Broadcast Rights to Prep Games May Be Decided
June 25th, 2009 - bySI has posted a story entailing how the future of media broadcasts of prep games may be decided through a recent legal dispute.
Ownership of scholastic athletics coverage is at stake in a legal tussle brewing over a Wisconsin newspaper’s decision to carry a high school football game live on its Web site last fall.
The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association sued The Post-Crescent of Appleton and parent Gannett Co. as well as the Wisconsin Newspaper Association after the newspaper carried the state playoff game on its site Nov. 8.
The association said it believes it owns the rights to the online footage because it organized, supervised and sponsored the football tournament. The lawsuit, which is scheduled for trial Feb. 8, also said the association’s ability to generate revenue needs to be protected. The association has a $7.1 million budget this year.
WIAA executive director Doug Chickering said the association is seeking only a ruling about its role and rights, not monetary damages.
Dan Flannery, executive editor of The Post-Crescent, said local sporting events represent the essence of local news coverage, and media outlets should be able to provide Internet coverage the same way they write stories or produce videos.
The newspaper wants the court to recognize that the WIAA is working on behalf of public schools and declare its no-bid, long-term contracts for TV coverage and photography unconstitutional.
Peter Fox, executive director of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association, said the case “has advanced further in the legal system than in any other state.”
Athletic associations and newspaper groups elsewhere are closely watching.
“Fundamentally, this comes down to TV revenue for the associations,” said Don Craven, an attorney who worked for the IPA and helped settle the dispute two years ago. “They don’t own a commodity to sell, market or otherwise control. They should put on a very nice tournament and get out of the news business.”
If the WIAA is successful in barring the free online broadcasting of prep games it may cause other high school sports associations to consider doing the same. Athletic associations may begin to use high school games as a source of revenue by selling the games to the highest bidder. Games between nationally ranked teams have shown to draw huge ratings as ESPN has recently broadcasted several high school games.
How would this effect recruiting? It limits athletes’ exposure by taking away an outlet for coaches to see game film. This makes it even more important that a recruit find other ways to display their highlight films and game films, as well as showcase their athlete resumes to college coaches.
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