Pro sports leagues have "different approaches and perspectives" of highlight videos appearing on social media, as people cannot decide whether "allowing the user-produced videos to survive online is either bad business or good promotion," according to Maese & Boren of the WASHINGTON POST. The NFL and UFC "have been proactive in protecting their video rights," as seen with Monday's situation surrounding Deadspin's Twitter account. The NFL believes it "acted as any other entity that’s trying to protect its content." NFL VP/Communications Brian McCarthy: "The NFL, as part of its copyright enforcement program, sends take-down notices to protect its valuable content from piracy. Like other content holders, we acted appropriately to safeguard our intellectual property." However, the NBA has "tacked in a different direction." NBA Exec VP/Communications Mike Bass: "We have always believed that fans sharing highlights via social media is a great way to drive interest and excitement in the NBA." Maese & Boren note leagues "routinely file complaints under the Digital Media Copyright Act, urging providers to remove unauthorized content." In recent weeks, the NFL and UFC "sent notices of violations of the DMCA to Twitter over what amounts to a microburst pirating of videos." Experts said that it is a legal space "increasingly difficult to monitor and protect as tens of thousands of social media users see fit to share video snippets from exclusive broadcasts of sports events." Like an "endless game of whack-a-mole, even as leagues knock down some users for posting unauthorized videos, many, many more inevitably pop up elsewhere on the Internet." Some leagues have deals with a "third-party company to help police the issue, scouring the Internet for unauthorized usage of video, logos or other protected intellectual property." The NFL "contracts with a London-based firm called NetResult, which monitors the Internet and files grievances on the league’s behalf" (WASHINGTON POST, 10/14).
AWKWARD MOMENT: In N.Y., James Covert cites legal and marketing experts as saying that the NFL's "clampdown this week on GIFs and game highlights on Twitter could signal a risky strategy ahead by cutting off potential new fans." Experts said that young males who "may not watch football on TV, but who may come across the GIFs on the Twitter streams of Deadspin and SB Nation, are less likely to become fans with the Web sites sidelined." Gawker Media acting Exec Editor John Cook, whose company owns Deadspin, yesterday said, "We have no immediate plans to sue the NFL over their baffling attempt to kill Deadspin’s Twitter account." Still, Cook noted that Deadspin’s "squelched football highlights were merely 'seconds-long, fair-use excerpts of three-hour broadcasts.'" Tech blogger Ben Thompson speculated that there "might be a connection between the NFL action and Twitter Moments, a news-highlights tab introduced last week that, in addition to natural disasters and political reels, features NFL video footage prominently." Thompson: "You can’t ignore the fact that Twitter has an increasingly deep and important relationship with the NFL in particular" (N.Y. POST, 10/14).
NHL'S STANCE: NHL Dir of Communications Nirva Milord said the league is "constantly reviewing" its social media highlights policy. She said, "To the extent that they need to be adjusted, they will be, if we determine that that’s appropriate." SI.com's Allan Muir wrote this statement was the "legal equivalent of a shrug, essentially stating that the status quo prevails for now but the league reserves the right to change its position at any time." For now, the game-night timeline "will still feature Vines and gifs of the NHL’s must-see moments." But "as Monday’s action by the NFL suggests, there’s no telling what tomorrow holds" (SI.com, 10/13).
