Don’t make high school sports pay-per-view

On Wednesday, June 21, the Iowa High School Athletic Association announced that their media rights holder, Iowa High School Sports Network, has indicated they will attempt to charge for internet viewing of this summer's state baseball tournament in Carroll and Iowa City after years of airing them for free on the internet and over-the-air TV.

This is appalling. What the IHSSN is trying to do is turn Iowa boys state tournament games into the equivalent of world championship boxing events, UFC fights, AEW events and WWE premium live events — broadcast on a pay-per view-basis or as a subscription service.

A few years ago, IHSSN took the football, wrestling and boys basketball tournaments from the statewide over-the-air TV network and gave it to NBC Sports Chicago, which wasn’t available much past U.S. Highway 63. They then returned those events to Iowa television, but mostly on digital sub-channels. Now they want to make Iowans pay to watch their kids play for state titles.

I implore the IHSSN and IHSAA's major sponsors, Fareway and the Iowa Farm Bureau, to persuade the TV network's executives to abandon their plans and let Iowans view state football, wrestling, basketball, swimming, track and field, soccer and baseball for free. If the IHSSN refuses to budge, then the IHSAA should revoke those rights and grant them to Iowa PBS, like the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union has.

Eric Van Sickle

Cedar Falls