To the shock of absolutely no idea, ESPN, Fox, NBC, WME, and IMG have requested that a lawsuit filed in October by ten college football and basketball players is dismissed. The lawsuit filed by the athletes alleges that the networks “have profited from the broadcast and use of Student Athletes’ names, likenesses and images without the Student Athletes’ permission.”
In other words, the athletes want restitution for their games being broadcast by the major networks and their images used in marketing the games.
The protest filed by the networks states that “Plaintiffs’ claims against the Network Defendants are fatally flawed. Most critically, Plaintiffs’ asserted ‘right of publicity’ does not exist. Tennessee law expressly holds that participants in sporting events have no rights of publicity in the broadcasts of those events.”
The networks continued: “To hold otherwise would mean chaos for sports broadcasting, among other effects. Not only would sports broadcasters have to obtain the consent of every athlete in every game prior to its broadcast, but, by Plaintiffs’ logic, they also would be required to obtain the consent of anyone else who might appear on the broadcast, including coaches, referees, cheerleaders and fans.”
Perhaps more importantly, both the networks and agencies (“licensing defendants”) want the case dismissed with prejudice, meaning “forever”.
If the suit is dismissed, networks have a clear path to continue airing college sports without having to worry about the athletes. If it’s not, the situation will get a lot more hairy in the future. Stay tuned.
[Deadline]