Livestreaming opens new revenue streams

At least one Missouri newspaper is finding that livestreaming high school games and other community events is “incredibly profitable.”

According to publisher Isaiah Buse, the Houston Herald generates a significant annual revenue stream from 30-second commercials that run during livestreams of football, volleyball and basketball games, sports banquets, graduations and community parades. The revenue also includes a small amount from the Missouri State High School Activities Association for livestreaming football playoff games.

Buse, publisher since 2023, is quick to point out that Houston Herald Live predates his tenure. The livestreaming operation has been broadcasting for 15 years.

“It wasn’t my idea; it existed before me,” Buse said. “It is a good service to the school and the community.”

The initial investment was modest: a laptop, sound board, microphone headsets, camera, hotspot, cables and cords. Continuing expenses include wages for part-time workers and about $1,000 a year paid to Houston High School.

“The hardest part is getting people to work it,” said Buse, who suggests partnering with a high school media class.

Buse doesn’t have a set role during the livestreams, but pitches in by producing commercials, handling replays and creating graphics.

Houston Herald Live operates primarily from August through March, with its busiest stretch coming between September and November. Road trips for the sporting events, including a 280-mile roundtrip to Pierce City for the football season opener, can be demanding.

“Once you hit spring sports, you don’t do much except for banquets,” Buse said.

Advertisers during the 2026 football season have included Five Star Insurance, Faith Fellowship Church, In Season Sports & Outdoors, Missouri State University-West Plains, Corner Express convenience store, Simmons Bank, Shelter Insurance, CHC Home Center, Piney River Ford, and Texas County Memorial Hospital. The 30-second commercials, sold and produced by the Herald staff, are of high quality.

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Another Missouri weekly recently entered the livestreaming business, hoping to create a new revenue stream while giving its community another way to follow local events.

“We are providing a service to folks who can’t travel to the games that will now be further away with Mexico High School joining a new conference next year,” said Mexico Ledger publisher Tim Schmidt. “There may also be weather issues that would prohibit people from attending.”

Schmidt sees distinct advantages to a video format over traditional print.

“As print readership continues to decline, video may be the avenue we all need to look at within the industry,” he said. “The printed paper may not be as much of a focus. It all depends on what your community wants, of course.

“I also think video might work better for sports. Readership of game coverage is not there. If you’re interested in sports, you already know who won. And, video is helping us reach a younger audience.”

Schmidt began producing video in Mexico a year ago through a branding initiative he calls Studio Audrain. Its tagline describes the venture this way: “Studio Audrain, powered by The Mexico Ledger, is your front-row seat to what’s happening in Audrain County and beyond.” In addition to the football games, it produces two other weekly segments: Saturday Sports Talk and Community Matters.

Schmidt, who also owns the Montgomery Standard in Montgomery County and the Warren County Record in Warrenton, plans to expand video production to those newspapers as well, under the names Studio Montgomery and Studio Westplex. The latter draws on “Westplex,” a regional term for the western portion of the St. Louis metro area.

The Mexico Ledger has already lined up nine sponsors for the football season. Multiple pay $1,800 each as premium sponsors, whose commercials run during the pregame, halftime and postgame portions of the broadcasts. Schmidt hopes the operation will generate about $13,000 this year.

“We have opened some doors to some advertisers who had done very little with us,” he said. “Some of the advertisers wanted to see the first game before committing.”

Schmidt also has sought longer-term advertising commitments rather than one-game sponsorships, which he says are less attractive because of the time and production costs involved. Sponsors also receive exclusivity within their business category.

“For example, we won’t have two banks sponsoring the broadcasts,” he said.

The Mexico Ledger’s game crew includes a University of Missouri student handling play-by-play, a Missourinet anchor-reporter providing color commentary, a William Woods University student operating the camera and laptop, and a Ledger staff writer coordinating the production and making sure everything runs smoothly.

Schmidt plans to broaden the coverage this winter, adding boys’ and girls’ basketball, weekday sports highlights, and community events beyond athletics, including the midafternoon homecoming parade.