From a press release sent by CPTV:

In a groundbreaking venture with the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference, Connecticut Public Television (CPTV), presents the 32nd Annual CIAC State High School Football Championships. CPTV will broadcast all six CIAC High School Football Championship games. Two games will be broadcast live on Saturday, December 1 at 1:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Four games will be tape delayed to air on Sunday, December 2 from 10 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. All six games will be rebroadcast a minimum of two times the following week on CPTV’s digital channel, CPTV2. The pairing of teams and locations will be announced at a press conference at the CIAC headquarters in Cheshire, Connecticut on Wednesday, November 28, 2007 at 11:30 am. Be the first to know where to find your team! CPTV will post the information on their website at: cptvfootball.org right after the press conference.

“We are proud to partner with the CIAC to bring high school sports coverage to viewers across Connecticut. If the games are well received by our viewers, CPTV will consider airing more sports, perhaps even an all-sports channel in the future,” says Jerry Franklin, President and CEO of Connecticut Public Broadcasting, Inc.

Well known across the state for its coverage of UConn Women’s Basketball, CPTV now sets it sights on providing a broadcast platform for high school athletes. According to Franklin, the basketball broadcasts have consistently garnered the station’s highest ratings since they were first aired in 1994. “It’s not surprising that sports play such an important and powerful role in people’s lives. It brings people and families together,” he said. “We took a chance on women’s basketball over a decade ago, and the community responded. I hope they will do the same in support of our fine scholastic athletes,” says Franklin.

According to Mike Savage, Executive Director of the CIAC, the partnership with CPTV marks an important milestone in CIAC history. “Never before have we had the opportunity to showcase the talents of our high school athletes on such a large scale. Through CPTV’s live and tape-delayed broadcasts, sports fans around the state can witness, share in and celebrate the accomplishments of our high school sports teams. We hope that this exciting partnership will open the doors to providing public access to the many achievements taking place on our high school playing fields each and every day,” says Savage.

Fans and viewers can let CPTV know if they want more sports coverage on CPTV by going to cptvfootball.org and voting for more sports action on CPTV.

CPTV thanks the following broadcast sponsors for making the telecasts possible: WFSB /Channel 3, McPhee Electric Ltd., Velocity Sports Performance, The Center for Joint Care at the Hospital of Central Connecticut, Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center, People’s United Bank, and New Haven Register. CIAC athletic sponsors are: Subway and IGA.

Connecticut Public Television Connecticut Public Broadcasting, Inc. is the home of CPTV and WNPR. CPTV is a locally and nationally recognized producer and presenter of quality public television programming, including UConn Women's Basketball Games, original documentaries and educational programming. CPTV has the distinction of providing more children’s programming than any other public broadcasting station in the country. WNPR, an affiliate of National Public Radio and Public Radio International, serves over 190,000 listeners in Connecticut, New York and Rhode Island with news and information. Award-winning local programming includes The Faith Middleton Show and Front and Center with Ray Hardman. Together, CPTV and WNPR bring a broad spectrum of public affairs, entertainment, sports, and educational programming to our
viewers and listeners.

For more information about Connecticut Public Broadcasting, Inc. log on to http://www.cptv.org/ and / or http://www.wnpr.org/.

The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC), a division of the Connecticut Association of Schools (CAS), is the governing body for high school sports in Connecticut. Since its inception in 1921, the CIAC has worked to establish and unify policies of administration in interscholastic athletics, to maintain rules and regulations which allow for fair and equitable competition among schools, and to encourage and promote the organization of athletic activities as part of the overall educational program. The CAS and CIAC offices are located in Cheshire, CT. For more information visit http://www.casciac.org/.