From a new story on The Post-Crescent website in Appleton, Wisc.:
The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association is constitutionally entitled to sign exclusive contracts for Internet streaming of high school sporting events, a federal appeals court affirmed today.
The decision has national implications for media organizations that hoped to produce online broadcasts of sporting events free from restrictions by state athletic associations. It stems from a lawsuit against the Post-Crescent, GCI, and the Wisconsin Newspaper Association.
The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association is constitutionally entitled to sign exclusive contracts for Internet streaming of high school sporting events, a federal appeals court affirmed today.
The decision has national implications for media organizations that hoped to produce online broadcasts of sporting events free from restrictions by state athletic associations. It stems from a lawsuit against the Post-Crescent, GCI, and the Wisconsin Newspaper Association.
so can highschoolports just shrivel up and die now? Please?
ReplyDeleteGee whiz....G A N N E T T can't steal another's work? How unfair.
ReplyDeleteBut it's all about the kids! Waaa waaaaa.
ReplyDeleteClearly none of the three previous commenters (9:04 PM, 7:29 AM or 9:57 AM) knows enough about this topic to offer qualified comment.
ReplyDelete@9:04 PM — The prep sports livestreaming initiatives in Wisconsin date back four years, a full year before highschoolsports.net was part of the picture.
@7:29 AM — Stealing someone's work? This is livestreaming a sporting event with the company's own equipment and personnel. No different than sending a reporter and photographer to the game, just different tools for providing coverage. Whose work, exactly, would the livestream crew be stealing?
@9:57 — Not once has anyone even come close to making that argument, nor would they. But there are sophisticated and constitutionally important issues at stake here, and any journalist who isn't concerned about government (or a state actor, in this case) severely curtailing access to public events isn't paying attention to this dispute.
But don't take my word for it.
The Associated Press: http://bit.ly/nUWCsi
NPPA Advocacy Committee: http://bit.ly/nc84lc
The court's ruling should surprise no one. State high school associations are just like the NCAA, just like professional leagues, which sell the rights to their events.
ReplyDeleteI think the only ones "surprised" are the top brass at Gannett Wisconsin who think they're invincible.
ReplyDelete