FOR the first time, viewers in the region and other parts of the world will be able to watch the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys’ & Girls’ Athletic Championships live as the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association has inked a deal with pay-to-air cable channel SportsMax to broadcast the event for the next two years.

The agreement will see SportsMax making content from the annual high school championships available to an international audience, both live and delayed, via television for the 2011 Championships, as well as for the 102nd edition in 2012.

Fans will also be able to follow the action on the Internet and mobile in the 22 Caribbean territories in which SportsMax operates.

“It’s expanding the content that we offer around the Caribbean,” SportsMax president and CEO Oliver McIntosh told the Observer.

“We think there is a lot of value in this event and it fits right in line with the fact that we offer IAAF Grand Prix (etc).”

McIntosh explained that he expected the deal to reap benefits considering the aura surrounding Jamaican track and field. Indeed, all things Jamaican.

“We undervalue the interest and romanticism that people have with all aspects of our culture,” McIntosh said.

“I think that people have a significant interest in seeing our success in track and field because they feel a connection.”

SportsMax will also have the right to establish zones where fans may go to watch the four days of action from March 30 to April 2.

Champs committee chair Colleen Montague said in a release that the deal with SportsMax was the most advantageous.

“Fans who are in Jamaica, and can’t make it to the stadium now have the opportunity as well to gather at the SportsMax Zone with friends to enjoy the Boys’ and Girls’ Championship in the exciting way that SportsMax often hosts these events,” the release stated.

Meanwhile McIntosh, while not naming any figures, said he hoped the deal would be financially profitable to the company.

“We are a ‘for profit’ business. We try to make the most out of it. This is obviously new territory for us, so we’re going to try our best to make sure it makes a return.

“That’s our business; we breath, eat, sleep sports and will work with ISSA to help them put on something more valuable as well,” he said.