MVI to increase livestreams and broadcasts
By the Mon Valley Independent
With COVID-19 cases spiking, the show will eventually go on for some local high school winter sports teams unless Gov. Tom Wolf cancels the entire season.
The governor’s mandate to shut down high school sports for three weeks puts the season on hold until after the new year, but rest assured Team MVI will be there when the action resumes.
While regulations and protocols will undoubtedly keep some parents and most fans away from the games, the Mon Valley Independent is boosting its presence in the livestreaming arena.
Through the MVI’s YouTube home at MVILive, the sports team will again journey into the broadcasting realm to continue to bring games to local fans.
“The MVI is dedicated to providing as much sports coverage as we possibly can for the fans,” MVI board member Naz Victoria said. “In these unprecedented times, we’re attempting to broadcast live so fans have the opportunity to see the games.”
As the season gets started, the MVI Live team will livestream at least two games per week and will provide at least two audio streams of games as well.
“We’ve reached out to our local school districts and have been welcomed to come in and stream games,” sports editor Jeremy Sellew said. “I’m glad we still have a sense of normalcy in the sports department and as an added bonus, we continue to provide athletes the coverage they deserve.”
MVI staffers will be masked up and will follow social distancing guidelines.
The livestreams will tentatively tip off tonight when the Belle Vernon Area boys host Thomas Jefferson at 6:30 p.m. in a matchup that would have capped off the opening night of the Mon Valley Independent Shootout Classic, which was canceled.
“I’m really glad schools kept up some of the planned matchups from the tournament,” Sellew added. “There were some really exciting matchups that we’re happy to see come to fruition despite not having the tournament this season.”
Also today (tentatively), MVI correspondent Dean Dellamalva Jr. will broadcast the first game of Belle Vernon’s Kaitlyn Slagus’ career at McKeesport.
Links to all the games — audio and video — will be available at MVIlive.com. There’s also a schedule of when and where streams will be on the air. The MVI Sports social media accounts will have links to the website.
“Being able to funnel everyone to one place to find all the links makes it easier on them to locate the games they want to watch or listen to,” Sellew said. “Kudos to MVI Live producer and director Chad Carroto for getting all of it set up in a user-friendly manner.”
While livestreaming has become a focus for the sports department, it won’t deviate from bringing you the best coverage in the print edition.
“We’re still going to be writing print stories on all the games we broadcast, in addition to the other games we’re going to cover. Just because we’re out broadcasting and streaming, doesn’t mean we’re only covering those games,” Sellew said. “We’re committed to bringing you the best local sports coverage and we’re going to continue to do so with our team of writers and photographers.”
