What is it with politicians and sports on TV?
Every NFL blackout game provokes congressional intervention. Now, Rep. Kelvin Roldan, D-Hartford, is trying to make the political version of a half-court shot at the buzzer on behalf of a city institution, Connecticut Public Broadcasting. At issue: broadcast rights for UConn women’s basketball.
The university recently announced it was ending its long association with the public broadcasting network in favor of SNY, the cable channel that carries Big East men’s games, along with the Mets.
At 9:35 p.m., Roldan was seeking support in the House chamber for an amendment to an as-yet identified bill that would require UConn to contract with a nonprofit public television corporation for the “contemporaneous rebroadcast” of the women’s games.
In a letter to UConn fans, university President Susan Herbst said the new contract will give the team a potential audience of 14 million in Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and part of Pennsylvania. She said SNY is carried by every cable provider in Connecticut.