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NFL to ban local camera crews from sidelines

D

Darrel

Guest
Sure, the National Football League has been one to protect its image with a tight fist, but this move is downright draconian: The NFL has banned camera crews from local affiliates from the sidelines during game action. Beginning this fall, stations' only options for game footage are from the networks' feeds or from the NFL itself.

This move was prompted by a station's use of game video on their website, which the NFL does not authorize . Needless to say, this move is generating protest by industry groups, including <a target="_blank" href=http://www.lostremote.com/archives/007989.html>this RTNDA news release posted on Lost Remote.

In my opinion, I have to side with the industry on this: It's one thing for the NFL to crack down on showboating players, but to crack down on freedom of the press is another thing altogether. Anyone care to guess on if and when the NFL will reverse their decision?
 
The NFL has every right to ban local camera crews from the sidelines, and I'm glad they are. When I'm watching the local news, I want to see highlights from an angle that actually shows me what is happening.<P ID="signature">______________
Bob
Moderator, Nashville board
Radio-Info.com--Always Tuned In

"I don't spread rumors, but I sometimes make outrageous speculations with no factual basis."</P>
 
A couple of stories from the NPPA and RTNDA linked in the first thread of this post claimed some TV stations had heard that not only would they be denied sideline access during games, but would not be allowed to do live shots from stadiums before or after games as well, although that does not seem to be part of the NFL's new policy.

What about situations like this?: Boston's WBZ-4 broadcasts a weekly "(New England) Patriots' Gameday" show every Sunday during the NFL season at 11:30 A.M. WBZ is a CBS-owned station, and through the network, broadcasts 11 or 12 Patriots' regular-season games each year. For home games, "Patriots' Gameday" is broadcast live from Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts, often at field-level. More often than not (usually five times out of eight home games), WBZ will broadcast the Patriots' game that day. Would this proposed policy affect programs like this, on stations that through their network affiliation will carry the game that follows??
 
> In my opinion, I have to side with the industry on this:
> It's one thing for the NFL to crack down on showboating
> players, but to crack down on freedom of the press is
> another thing altogether. Anyone care to guess on if and
> when the NFL will reverse their decision?
---------
I agree. What the heck is the NFL gaining by this? They're just giving themselves an arrogant image. If a local station can get a good shot that is missed by the NFL or the network, then it should be allowed to air.<P ID="signature">______________
From WNBC-TV New York this is Liiiiive at Fiiiiive!</P>
 
> When I'm watching the local news, I want to see highights from an angle that
> actually shows me what is happening.

I've got to agree with you there. Most of the local camera shots on highlights I see are zoomed in way too much, making it almost impossible to follow the action. I've never understood why they think people want to see highlights like this. I'd much rather see a wider angle from the actual network broadcast.

On the other hand, it does seem as if the NFL is being too strict with their recent rule changes.
 
Clarification/Additional Info on ban

As reported in the <a target="_blank" href=http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/barron/3760933.html>Houston Chronicle</a>, the NFL's ban does not apply exclusively to local stations' camera crews... it applies to the national networks as well. This means, for example, if CBS is the network broadcasting the game, neither NBC nor FOX can shoot sideline footage with their own camera crews.

Not only that, ESPN and NFL Network cannot use their cameras for game footage on any of the Sunday games or during each other's cable broadcasts.

Translation: The only camera crews that will be allowed on the sidelines during the games are those from NFL Films and from the network carrying the game.
 
> > In my opinion, I have to side with the industry on this:
> > It's one thing for the NFL to crack down on showboating
> > players, but to crack down on freedom of the press is
> > another thing altogether. Anyone care to guess on if and
> > when the NFL will reverse their decision?
> ---------
> I agree. What the heck is the NFL gaining by this? They're
> just giving themselves an arrogant image. If a local
> station can get a good shot that is missed by the NFL or the
> network, then it should be allowed to air.
>


I can only think of the "Music City Miricle" that happened here in Nashville back in '99. Some of the best images of that play came from the local TV station cameras on the sidelines. It's those historic plays that will pay with this new "policy"

Nock
 
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