Measure allowing high school sports online broadcast now law

by: K. Querry-Thompson

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – A measure that officials say will allow more people to watch high school sports online has been signed into law.

Sen. Bill Coleman, of Ponca City, authored Senate Bill 302 to ensure all fans get the opportunity to watch their favorite high school teams and players.

“In today’s hectic world, many fans depend on watching their teams online. There is nothing more exciting than watching your kid online or your hometown team score that touchdown or goal, make the free throw or hit a homerun,” Coleman said. “Unfortunately, more and more home teams have started denying access to video streams for the visiting teams, a disturbing trend that has students, families and school districts upset. Senate Bill 302 is an effort to even the playing field to ensure equal access to game coverage for all schools.”

The bill grants visiting teams in all regular high school athletic competitions the same rights to radio broadcast, video stream, and providing play-by-play accounts as the home team beginning next school year.

On Monday, Gov. Stitt signed the measure into law.