A new era in the Houston Herald’s coverage of local events begins this week.
The Herald has teamed up with City Link TV to stream events live for free over the Internet. The first will be Friday night’s Houston High School football game against Cuba.
Football games are just the begin of the planned coverage. Other events will include parades, school board meetings and a multitude of concerts, musicals, assemblies and more at Houston Schools.
“We’re thrilled to bring this new, cutting-edge technology to our community,” Herald editor Jeff McNiell said. “Out-of-town family members can connect in real time to their loved ones. Parents can view recordings of band and choir concerts or the kindergarten circus anytime throughout the year. When players go home Friday night, they can watch a replay of the football game. We’re excited to provide the coverage, and I know the community will be just as excited to view it.”
McNiell said every live event will also be archived online. So if a person can’t watch the event in real time or wants to view a recording, it is available at their convenience.
The football coverage will begin with a pregame show about 20 minutes before kickoff. The announcers are HHS athletic director Brent Kell and Jim McNiell, who previously provided live coverage of football games through Cover It Live on the Herald website.
Jeff McNiell said the newspaper plans to provide live coverage of every remaining HHS football game. He also said he has worked closely with Superintendent Scott Dill and Ken Kautzman, director of technology at Houston Schools, to begin live broadcasts of school board meetings.
“The school district has been exceptional to work with. I appreciate their willingness to assist us,” McNiell said. “Mr. Dill has told me he is excited about the opportunity to promote the district and even more importantly, the students who comprise it.”
McNiell said the Herald will provide a link on its website for live broadcasts. The public will also be notified of upcoming coverage through the newspaper, text alerts and the Herald’s Facebook and twitter pages. McNiell said users can go directly to the newspaper’s channel for live or archived events by visiting www.citylinktv.com and clicking on the Herald’s channel.
The live coverage is sponsored by Rees Oil Company, Corner Express, CenturyLink, Forbes’ Pharmacy, Judge Colin Long, Landmark Bank and Edward Jones.