The NFL's New Sideline Ban: Another League Effort to Control Content

The NFL season kicks off this weekend. But for the first time this season, you will not see the same coverage that you experienced in the past from your favorite local T.V. newscaster before and after the game. That's because last March, NFL owners adopted a resolution that bans local television photographers from the sidelines during regular season games. The only media affected by the new rule are local television photographers. The new rule does not impact still photographers from newspapers or other print outlets. All local stations, including affiliates of networks that have rights to televise games, must clear the sidelines 20 minutes before kickoff and they can return to do postgame interviews. Also, local stations are banned from having sets for pre-game shows on the field or anywhere that uses the field as a backdrop.

The NFL says the purpose of the rule is to protect their most important asset, the video content of the games, as well as clearing congestion from the sidelines during games. The NFL also says that stations can continue to show highlights using every play of every game from network telecasts. But local news stations are very upset about the new rule. According to Mike Shipley, news director at KSDK in St. Louis:

It's a question of fairness. It's a question of access. It's a question of creative control over our own storytelling process....We see great disparity in the fairness of this new rule... Our photographers will be kept in a room behind the scenes during the game. Should something happen in the stadium where the game is being played, we won't have the ability to photograph it for reporting purposes. In our role as the surrogate for the public owners of the building, we feel this controlled access is a slap in the face of the people who made it possible for the team to play here by building the Dome with tax dollars. The game itself notwithstanding, there are other reasons why access to the sidelines during a game should be allowed. Other newsworthy events can happen during a game that we would not be able to show you. Over the previous years, we've covered the heartwarming and the tragic with pictures and reporting our viewers have come to trust. That will no longer be possible.

The Detroit News interviewed the sports director of a local station in Detroit:

"It hurts us in so many ways," said Don Shane, sports director of Channel 7. "Therefore, it hurts the fan or the viewers. We care about the product. We care about making it look as good as we can for the fan." Shane contends that personal touches of game-day coverage will be lost. An example is a three-touchdown game by Roy Williams last season in the Lions' 29-21 victory over Arizona. After each touchdown, Williams handed the ball to a different fan in the stands. Channel 7's crew shot each fan. "The network was lucky to show one of those," Shane said. "We had each one of those plays. We went over and interviewed each kid. You no longer will have access to do those kinds of stories."

While the sideline ban may not be "fair" to local stations or to the local fans, the NFL appears to be within their legal rights to impose such a ban. The NFL has the legal right to control the broadcasts of its games. Indeed, networks pay the leagues huge fees in return for the right to broadcast the games. Furthermore, the news does not have any constitutional right to access sports facilities (even publicly funded stadiums) in the name of gathering newsworthy information. A constitutional law professor colleague of mine forwarded me this case quote in support of that proposition: “Where a private commercial venture presents a newsworthy event and grants exclusive rights of coverage to a news organization, freedom of the press does not confer an equal right of access on other news organizations, even though the event is presented in a facility which is owned and operated by government.” Post Newsweek Stations-Connecticut, Inc. v. Travelers Ins. Co., 510 F. Supp. 81 (D. Conn. 1981) (case involving a skating championship).

Putting the legal issues aside, is it a good business decision for the NFL to deny access to local television stations? Is this new rule another indication of a movement by the leagues to protect their most valuable asset, the content of their games, and to prevent the unjust enrichment of third parties? -- for example, MLB's disputes with CBC (the fantasy league) and the Slingbox maker. If so, doesn't that make good business sense?

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