Rugby Sponsors Petition To Curb World Cup Media Restrictions
 |
Sponsors Like Visa Help End Media
Restriction Dispute At Rugby World Cup |
Rugby World Cup sponsors “got their way" when the Int'l Rugby Board lifted restrictions on new organizations' and photo agencies' coverage of the event, according to Brian Milner of the Toronto GLOBE & MAIL. As more than three dozen news services, newspapers and photo agencies announced a boycott of the event over the restrictions, "almost no one showed up” when Visa, which pays more than $7M for marketing rights to the tournament in France, held a press conference at the beginning of the tournament to introduce five former rugby players as its official endorsers. Visa and other sponsors, such as adidas and French-based mobile company Orange, “quickly intervened. Calls were made, messages were sent and the French government, which has a big financial stake in the success of the tournament, added its weight.” A source said, “They made it clear that it was in the sponsors’ best interests that all facets of the media be allowed to report” (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 9/20).
|
