Metro

‘Air’ ball! MSG to televise city high-school sports

Hey, high-school athletes! You ready for your close-ups?

City Hall has negotiated a deal with the MSG Varsity Network to broadcast PSAL sporting events — in effect giving the city’s high-school athletes their own sports network.

Under the proposal, MSG would pay $500,000 over two years for the right to televise and market the sporting events.

“The reach of MSG will bring PSAL games to a broader audience,” said Eric Goldstein, the Department of Education’s CEO of student services.

Student-athletes angling for college scholarships in baseball, basketball, football, soccer, track and field and other sports figure to benefit, as do alumni looking to cheer on their old schools and parents unable to get to all of their kids’ games.

And high-school sports not often on TV, such as the PSAL’s growing wrestling program, will get greater exposure.

“We expect to start in the fall,” Goldstein said.

About 32,000 teens played on nearly 2,400 PSAL teams last year. The city Panel on Education Policy is expected to approve the contract when it meets July 20.

Goldstein said the city was thrilled to strike a deal with Cablevision, the parent company of the MSG Varsity Network.

“They are a top-shelf company and very committed to televising PSAL events,” he said.