A bill from State Representative Jim Struzzi designed to help local broadcasters will go before the House Judiciary Committee today for a hearing.
At 9:30 this morning, the Fair Play in Broadcasting Act will go before the committee for a hearing. The proposed bill would allow visiting teams and their local broadcasters the same right to broadcast, stream and provide telegraphic play-by-play as the home team. The issue came to light after a national company offered to stream video presentations of local high school sports during the Covid-19 pandemic. The offer, though, required schools to sign an exclusive contract with it, often without explaining to the school district that the agreement would block local radio stations and video streamers. Online viewers would also have to pay for a subscription to watch the video presentations. The situation was compounded when the PIAA signed an exclusive deal with the streamer.
Renda Media and Digital Vice President Mark Bertig is expected to provide testimony today, and Heritage Conference official and Homer-Center Principal Jody Rainey has sent written testimony that is expected to be entered into the record today. The hearing can be viewed at Struzzi’s website, www.RepStruzzi.com
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