Financial and other factors limit ILH sports broadcasts

Question: Is OC16 Sports planning to televise ILH sports activities, or will it continue with mainly OIA sports?

Answer: The local Oceanic Time Warner cable channels want to broadcast more Interscholastic League of Honolulu games but must abide by the ILH’s preference to protect gate receipts by limiting television exposure, said Dave Vinton, director of OC16 Sports.

Vinton said the ILH, comprising private schools, has generally preferred to keep its regular-season high school football games off live TV because some member schools worry that having such broadcasts available could deter fans from turning out in person (and buying tickets to watch the games).

OC16 Sports hopes to broadcast more ILH games in the future and “is working hard to do so,” he said. Vinton expressed confidence that such games would still attract sizable in-person crowds, as Oahu Interscholastic Association games do. The OIA includes all public secondary schools on Oahu. The league’s varsity sports figure prominently on OC16 Sports channels.

See 808ne.ws/1QYbD33 for the lineup of upcoming games; the schedule is subject to change.

Vinton acknowledged that schools depend heavily on football gate receipts to support a variety of athletic teams, not just football. He understands the instinct to protect gate revenue, but said he believes the fear of depressed receipts is unfounded. “We know that viewers want to see more ILH sports, and we think it would be great for the schools and athletes, too,” he said. “We will continue to negotiate for greater access, but for now it is limited.”

Georges Gilbert, the ILH’s interim executive director, said the challenges to broadcasting more ILH games extend beyond the financial implications for member schools, which vary widely in the size of their campuses and sports facilities — not to mention their budgets. The OIA, by contrast, is made up of public schools operating within a unified school district.

OC16 “has been a very good partner, and they obviously would like to broadcast more ILH games,” Gilbert said. “We’ve been talking about it, and we appreciate the effort OC16 is putting in, while understanding that there are a lot of different factors to weigh.”

Among them: varying philosophies on the pros and cons of televising high school games (and the concomitant scrutiny of young athletes); logistical difficulties of accommodating television production equipment at some campuses; and the desire to protect football gate receipts. “Those are all aspects that have to be looked at,” Gilbert said.

Q: With the legalization of the medical marijuana dispensary system in Hawaii, we can anticipate that marijuana edibles such as cookies, brownies and candy will be a lot more available. What is the Health Department doing to make sure that people know they have to be really careful with this stuff? Little kids will pick it up and eat it and get poisoned. Will there be a PSA campaign before the dispensaries open, statewide, so that everyone knows to be extra careful?

A: You may be relieved to learn that Hawaii’s medical marijuana law (Act 241) doesn’t allow the manufacture or sale of the cannabis-infused edibles you described, according to Janice Okubo, communications director of the state Department of Health, which administers Hawaii’s medical marijuana program. The law also doesn’t allow advertising or packaging of medical marijuana products that might appeal to children, she said. It does require child-resistant packaging for the category of “manufactured marijuana product” that is allowed under the law, defined as a “capsule, lozenge, oil or oil extract, tincture, ointment or skin lotion, or pill.”

Okubo said the Health Department is drafting regulations for the medical marijuana dispensary system. Among them are labeling requirements with health and safety warnings to remind patients to keep the products out of the reach of children, she said.

Mahalo

I was in the line at Costco Hawaii Kai to buy my lunch. To my surprise, I was told by the cashier that my lunch had been paid for by the young woman in front of me. I was just stunned and even forgot to thank her. This was such a nice gesture, and it touched my heart. I shall certainly pass this act of kindness to someone else real soon. — A grateful senior

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