Lynn school memories on demand soon

LYNN – Some of the greatest memories for families come from academic achievements and high school sporting events and the Lynn Public Schools are hoping that new technology can help preserve those memories in a new way.Lynn Education Television, which broadcasts school and city youth events in the city on channel 15, is in the process of working out a deal with YouCast Broadcasting Service to make select events available to families for purchase on the Internet after their original air dates.LETV Executive Director Phil Terenzoni received preliminary approval from the School Committee Thursday night to partner with the Seattle-based organization to make events such as graduations, football games and other major events available for purchase to anyone with Internet access.The system works just like a cable on demand or pay-per-view service, where customers can select television shows and movies to watch at their leisure for a one-time fee, but is based entirely on the Internet.Once a program or event is submitted to YouCast, anyone wishing to view it can simply log on to the LETV Web site, follow a link and for $4 watch the selected broadcast on their computer.”I get requests all the time for copies of games, graduations, things like that, going all the way back to 1993- and I started here in 1994,” Terenzoni said. “This way they can go on the Internet and they will be able to pick out what program they want and just order it right there. Like a cable pay-per-view service.”Terenzoni said that only new programs would be submitted to the broadcasting service, so events that took place prior to the start of the program will not be available, and that he and his staff would decide what is submitted. Large events, he said, would also be available on a live stream.”We do a lot of programming, but not all of it would be submitted,” he said. “It would be for things like the Thanksgiving Day games or graduations, and if there is something we have a lot of demand for, we will put that up, too.”Back copies of programs are available for $10 from the LETV, and Terenzoni suggested the new service would be more useful for people outside of the city, such as grandparents or troops in Iraq.”People can come to me and get anything for $10 and they have it the next day,” he said. “But say a student’s grandparents live in Florida, this is a great way to see the game or a graduation.”The YouCast company offers two ways to run the program for the city, either charge $4 per order, to be split between the station and the company, or pay $100 to show a program for free.Given the state of the city’s budget and the undetermined amount of interest, the committee approved the partnership only under the condition that it is a pay service for users.Although approved, the deal is far from done, as questions about a contract and a fund for the money earned by the city still remain. Still, Terenzoni hopes that parents and families will begin enjoying their memories on line soon.