of the WTIM High School Road Tour’s visit to Taylorville.