EIS approves KSBN agreement

Fans of Elizabethtown Independent Schools sports and events soon will be able to tune into district events from anywhere in the world.

The EIS board approved an agreement with the Kentucky Sports Broadcasting Network at a special meeting Thursday.

The agreement will allow the network to stream sporting events and other school activities live on the Internet.

The network is the brainchild of Gary Franklin and Steve Ballard.

The idea came from their love of high school sports. They decided to spread it beyond sports to other events within the school system. They approached EIS first because of their connections with the district, including having children in the system.

There was no discussion before a unanimous vote among the four present board members. Dianne Cooper was absent.

The agreement lasts until June 30, 2013, upon which it will renew for one-year increments unless one party decides to terminate the agreement.

KSBN will be the exclusive Internet broadcast network for EIS, and KSBN won’t provide services to any other district in Hardin County, which would include Hardin County Schools and West Point Independent Schools, according to the agreement.

The network will seek advertisers and sponsors to pay for its services, which must be approved by EIS, according to the agreement.

The website, which has not been launched, will host live streams of games and events as well as other content, such as a “legends” section, where noteworthy teams and students from the district’s past would be featured.

Franklin said earlier that he wanted an agreement with EIS in place before launching the site.

Kelly Cantrall can be reached at (270) 505-1747 or kcantrall@thenewsenterprise.com.