An average Saturday home game will see reporters from every national Sunday and Monday newspaper, as well as local press, and a whole host of photographers. At the Chiefs’ first home game of the season back in September, the club hosted to 22 written press, 6 radio reporters and 12 photographers, as well as 14 television crew members.
The newspaper reporters and photographers all took advantage of the WiFi hotspot supplied by the club’s main and first team sponsor South West Communications Group to file their reports, interviews and action shots before their respective deadlines.
South West Communications Group’s WiFi solution is free to Exeter Chiefs’ visiting press but is used as a revenue-generator by the Sandy Park Conference & Banqueting Centre for the rest of the week. The centre charges its delegates to access the Internet
at either a half-daily or daily rate.
Exeter Chiefs communications manager Mark Stevens said: “It is imperative that the visiting press and photographers can access the Internet at the end of a game, usually at exactly the same time, to email reports or upload photographs ahead of their extremely tight deadlines. Our first home game in the Aviva Premiership saw a packed press bench and more photographers that we have ever had at Sandy Park and they all accessed the Internet without any issues.”
South West Communications Group’s managing director Harry Langley said: “It is pleasing to see our WiFi Internet access solution being used so effectively by the national and local press on match days. Our wireless Internet solution is very simple to administer and with low operational costs meaning the return on investment is very rapid while ensuring continued profitable revenue generation into the future for our customers.”