Posted on 02/02/2010 6:18:17 AM PST by Ebenezer
After a packed screening of the Saints' NFC Championship victory at Uptown's Prytania Theatre [in New Orleans], co-owner Robert Brunet has had hundreds of requests for tickets to view the Super Bowl at the historic theater this Sunday.
But instead of preparing for the game, Brunet has been haggling with NFL lawyers for more than a week after he received a cease-and-desist letter telling him that the free screening had violated copyright laws.
A similar story played out at the Sheraton New Orleans hotel, whose managers had planned a massive projection of the game on the side of the Canal Street hotel but eventually ruled it out because of legal concerns.
"It's a control issue," Brunet said. "From a purely technical and legal standpoint, the NFL has a right to do this. But at the end of the day, why does this even matter to them?"
In a city exhilarated by the Saints' Super Bowl run, bars, hotels and even movie theaters are looking for ways to bring fans together for mass viewings of the Super Bowl this Sunday. But many large screenings in New Orleans -- at restaurants, clubs, even on large projection screens at neighborhood block parties -- may run afoul of long-standing copyright laws that the NFL is keen to enforce during what is typically the biggest television event of the year.
(Excerpt) Read more at nola.com ...
Pelican State ping
</sarcasm>
But you can just download the ads...who needs to go to a theater?
You can’t have people watching the game in alcohol free theaters. They should be in bars where the sponsors make the money. I mean, this day is second only to New Years Eve for Drunk Driving.
I’d love to see the NFL’s reasoning here. I fully understand them nixing any venue that tries to charge money for the broadcast.
But aren’t more viewers better? And if you are in a theater watching the game, aren’t you MORE likely to watch the commercials than if you are at home, where you can get up on the breaks?
Is the problem just that they can’t accurately count the number of viewsers if people aren’t watching in the “traditional manner”? That would certainly be important since the amount of money they make on commercials is based on views.
But if they could work out the counting, they are likely to keep viewers better at a big gathering. At home people will turn off a lousy game. How many people are going to get up out of a seat at a bar and leave?
I think the NFL went after churches last year who wanted to hold Super Bowl parties.
Are they really going to try to stop bars from broadcasting the Super Bowl? They’re going to enforce no-party zones at houses?
This is a GREAT way to lose fans and money.
Ah yes, here it is.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1963153/posts
And the year before...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1777351/posts
The NFL can KMA.
I never spend one penny on their merchandise , tickets or any of their other junk.
Time for municipalities and taxpayers to start demanding rebates from the NFL for the stadiums built with taxpayer money. They are even going after small shops in New Orleans selling t-shirts with the logo of a pro-Saints chant the fans started years ago at the Superdome. The NFL trademarked the chant and is demanding license fees before any sales occur.
This sort of thing, along with one too many strikes by multi-millionaires who barely graduated high school, and I just couldn't stomach it any longer.
Beat me to the punch. IMO any over-the-air broadcast of an event from a taxpayer funded stadium ought to be considered public domain.
I used to work for a cable TV company. From time to time we would want to stage a large screen performance of a PPV fight or sporting event. We would charge what one would charge through the cable.
Dealing with the promotions and lawyer folks from these sports companies and organizations was like dealing with the mob. Oh that’s right, they WERE the mob.
Enjoy the game, but don’t let yourself be deluded about who holds the entertainment power in this country.
If the PEOPLE in question have the right to watch the program, then what difference does it make, even LEGALLY, how those viewers are grouped or associated together?
The NFL believes the phrase belongs to them by copyright law, so that presumably, some enterprising t-shirt maker would be prohibited from making and selling a shirt that said: "Who Dat Gonna Get the Felons Outta the NFL?" Which is too bad because I'd like to own one. I'd even wear it in a public movie theater screening the Super Bowl.
I do recall the Cincinnati chant, now that you mention it. And on the subject of convicted felons in the NFL, where better to start than there (”Who Dey Gonna Be on Probation?”)
First, the NFL went after churches who were putting on Superbowl watch parties. Now they are going after everyone else that has more than a few guests over to watch.
The only thing I can see is they are trying to protect their TV ratings - folks watching in a large group don’t count like individuals at home...I guess.
But I know quite a few people who generally wouldn’t even WATCH the Superbowl if not for the parties and big group viewings. They watch because of the activity/friendships/party.
This really makes no sense overall - as it creates bad blood between the NFL and many fans.
What’s next? They going to crack down on me having over 3 or 4 friends over to watch? 2 or 3? They going to start suing for royalties for each additional person watching at your house?
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