Is it right to broadcast a match without the rights?

11 July 2011 · blog

It’s been a big week for Queensland. The Reds, defeated the Crusaders to notch up their first ever Super Rugby Premiership. In Rugby League, the Qld State of Origin side ran up their sixth straight series win against a hapless NSW. And indigenous broadcaster 98.9FM (with considerable help from Brisbane’s Courier Mail) stared down the combined might of the NRL, and rights holders 2GB and 4BC to make their own call of the deciding State of Origin game despite not holding any broadcast rights. 24 hours before the big game on Wednesday the Murdoch press ran the headline, “NRL pulls the plug on rebel call,” with NRL director of media John Brady saying about the proposed call, “They wanted to call it off the TV as an actual call. That was not in the spirit of the rights.” While some may ask, “what’s wrong with that?” Others may answer, “a lot!”

4BC’s GM David McDonald told the Courier Mail, ”It’s an unauthorised broadcast. This has a danger of creating a precedent where rights become worthless.

“A lot of companies will be going ‘aren’t my sporting rights worth anything now?’  So this could open up a real can of worms,” said McDonald.

In response, The Courier-Mail editor Michael Crutcher said the newspaper and 98.9FM were responding to Queenslanders who wanted a Maroon view on the match.? “All we’re doing is giving Queenslanders something that many of them think they can’t get – a call of the match that isn’t drenched in Blue views. Our view is that we’re not breaking any laws. We’re not at the ground.”

And there lies the legal crux of the matter. Apparently, the exclusivity of broadcast rights extends only as far as the right for the commentary team to call the match from within the ground where it is played. Call it off the TV from a studio in the centre of town, no problem.

By early afternoon on game day, the lawyers representing the official rights holders abandoned their bid to stop the rebel call. Hence Radio Maroon has been established as the alternative State of Origin broadcaster without paying a cent.

It may be legal, but is it justice?

 

 

 

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