Time Warner Gets Exclusive Cable Rights For N.Y. High School Sports

The Daily News

http://thedailynewsonline.com/blogs/guywitharemote/article_823b9086-cf6d-11e2-8e65-001a4bcf887a.html

The New York State Public High School Athletic Association has signed a 10-year rights agreement with Time Warner Cable Sports, that makes the cable operator the official content distributor of the Association’s regional and state championship sports programs.

TWCS will have exclusive rights to telecast all boys and girls regional, semifinal and championship events in New York in the deal announced earlier this spring.

Time Warner SportsChannel has previously produced and aired championship events for football, basketball, lacrosse, wrestling and hockey. The first new addition to the playoff coverage lineup will be softball this spring.

The deal also grants Time Warner exclusive rights to carry the Association’s content on mobile, Internet and on-demand platforms.

“Time Warner Cable is the leading cable provider in our state and with our new, long-term relationship, they are committed to delivering telecasts of high school athletics to hundreds of communities in New York state,” Robert Zayas, executive director of the NYSPHSAA, said in a statement.

“They bring a high level of professionalism and the ability to highlight our student-athletes in a manner that exceeds expectations,” Zayas said. “Their broadcasts on TV and the Internet for the next 10 years will add to the excitement of our state championship events as well as allow our association to truly promote the value of education-based athletics.”

The NYSPHSAA is the largest high school sports organization in the state. The Association governs 782 high schools participating in 35 interscholastic sports. Nearly 600,000 students athletes compete in high school-level sports in New York.