Gateway School Board votes to broadcast Gators football games on local TV

Gateway High School football games will now be broadcast live on local television.

The Gateway school board voted unanimously to hire AW Gusky Productions and LG3 Entertainment for a total of $5,950, which includes a $700 fee as an affiliate of the TribLive High School Sports Network.

The agreement covers all seven home and away games, but each WPIAL playoff game would be an additional $750 along with other PIAA rights fees, according to district documents.

The move comes at a time when spectating school sporting events is restricted to 250 people outside and 25 inside, according to Gov. Tom Wolf’s covid-19 guidance for sports. Those numbers would include players, fans, coaches and officials.

School board vice president Rick McIntyre said Gateway administration is looking at ways to allow parents to watch from the stands or press box.

Meanwhile, a state House of Representatives bill that passed 155-47 recently would give individual schools agency in deciding how to limit spectating events. State Rep. Mike Reese, R-Westmoreland/Somerset, sponsored the bill. It aims to give schools the opportunity to have more than 250 fans outside.

The Senate voted Wednesday 39-11 in favor of the bill, gaining a two-thirds majority. The result means the House and Senate would have the power to override a veto from Gov. Tom Wolf and effectively preempt the governor’s order for gatherings.

School board member Val Warning said she was concerned about the other sports, such as soccer and lacrosse, that would be left out of having their events televised. She also wondered if basketball and volleyball could be included.

Superintendent Bill Short said he would need to approach the company to see if they would be interested in that and how much it would cost. He pointed out that other sports are currently streamed live using a service called Pixellot, an automated software that records sports games and streams them online on various platforms for a fee.

School board vice president Rick McIntyre said Gateway only uses Pixellot’s camera gear. Its streaming service, of which Gateway is contractually obligated to use, is free, he said.

Pixellot will still be used to stream games on the football field and inside Gateway’s gym, McIntyre said.

McIntyre volunteers with AW Gusky Productions as a sideline reporter and occasional commentator.

Games will be available to watch live on Comcast Channel 13 or Verizon Channel 44.

The high school’s first game is 7 p.m. on Sept. 11. The Gators face Franklin Regional’s Panthers at Antimarino Stadium in Monroeville.