New TV network to showcase high school sports

Sunday’s launch of Peachtree Sports Network could mean far more high school sports coverage on TV in the coming years.

The network, Gray Television’s newest sports broadcast channel, will debut Sunday on WPCH station 17.2 and on cable station channel 245 for Comcast and Spectrum users.

The channel will focus on live local programming and feature teams from multiple sports across the state. Those will include the College Park Skyhawks in basketball, the Atlanta Gladiators and Savannah Ghost Pirates in hockey, the Georgia Swarm in lacrosse and the Atlanta Hustle in ultimate frisbee.

The network is partnering with Score Atlanta to broadcast high school sports. The first live sporting event will be the Cartersville-Cass football game Oct. 6.

Score Atlanta president I.J. Rosenberg says he envisions additional non-live shows that discuss high school sports in addition to live coverage in sports beyond just football, especially GHSA championship events.

“There is an audience not just for live high school sporting events, but shows will feature everything from football to basketball to baseball to soccer and lacrosse,” Rosenberg said. “It will also be a chance to give visibility on the recruiting side to players in all sports, and not just the top players but those that need visibility to advance to the next step to play in college.”

Score has been broadcasting games on Peachtree TV for the past five years but will move to PSN to complete its 33-game schedule this year. Score is expected to announce a similar four-game basketball season opener that it plans to televise on the network.

The Peachtree Sports Network will begin in Atlanta but plans to air on Gray-owned over-the-air channels in Albany, Augusta, Columbus, Macon and Savannah in the coming months.