Twitter "probably" has the "makings of a long-term problem with its media partners" in the wake of many people on Saturday night streaming the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Manny Pacquiao fight on its Periscope video-sharing app, according to Peter Kafka of RE/CODE. In retrospect, Twitter CEO Dick Costolo, who "is a smart person, probably wishes he hadn’t declared Periscope the 'winner' of Saturday night’s fight." Kafka: "I’m pretty sure he was suggesting that Periscope was a fun way to augment the broadcast of the fight, with commentary from friends, fighters or whomever -- not as a way to replace the broadcast." That is "exactly what HBO did in the run-up to the fight, when its HBO Boxing account Periscoped from Pacquiao’s locker room." It is reasonable for people who host live events "to worry that Periscope could be an irritant, since even a sporadic livestream may be better than nothing." Perhaps Twitter, which "employs many smart people, will be able to put together a system that eventually works like YouTube’s and allows copyright owners to automatically create takedowns" (RECODE.net, 5/5). BTIG Media & Technology analyst Rich Greenfield said of evolving tech, "The challenge is technology is far outpacing the rules and regulations around media usage. Media contracts never anticipated Periscope." In N.Y., Wingfield & Steel note Greenfield logged into a fight stream on Periscope, "and at one point posted a screenshot of his phone on Twitter showing nearly 10,000 people logged on to a single broadcast of the match" (N.Y. TIMES, 5/5).
THREAT LEVEL: In L.A., Pierson & Dave note video-sharing apps such as Periscope and Meerkat pose a "serious threat to cable companies that rely on subscribers ponying up big bucks to watch marquee events." The free-for-all "adds one more complication for cable companies already reeling from cord cutters" and also "poses problems for sports leagues and any other organization with copyrighted content worth protecting." But cracking down on the streaming of pirated content across the apps "will be difficult, to say the least." L.A.-based attorney Aaron Moss said companies "aren't required to do anything by law until they're informed by copyright holders of violations." Twitter said that it "received 66 complaints about illegal broadcasts during the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight and was able to disable 30 of them within minutes." Meerkat co-Founder & CEO Ben Rubin on Sunday night tweeted that he was "working with CBS on copyright issues" (L.A. TIMES, 5/5).
PLAYING WHAC-A-MOLE: In N.Y., Richard Sandomir writes while it is hard to look at the boxers or cable operators as "sad-sack victims of thievery," the mere existence of video-sharing technology "certainly enabled the piracy." Sandomir: "Just point your camera and you’re a de facto broadcaster, having paid no rights fee or production costs." Boxing has been "fighting pay-per-view piracy for years, from black boxes that were used to steal signals to newer methods like illicit Internet streams." Such signal-stealing was "doubtlessly encouraged by the powers of boxing" using a PPV model. Top Rank President Todd duBoef said, "We’re always going to chase technology. They can hack the White House. Of course they can hack us." He added that Top Rank, Showtime and HBO "planned to meet soon to discuss how to protect themselves in the future." Sandomir writes it is "easy to imagine a network like NBC feeling violated if, say, the opening ceremony of the Olympics were shown by Periscope hours before NBC showed a taped version in prime time" (N.Y. TIMES, 5/5). In Las Vegas, Alan Snel reports Top Rank "has hired an unnamed investigatory agency to compile a report on the matter" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 5/5).
LEAGUES ARE WATCHING: In N.Y., Christian Red cites a source as saying video-sharing tech could be a "Napster-type of thing." The source: "It’s going to evolve. It’s troubling, because you don’t know where it’s going to go." Another source said that for now, big media companies "might not be too concerned about the Periscope craze since networks are able to provide a far superior product." NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly prior to the Stanley Cup Playoffs "issued a statement advising teams to be aware of credentialed media members live streaming inside NHL arenas." The NBA "prohibits media members from live streaming anything other than press conferences." And an NFL media spokesperson said that the Meerkat and Periscope apps "are being monitored to determine how they might impact the most lucrative sport on TV" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 4/5).
