Football coverage in newspapers about to end after Untold Media action « Untold Arsenal: Arsenal News, supporting the club, the players and the manager
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By Tony Attwood
Curiously that headline is quite possibly true, although it is written in the misleading manner that many journalists use. Football coverage in the press could end soon because talk between the football organisations over what rights newspapers, reporters, photographers and agencies have, have indeed broken down.
And this comes after we launched a series of Untold Media articles on this site.
Of course there’s no link between the two, and the headline doesn’t actually say there is. It sort of suggests there is something in it. Which there isn’t.
The big question seems to have something to do with our world however, because when the last deal between football authorities and the press was agreed there wasn’t much going on in the world of blogs. Now blogs can be real time, covering the match second by second through a text report – and no one really thought that would happen.
The leagues have come up with a whole load of new legal controls about using football data online, and they want payment for the right to use such data on line. The leagues also want issues about delay removed from the deal. The press point out (for once, logically) that in the world of blogs and Flickr the notion of restricting what newspapers and agencies can cover is just childish.
But the clubs won’t have it. They don’t want a journalist reporting live from a match to be able to interact with readers on a live blog. Which is about as stupid as it gets, because you or I could watch the match on TV, do a commentary on our blog as it goes on, and have live interactions. I am not sure if it would be much good, but we could. So why stop a newspaper doing it?
The press group said, “In the absence of meaningful discussions, news organisations are in the process of identifying how best to serve their readers including loyal fans with independent news and analysis.” Which is a bit rummy (as we used to say) given the use of the word “independent” when they should have said, “biased and warped” but we know what they mean.
Of course this is not all new stuff. Years ago the football leagues claimed copyright over their fixture lists, and refused to give it to the football pools companies without payment of lots of dosh. These days clubs regularly ban photographers and journalists from grounds. Leeds I think still refuse to allow the Guardian in, and Southampton set up a system where no one could photograph games at their ground, insisting that all pics had to come from the Southampton registered photographer. All that happened was that the press made fun of the club for a while, and I think in the end Southampton backed down.
If you try and take a big camera into Arsenal you will get reminded (hopefully gently – it was certainly gentle when I saw it happen) that this is not allowed – but no one stops people taking pics on their mobiles.
And this really is the crux of the matter. In about three years time you will be able to get a mobile with a zoom lens that will allow a close up of players across the pitch, taken from the upper reaches of the Ems. That might be illegal, but how do you police it?
Anyway, its all a muddle, and that would be that, if it weren’t for two other media factors in the offing.
Uefa has imposed a new centralised broadcasting deal instead of selling TV rights country by country. No one quite knows how that will shake out but everyone interested seems to agree it is going to mean a lot less money for the big players like England and a lot more for the minnows.
And if that were not enough, don’t forget our favourite pub landlady who lets people watch Greek TV in her pub on a saturday, in order to see live EPL games. It looks like she is winning hands down, and that will knock out the current “overseas-rights” deal which the clubs use to maximise their income.
It’s what we mere mortals call a muddle and could be a big blow for clubs. That of course will be Arsenal, but it is at moments like this that one is reminded that Arsenal is profitable, and the rest aren’t. Funny old game.