Sport associations applaud federal Internet ruling (UPDATE)

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By TODD RICHMOND
Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – High school athletic associations nationwide say a federal appeals court ruling upholding Wisconsin’s right to sell exclusive rights to live-stream games online preserves a lucrative new revenue stream, while newspaper groups fear the ruling could lead to more restrictions on reporting games that entire communities follow.

The dispute centers around the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association’s exclusive contract with American-HiFi to live stream state tournament games. The WIAA sued in 2008 after the Appleton Post-Crescent newspaper streamed four high school football playoff games on its own. A federal judge sided with the WIAA last year. On Wednesday, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals backed him up, saying the First Amendment doesn’t guarantee media outlets free broadcasting rights.

High school associations like the WIAA generally oversee extracurricular sports in their state schools, coordinating schedules and tournaments and sanctioning state champions.

At least a dozen associations around the country have developed exclusive live-streaming contracts similar to the WIAA’s. They breathed a sigh of relief on Thursday, saying the ruling preserves a key money maker that generates enough income to maintain state championship tournaments. The Arizona Interscholastic Association, for example, generated $150,000 through its exclusive live-streaming in just its first four months of operation in 2009, according to court briefs.

“It affirms how we operate,” said AIA associate executive director Chuck Schmidt. “I think the state associations are very pleased.”

But newspaper groups are concerned the ruling could embolden associations to curtail their access to games in favor of the associations’ own reporters and photographers, robbing them of game coverage they say is crucial to their readership.

“I could see them infringe more and more on what newspapers do,” said Paula Casey, executive director of the Arizona Newspaper Association. “It could make things very tough.”

WIAA spokesman Todd Clark said the ruling is about live-streaming and no one wants to exclude the media completely.

“At some point there’s common sense involved in all of this,” Clark said.

Donald Downs, a professor of political science, law and journalism at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said he doesn’t believe the ruling grants associations carte blanche authority to decide who can and can’t cover games. The ruling draws a line between covering an event and broadcasting it in its entirety, he said.

“As long as this opinion is applied in a conscientious way, it seems like the damage would be limited. It’s only the streaming,” Downs said. “(But) I wouldn’t want this case to bleed any further. The newspapers are right to be concerned about it. They don’t want the line to be blurred any further.”