On this page
- Who this is for and what you will decide
- The sports bar preseason checklist at a glance
- Weeks six to four: inventory, programming and the power test
- Weeks three and two: remotes, audio and labels
- Final week: staff run-through and dress rehearsal
- Trade-offs and common mistakes
- What to ask your provider before the season
Who this is for and what you will decide
This is for owners, general managers and bar managers whose busiest nights follow a sports calendar. A sports bar preseason checklist moves every TV test onto a quiet weeknight weeks before opening week. Then the dead remote, the receiver stuck on the wrong input or the speaker that rattles turns up while you still have time to fix it calmly.
By the end you will be able to decide four things:
- What to test on every screen, and in what order
- When each task should happen, counting back from the first big game
- Who owns each task, so nothing gets left to whoever happens to be on shift
- What your staff can handle and what needs a call to your provider
The plan starts six weeks out and ends with a full dress rehearsal during the final week. If you only have two or three weeks, do the same steps in the same order and run some of them together.
The sports bar preseason checklist at a glance
Print this and tape it inside the office door. Each row has a clear finish line, so you know when a task is actually done and not just started.
| When | Focus | Owner | Done when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Six weeks out | Inventory every screen, receiver and remote; confirm the programming plan | Owner or GM | Every screen has a row on one sheet, and programming questions are with your provider |
| Four weeks out | Cold power-on test of every TV and receiver | Manager plus one bartender | Every screen shows a live picture on the right input |
| Three weeks out | Remotes and audio | Bar manager | Each remote controls only its own receiver, and every sound zone is set |
| Two weeks out | Labels, channel map and schedule board | Bar manager | Numbers match on the screen, receiver, remote and map |
| Final week | Staff run-through and dress rehearsal | Whole closing and opening crew | A bartender who skipped setup can change any screen without help |
| Opening week | Pre-shift check before doors open | Opening manager | Routine finished, any issues written down |
Weeks six to four: inventory, programming and the power test
Take inventory before you test anything
Walk the room with a clipboard or tablet and make one row per screen: screen number, where it hangs, where its receiver sits, which remote runs it, which TV input it uses, which audio zone it feeds and any notes. The off-season is when things drift. A TV that failed in June got replaced with a different model. A receiver got moved to make room for a liquor shelf. A remote went to the back office and never came back. Our business TV audit checklist goes room by room if you want a fuller walk-through.
While you are walking, look at anything outdoors. Patio screens and enclosures take a beating from sun, dust and weather. From the ground, check whether the satellite dish looks damaged or whether anything new now stands between it and the sky, such as tree growth, new signage or a rooftop unit. Leave anything on the roof to a technician.
If you changed the floor plan over the summer, now is the time to check sightlines again. Our piece on bar TV placement layout explains how to work out from each seat.
Settle programming questions early
Confirm that your commercial account covers what you plan to show this season. If you want to add seasonal sports programming or change your lineup, ask now, so there is time to sort out anything that needs ordering or activating before the first game. Check too that the number of active receivers on your account matches the number of screens you plan to tune independently. If two screens share one receiver, they can only ever show the same channel.
The quiet-Tuesday power test
Pick a slow weeknight or the dead hour after lunch. Turn every TV and receiver on from cold, the way your opener will on game day. Then check each screen in turn:
- The picture appears, and the TV lands on the correct input without anyone pressing buttons.
- The receiver tunes to a live sports channel, and the guide loads.
- The picture holds steady for several minutes, with no freezing, pixelation or dropouts.
- Any on-screen message is written down exactly as it appears, along with the screen number.
If a receiver that sat unused all summer acts sluggish at first, give it a few minutes and test again. If a screen still shows a message after one restart, log it and look it up in our error code help before restarting it again. A screen that only works after a reboot every day is a problem you want solved now, not one your staff learns to live with.
Weeks three and two: remotes, audio and labels
Remotes
Remotes cause a surprising share of game-day trouble, and they are among the easiest things in the room to sort out ahead of time.
- Put fresh batteries in every remote, and keep a sealed spare pack behind the bar.
- Test each remote from where staff actually stand, not from right in front of the receiver.
- Make sure each remote changes only its own receiver. When receivers sit stacked in one cabinet, one press can change two screens. Ask your provider whether each remote can be paired to its own box.
- Replace any remote that is missing, cracked or sticky. Order replacements now, not opening week.
Audio
Decide which screen drives the sound in each zone and write it on your inventory sheet. Then test the levels. The usual mistake is setting volume in an empty room. It sounds fine at four in the afternoon and disappears under a full Sunday crowd. Turn the room's background music on during the test, and walk to the far seats. Listen for blown or rattling speakers and loose connections. Settle your policy now for big games: game audio, music or a mix by zone. That way bartenders are not deciding it on the fly.
Labels, channel map and schedule board
Give every screen one number, and put that same number on its receiver, its remote and the cables between them. Our guide to labeling TV receivers and remotes covers the method. Do not trust last season's labels. If anything was swapped, the old numbers are now wrong, and wrong labels are worse than none.
With the labels done, build the plan for opening week using a bar TV channel map template: one row per screen, one column per time block. If you post games for guests, set up your game schedule board using the same screen numbers.
Final week: staff run-through and dress rehearsal
Equipment that works is only half the job. The other half is a crew who can run it under pressure.
Hold a short run-through with every bartender and server who will touch a remote. Show them the labels and the channel map. Show them how to fix a wrong input and when to stop and get the manager. Our guide on how to train staff on bar TVs lays out the habits worth teaching. Name one TV lead for each game-day shift. That person owns the map, the spare batteries and the decision to call for support.
Then run a dress rehearsal on a weeknight with live sports on:
- Have the opener power everything up using your normal routine. If you do not have one yet, see how to turn on all TVs at once.
- Call a pretend kickoff and have staff switch screens to match the map.
- Hand the map to someone who was not involved in setup and ask them to put a specific game on a specific screen.
- Write down every hesitation, wrong screen or confused question, and fix the label, the map or the training behind it.
Keep a one-page fix sheet behind the bar. It should list common symptoms, the first thing to try, and the support number for your account.
Trade-offs and common mistakes
Honest trade-offs
- Staff time against game-day risk. These checks take a few hours spread over several weeks. Skipping them saves those hours but moves the risk onto the night that brings in the most revenue.
- Doing it yourself or booking a technician. Your team can handle batteries, labels, inputs and audio levels. Anything involving the dish, wiring inside walls or a receiver that keeps failing belongs with a technician. A preseason visit takes a slot on the calendar but can catch problems your team cannot see.
- Fixing what you have or adding screens. Preseason is tempting for upgrades. Get every existing screen working first, because new screens bring their own setup and testing.
- Testing early or testing with real games. Six weeks out, the season's games are not on yet. Test with any live sports channel. Picture, input and remote problems show up the same way.
Mistakes that show up on opening day
- Testing only the main screens and forgetting the patio, the back room and the screen above the restrooms
- Setting audio in an empty, quiet room
- Trusting labels from last season
- Solving the same problem with a daily reboot instead of reporting it
- Leaving remotes loose on the back bar where they wander off
- Waiting until the week of the first game to ask about programming
What to ask your provider before the season
A short call before the season can save a long one on game day. Ask:
- Does my account cover everything I plan to show this season, and does anything need to be ordered by a certain date?
- Are all my receivers active on the account and in good standing?
- Can each remote be paired to its own receiver so stacked boxes stop interfering with each other?
- If a screen goes down during a game, what is the support path, and what should I have ready when I call? Our support call checklist covers the notes worth taking.
- Can a technician do a preseason walk-through to check the dish, the wiring and any receiver that has been acting up?
- If I add or move screens later in the season, how far ahead do I need to plan?
Sports Direct | DLM Media is an authorized commercial dealer with 30+ years of experience and technicians and engineers in all 50 states. If you want help with the questions above, our commercial TV support service covers ongoing help. You can also talk with a programming specialist about what your bar plans to show this season.