Postseason coverage remains in question for WJPA
A new agreement between the WPIAL and KDKA will not impact local radio station WJPA AM-FM for the upcoming high school football and basketball regular seasons.
WJPA’s ability to broadcast games in the postseason, however, remains in question as rights fees still have not been set by Teall Properties Group and the WPIAL.
Earlier this month, the WPIAL and News Radio KDKA announced a multi-year partnership with the radio giant serving as the flagship station of District 7.
As part of the agreement, KDKA Radio will become the official radio broadcast partner of the WPIAL, providing a combination of highly produced terrestrial radio and audio streaming (free-of-charge) broadcasts of all WPIAL football and boys and girls basketball championship games.
KDKA Radio will air a Game of the Week and have non-exclusive postseason audio rights.
According to WJPA Sports Director Bob Gregg, the station is waiting for the WPIAL’s postseason and championship games rights fee to determine how it will proceed with playoff coverage.
WJPA has been broadcasting football, basketball, wrestling, baseball, softball and other sports the past 80 years.
In the last 20 years, the station’s post-season coverage has included Washington County schools and selected neighbors such as Mt. Lebanon, Upper St. Clair, South Fayette, West Allegheny, Thomas Jefferson and Montour, among others.
The station’s coverage of regular season games will not change. In addition, individual school districts will still be able to livestream regular season games, but those districts will be subject to broadcast fees for the postseason.
For the next five years, the National Federation of State High School Associations will hold the exclusive rights for video streaming of all WPIAL postseason football games as well as boys’ and girls’ basketball games. NFHS will also video stream other “select” playoff games.
A monthly subscription is $11.99 with a yearly rate of $79.99.
To watch championships in those sports, fans will pay a price.
In the past, Trinity and McGuffey have used NFHS livestream services.
Gregg said WJPA has been a WPIAL sponsor partner and hopes to continue that partnership for the past 40 years.
Prior to the MSA/TribHSSN partnerships of the most recent past, WJPA paid broadcast fees directly to District 7 for postseason games.
“We’ll be paying the WPIAL direct for postseason broadcast rights,” Gregg said. “We did that for many years before the partnership and affiliation fees.”
He is hoping the postseason fees will fall within the station’s historically budgeted amount. If not, WJPA would be faced with difficult financial decisions.
Gregg also said WJPA has no interest in video and the NFHS deal is of no consequence to the station. He did add that no other radio station covers wrestling like WJPA, and that the coverage being in jeopardy is “a sobering thought.”
He doesn’t expect to hear anything about postseason broadcast fees for another couple weeks.
Two other local entities – GreeneSports.net and MVI Live, which is owned by the Mon Valley Independent newspaper in Monessen also are awaiting word from Teall Properties and NFHS.
Jason Tennant of GreeneSports.net said his service teamed up on occasion last year with NFHS. He is hoping and thinks by doing so the service will not have to pay broadcast fees, provided GreeneSports.net remains exclusive to NFHS.
“Unfortunately, people are going to have to pay to watch,” Tennant said. “That’s the way this is moving.”
Alex Lyons, multimedia director for MVI, said he is in a waiting pattern on broadcast fees.
A few weeks ago, Lyons said he understands the movement but called it “annoying” and feels like “it is taking away from the kids.”