collegiate images vice president & general counsel
august 4, 2008 | 10:59 am | ci blogger
...students, alumni and fans agree, sports blogging is currently transforming the sports world the way sports talk radio has over the past decade. Passionate sports fans are no longer simply tuning in to Mike & Mike or Jim Rome for sports news and to offer their opinions, but are instead also visiting blogs such as www.deadspin.com, www.sbnation.com, and www.everdayshouldbesaturday.com for their daily sports fix.
...according to Technorati.com, as of July 2008, more than 112 million blogs have been created worldwide.Who is writing and reading these blogs? Your students, student-athletes, fans and alumni! Today, blogging is part of a large and growing trend referred to as “social networking” and is an accepted part of our daily media diet. With the opportunity for students, fans, and alumni to offer their own news, knowledge, insights, opinions and analysis to a community of likeminded individuals, sports blogging is here to stay and represents the next generation in sports marketing and sports publishing.
...sports blogs were once simple online diaries and electronic bulletin boards for discussion and communication. Today, modern bloggers are creating elaborate websites featuring logos, videos, photographs, statistics and hyperlinks in an effort to generate revenue. More often bloggers are now earning money from their blogs by utilizing banner ads, text ads and Google Ads in the hopes they will become the next Rafat Ali — the gentleman who started www.paidcontent.org out of his studio apartment and recently sold it for a reported $30 million. With advanced technology and new media readily available to passionate students, fans and alumni, what does the future hold for sports blogs and the collegiate institutions that are the focus of these popular blogs?
...the future presents a critical time in which all rights holders, including collegiate rights holders, must be at the forefront of defining how media intellectual property can be utilized in the rapidly evolving technological environment. Specifically, it is paramount that collegiate rights holders develop and enforce restrictions surrounding their athletic events as to how bloggers (and traditional media outlets for that matter) can utilize photographs, audio, video, etc. as part of their blogs. As a frame of reference, in the past year, the following restrictions were created and implemented by news and sports media outlets:
| • | ABC News limited the use of video clips from a presidential debate by other networks to 30 seconds. |
| • | The NFL limited the use non game video and audio clips to 45 seconds. |
| • | MLB limited the use of video per day to two minutes and audio per day to one minute. |
| • | NBC Sports required all audio and video distribution online to include a link back to www.nbcolympics.com and all audio and video must be removed prior to the start of the Beijing Olympic Games. |
| • | The NCAA issued a blogging policy that provides for the number of blogs allowed during a competition or session (e.g., 3 per/quarter and 1 at halftime for football). |
...additionally, as part of the 2008 Beijing Games, the International Olympic Committee will be restricting non-rights holding media from distributing online audio or video of sports action, athlete interviews, and the opening or closing ceremonies. While the referenced restrictions were arguably implemented to restrict the manner in which traditional media outlets distribute content via the Internet, the evolution and popularity of blogging was certainly considered when these restrictions were drafted.
...as sports blogs continue to become part of the mainstream, Collegiate Images recommends that its Partners actively monitor blogs focusing on the athletic teams of their respective institution. Blogging is and remains a legitimate form of personal expression and a great forum for sharing news and information. However, at the same time, collegiate rights holders must continue to establish and maintain important precedent in the marketplace by protecting ownership in their valuable media intellectual property assets.
...all posts for this blog can be sent to Gregg G. Brandon at gbrandon@collegiateimages.com.
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