As locally owned and operated hybrid sports broadcaster BarTV Sports moves from strength to strength in a rapidly growing industry, it is providing valuable lessons – and jobs – to local business and marketing students.

With 14.5% annual revenue growth between 2014 and 2019*, the Australian internet publishing and broadcasting industry holds plenty of opportunities for new and experienced entrants alike.

TAFE NSW Newcastle and BarTV have collaborated closely on a mutually beneficial work experience program for five years now, and this month the broadcaster hired its ninth local TAFE NSW student as a result.

BarTV produces and streams high definition content of grassroots and mid-tier sporting competitions, events and tournaments across Australia via the internet and its pub/club network, all from its high-tech local studio. This makes it the perfect work placement fit for Certificate IV in Business, Diploma of Business and Certificate IV in Marketing and Communication students, including its newest employee Ronan Barrett of Branxton.

Ronan said, “My experience with BarTV has been really valuable and fun. Brendan and his team are supportive, taking time to teach us the best filming and broadcasting techniques, and they trust us to work independently.

“I’ve travelled to several places to film, including rugby league at Cessnock and soccer at New Lambton, and I’ve scored games too. I was nervous about getting the filming right, but it felt great once everything went well.

“I can see myself working with BarTV for some time and building a film career. Camera operator work wasn’t something I thought I’d do until I took part in the program, but it’s interesting work and I’d like to do more of it. BarTV travels all over Australia and even overseas to capture games so there’s a lot of opportunity there.

“I’m also looking forward to going on to do the TAFE NSW Diploma of Marketing and Communication.”

At the forefront of live streaming and subscription technology, in 2018 BarTV broadcast 1,000+ games including rugby union, NRL, AFL, boxing, football and netball across many areas including Newcastle and all capital cities.

Owner Brendan McCormick says BarTV was borne from a realisation during running local trivia competitions with co-owner Josh Mason that televisions at bars and clubs were being under-utilised.

“Josh and I used the TVs to create visuals for trivia and brainstormed how to utilise them better. Now we’re a successful 24/7 365-days-a-year production house, which allows us to give back to our supportive community by providing local students with roles that encourage them to also succeed in business,” he said.

Through the TAFE NSW work experience program, students get to finetune their sound, lighting and camera skills, and learn the unique BarTV graphics overlay system plus the back end of live streaming and editing.

“Students have a great opportunity to gain valuable real-world experience and be their own boss,” he said.

“It’s also beneficial to us because we get to train up people who aren’t jaded and mould them to our workflow. Some in the industry can have a dinosaur attitude that they won’t get out of bed unless it’s a big production. The new crop of students don’t. It’s not reality - people are filming movies on an iPhone 6 these days.

“BarTV is successful because we get rid of the fluff and pretension; students get a pragmatic look at the real media industry. TAFE NSW students are ideal because they’re more hands-on, resourceful, diligent and have more employment motivation. Ronan is our second TAFE NSW Newcastle hire so far this year.”

Australia’s largest training provider, TAFE NSW offers over 1200 courses, from certificates to degrees. Many can be studied online via TAFE Digital, when and where it suits. Visit www.tafensw.com.au or call 131 601.

*IBISWorld report December 2018