INDIANAPOLIS — The era of watching Indiana high school state championship games on cable television is over.
The IHSAA announced Tuesday, Oct. 31 that this year's football and basketball state championships will be broadcast exclusively on the IHSAA Champions Network.
The move comes following Diamond Sports Group, the parent company to Bally Sports Indiana, filing for bankruptcy earlier this year. With the bankruptcy filing, the contract between Bally Sports Indiana and the IHSAA was canceled, leaving the football and basketball state finals coverage up in the air.
“They (Bally Sports Indiana) called and said they weren’t allowed to renew the contract with us,” IHSAA Assistant Commissioner Chris Kaufman said in the press release. “It was an amicable parting and, all in all, Bally was a great partner. We enjoyed working with them and we will stay in touch.”
The IHSAA says the changes will affect all state finals broadcasts except for golf, tennis and unified sports, which will remain free to view.
In order to view the upcoming football state finals, as well as this season's boys and girls basketball championships, fans will need to log on to IHSAAtv.org or download the IHSAAtv app on their phone, tablet or connected smart TV.
Each game will cost $15 on a pay-per-view basis, with a $20 all-access pass also being provided.
“We are working to make this as easy as possible for fans,” said Heath Shanahan, IHSAA’s director of broadcasting/executive producer. "Fans can navigate to one site, click the link and follow the steps. It’s no different than getting on a phone and going to any app or website.”
While the IHSAA did not close the book on football and basketball state finals returning to cable, they did acknowledge the television landscape is changing rapidly.
“It can be difficult for some who aren’t technologically savvy, but that’s an issue we can’t solve alone,” Kaufman said.
