Why we aren't live-streaming the big Ridley-Springfield game tonight

Most people are calling it the game of the year in Delco high school football.

It’s unbeaten Ridley, sitting pretty at 7-0, vs. the upstart 6-1 Springfield for supremacy in the Central League.

If you want live updates, you can follow our reports from the game tonight on Twitter by using the hashtag #delcofootball. By all means if you’re at the game and want to chime in, please do.

What you won’t be able to do tonight, despite our best efforts, is see the game if you can’t get there on person.

At least not on DelcoTimes.com. It was our intention to do a Friday night live-stream from what most consider the biggest game in the county tonight. We live-stream a high school football game every Friday night.

But the folks at Ridley will not allow us to do so tonight. Don’t blame us. If you wonder why there is no stream, you’ll have to ask the school board and administrators at Ridley.

Their claim is that when we heavily promote and then stream a game on DelcoTimes.com, they take a hit at the gate. In other words, people stay home and watch the game online.

Look, I realize schools are looking for every penny of revenue they can get these days. But I’m not buying that this actually happens.

If anyone at Ridley would like to further explain this decision to me, I’m all ears. You can reach me at 610-622-8818, or email me at editor@delcotimes.com.

We're living in an online world. No one understands that better than newspeople folks. Our world is shifting under our feet in a seismic change. Just yesterday, Newsweek magazine indicated they would abandon the print edition at the start of the year and go digital only.

Digital is becoming an increasingly bigger part of what we do. That includes live-streaming events, in particular high school football.

In the meantime, we’ll be offering live updates on Twitter tonight, and of course we’ll have full coverage both in print and online tomorrow.

We just won’t be carrying the game live.

And that’s a shame.

Update: I've already gotten a few emails from people who would like to be able to see the game. If you'd like to see the game, send me an email or post a tweet with the hashtag #streamridley? Let me know where you'd watch the game from. I know there are proud Ridley and Springfield boosters all over, so chime in. Let's get everyone involved and let the administration know you'd like to be able to see the game.