Following the pandemic, there has been an increase in LexMedia’s digital coverage of Lexington High School sports. This has allowed friends and families to cheer on LHS sports teams from the comfort of their homes.

LexMedia is a non-profit community media center that provides a variety of services to Lexington. One of these services includes the coverage of Lexington High School sports. In response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, LexMedia’s role in sports coverage has significantly increased.

Terry Samaras, the production manager at LexMedia, emphasized the significance of LexMedia’s coverage during the pandemic.

“Sports coverage is really important this year, especially because no fans are allowed into the games,” Samaras said.

In response, LexMedia began improving their live coverage to provide a more interactive experience for viewers. 

“We’ve been covering sports at LexMedia for the past decade, but we have rarely been able to go live with it. Now since we don’t have any fans in the stands, we have all of the fans watching our Youtube coverage and engaging in the chat with each other,” Samaras said.

Behind the scenes, LexMedia employed new hardware to make it easier for friends and family to support LHS athletes virtually.

“LexMedia really stepped up, bought new hardware to stream the games live and did what they needed to do so that families could see their kids in this wild pandemic,” Samaras said.

Danny Strollo, a father of two LHS athletes, greatly appreciated LexMedia’s work. 

“I have really enjoyed watching all my kids play. Missing that altogether would have been terrible for me and other families,” Strollo said.

LexMedia’s efforts have attracted up to 100 live viewers watching live per game, with one basketball video getting over 2,000 views. In addition to parents, students have also been taking advantage of their streaming services. 

“A good amount of students have been checking in on the games to see their friends play and to cheer them on virtually,” Samaras said.

As well as being an LHS parent, Strollo is also a color commentator for boy’s basketball.

 “I hope that my color and Lex’s actual play-by-play and intelligence make it a bit more enjoyable for all.  Plus, how much Netflix and TikTok can we all watch? It’s worth the effort to watch your classmate, child, sibling, or friend play and cheer them on in the comfort of your own home,” Strollo said.

With friends and family following the games closely, Samaras views supporting high school athletes as an essential role of LexMedia’s. 

“With this live coverage we hope that the kids know that there are people watching them and cheering them on even though they can’t hear it,” Samaras said.

LexMedia’s sports coverage can be found on their Youtube channel. https://www.youtube.com/user/LexMediaMATV