The WIAA is asking a Portage County judge to rule that the group has the right to "control the transmission, Internet stream, photo, image, film, videotape, audiotape, writing, drawing or other depiction or description" of high school games, the Post-Crescent reports today. The suit comes as Gannett plows more resources into live online video broadcasts of high school games, and into digital start-ups serving the growing secondary school market.Has your paper or TV station tussled with a high school sports association over game-coverage rights? Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write gannettblog[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the green sidebar, upper right.
Dear Cheeseheads: Sorry for the delay in posting this item. What's the weather like in Wisconsin today?
ReplyDeleteDoes Gannett care enough about news to even defend itself against this lawsuit?
ReplyDelete2:14 pm: I had the same first reaction, too. I wonder what has happened to Corporate's Law Department budget in the past year, for defending suits like these?
ReplyDeleteFlorida Today stopped its Mogulus streaming of high school football games during the last season after a complaint was made. Again, I think it was a postseason contest that precipitated the conflict. I don't know much more.
ReplyDeleteI'm willing to bet the WIAA does not have the support of the players and their parents.
ReplyDeleteWe get calls all the time from parents wanting to know why their kid wasn't profiled, mentioned in a notebook, etc. And the varsity galleries get tons of hits.
It's not like Gannett is making any money off this. The WIAA should shut up.
The WIAA and state papers got in a feud two years ago similar to the one in Illinois about the selling of photos taken at tournament games, as both Wis. and Ill. associations have contracts with an outside firm to take "official" photos for their own use and public sale. Wisconsin finally gave in and said it wouldn't contest the sales but that the photogs might.
ReplyDeleteThe WIAA only has authority over its tournament games, not over regular season ones - the football game in the story was a tournament game and was not being televised by anyone else.
Oh, and it's above freezing today, yay!
Louisiana High School Athletic Association maintains a tight grip on photos, video, etc. of post-season play, especially the playoffs at the Superdome. Most major media in the state (including GANLA papers) got in a fight with LHSAA over the issue a couple years ago, but not sure how it was resolved. So far, no word that streaming is banned.
ReplyDeleteEditor & Publisher has picked up on this story.
ReplyDeleteIs the low quality unreliable Mogulus really worth the lawsuit? Oh wait, it must be, Mogulus is the only thing that justifies certain peoples jobs in Westchester.
ReplyDeleteAren't these events held on public property - i.e., school grounds?
ReplyDeleteAnd isn't the event itself opened up to the public, or at least members of the public with a couple of bucks in their pockets?
How, therefore, in the world can a private entity make rules about what's written, photographed or videotaped?
This is a load of horseshit.
Exactly, 8:12! My god these events are shot and video streamed so grandma in Ottumwa can watch little Billy kick some butt. It's a power struggle and Gannett will win.
ReplyDeleteThe high Schools are the last sports entity to want control of their product. ESPN now shows some high school games. As 10:16 PM said, this is going to backfire with the school districts. The parents want to see their kids in the paper and on TV.
ReplyDeleteIt's been interesting watching the local comments on the story - people have to balance their love/hate relationship with the P-C and the WIAA at the same time.
ReplyDeleteThe story got page A1 play, which I thought was intriguing. Nice job on the E.E.'s photo, RTC.
We have to fight lawsuits like this, because the eyeballs our advertisers want are watching these videos. And why should we pay? Public venue, public event. We're advancing their sports, for crissakes.
Wasn't the whole idea of this to make money by supporting the videos with national and local advertisers? If so, wouldn't that be a problem having kids appear in something where there's advertising going on?
ReplyDelete"If so, wouldn't that be a problem having kids appear in something where there's advertising going on?"
ReplyDeleteUhm... why?
Is that some sort of high school athletics ethics rule?