Every February and March, one of the highlights of the Maine high school sporting schedule is delivered straight into the homes of every Mainer with a television set: the annual high school basketball tournaments, a two-week-long respite from the long, cold winter, a celebration of the hard-work, dedication and talent of young athletes from Kittery to Caribou.
For 35 years, it truly has been a tradition like no other, with countless tournament games being broadcast every year by MPBN to fans around the state from arenas in Portland, Bangor and Augusta; it isn’t ESPN, or the NBA, but it is Maine through and through. It is, for lack of a better word, special, for everyone involved.
This past week, the plug was pulled on televising the showpiece games of the tournaments ”“ namely the Class A state championship games, but also every other contest scheduled to be held at the Cumberland County Civic Center ”“ for just about as petty a reason as could be imagined.
A dispute between the Cumberland County Civic Center and Time Warner Cable ”“ two multi-million, and in the latter’s case multi-billion dollar entities ”“ couldn’t come to an agreement over a few hundred dollars, forcing MPBN to release a statement announcing that it would be unable to televise tournament games from the CCCC this winter.
The dispute revolves around the mundane, such as the reinstallation of fiber optic cables ”“ which, according to the civic center itself, would cost as little as $5,000 ”“ and the storage of the equipment necessary to broadcast the games.
As a result, the two biggest (and most-watched) games of the tournament, along with several other Western Class A and B tournament games, might not be on our televisions in a few weeks. For fans in York County, mostly made up of schools that compete in Class A and B, this should be especially galling.
But considering the two principals involved ”“ the Cumberland County Civic Center and Time Warner ”“ the decision could hardly be called surprising, as infuriating as it might be.
That the civic center, a building that was renovated with $34 million of taxpayer money, would hold those same taxpayers in such contempt certainly isn’t a shock; just ask any Portland Pirates fan in southern Maine and mainly Cumberland County, which footed the bill, only to see the building’s main tenant leave for Lewiston over a dispute almost as ridiculous: who would profit off sales of alcohol, among other commercial matters.
You’d think after that public relations mess, which is still ongoing, the civic center’s board would want to show a little goodwill. Guess not. You’d think that the reinstallation of fiber optic cables ”“ again at a $5,000 or so cost ”“ would have somehow been included in that $34 million. Guess not.
But perhaps the biggest villain in this mess is Time Warner, a company that made more than $22 billion in revenue in 2013, coffers that are swelled by hundreds of thousands of Mainers. Time Warner had partnered with MPBN ”“ which stretches its resources thin every year and relies on outside help from several areas to televise games from the three locations ”“ to produce the games from the CCCC and store its equipment in the building for the last seven years.
Time Warner was able to do this free of extra charge due to its sponsorship deal with the CCCC, a deal that ended last year. As a result, those special broadcasting privileges are gone, and the company could pay a fee of around $200 to run its own fiber optic cables through the building, and more if it wished to store its equipment in the CCCC.
But apparently lugging its equipment in and out to cover the games, along with the $200 fee ”“ roughly equal to about one month of digital cable and Internet on one customer’s bill ”“ is just too much to ask. A company that made $22 billion in revenue last year is stonewalling due to a $200 charge, and willing to let that amount of money black out local high school basketball games that thousands of Mainers look forward to every year, not to mention the hundreds of high school athletes who look forward to performing in front of the television cameras to a state-wide audience.
MPBN will still televise 42 tournament games this month from Bangor and Augusta, and fans from across the state who are unable to attend the games themselves will still be able see the championship games from Classes B, C and D.
And it’s possible that, at the very least, the games from Portland will be streamed live over the Internet, though that’s not a solution for everyone. More than likely, this will all somehow get worked out, due to the rightful outrage that has already been on display from many corners of the state. The problem is, after all, easily solvable.
But considering who we’re relying on to put two and two together, that might be a stretch. And if even one person misses out on seeing one of the games played at the CCCC ”“ whether it be a 5-year-old with dreams of one day playing in the games or an 80-year-old who’s still not sure if the 3-point line was a great idea ”“ it would be an utter shame and an utter sham.
The high school basketball tournaments on MPBN are a Maine tradition, and one of the few things that everyone in the state can agree on ”“ it shouldn’t be too much to ask that the crown jewel games from the tournaments be televised, in the same way they have been for 35 years.
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Today’s editorial was written by Sports writer Cameron Dunbar on behalf of the Journal Tribune Editorial Board. Questions? Comments? Contact Managing Editor Kristen Schulze Muszynski by calling 282-1535, ext. 322, or via email at kristenm@journaltribune.com.
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