Monumental Sports Network will livestream both the JV and varsity boys basketball games against Landon Dec. 12. Anyone with a subscription to the network can view the games.

Dan Shanoff (‘91), a content strategist at MSN, organized the event.

MSN will stream the game with one camera operator, a producer, a play-by-play commentator—likely Shanoff— and a coach or high school basketball expert serving as a game analyst, Shanoff said.

Subscribers can watch local sports teams, from high school to professional, on their phones. In anticipation of the game, MSN created a discount for Whitman community members to enjoy the service for a year.

Shanoff started at the company in March 2016 and has made an effort to bring more publicity to the high school sports scene in the D.C. area, he said. MSN kickstarted the push last year by broadcasting 150 high school basketball games on their website. For the 2017-18 season, they will focus on broadcasting games with enthusiastic fan bases, like in high schools around Montgomery County, Shanoff said.

“We are so excited for Whitman vs. Landon, the ‘Wilson Lane Showdown,’” Shanoff said. “To be sure, as a proud Whitman alum, I have probably wanted to see Whitman basketball on TV since 1991. Going back to my Whitman days, I know that the county used to support a Game of the Week on AM radio. I love the idea of bringing something like that back, only on your iPhone.”

Whitman boys varsity coach Christopher Lun said he hopes that the livestream will help the team get the same level of exposure as some of their private school opponents.

“It’s a chance on the same kind of network as schools like Dematha and Gonzaga, who have games on the same kind of programs,” Lun said. “It’s just a good way to get the Whitman community involved.”

Forward Jack Farren said that although the game will be more interesting because it will be livestreamed, the exposure shouldn’t alter the team’s mindset.

“It’s the first time for all of us that any of our games are going to be livestreamed,” Farren said. “But I don’t think it’ll affect the team in any way.”

Center Adam Smith agreed, but said the livestream might become a distraction if the setup is intrusive at all.

“I don’t think we’re going to be focused on it too much,” Smith said. “Maybe if there’s a ton of cameras there, we’ll play differently, but otherwise I don’t think it’ll have an effect.”

People who otherwise couldn’t have watched the game, like some of Smith’s family living out of state, will now be able to tune in to the livestream to see their friend or son play.

“My aunt is in California; she’ll probably be watching it,” Smith said. “I have family down in Florida, and they’ll also probably be watching.”

Although Lun hopes that similar livestream events will soon become the norm in Montgomery County gyms, the broadcast will likely be the only one for Whitman in the near future due to challenges with livestreaming events at public schools. Both the state and county have deals on broadcasting sports events that restrict other networks from streaming their games. Since the game will be played at Landon—a private school that is therefore not regulated by MCPS—MSN is able to broadcast the matchup.

For Farren and the team, the hope is that the exposure this opportunity provides will increase game attendance in the future.

“If people view the game and they like what they see, they’ll come to more home games, which is what we want,” Farren said.

Visit https://www.monumentalsportsnetwork.com/vikes17 to view MSN’s discounted subscription offer.