The National Football League, like the Olympics, guards its product and online image very tightly. In this vain, the pro football league has told all media sites that they are no longer permitted to stream unlimited video of content related to the NFL
According to the Washington Post, news organizations can post no more than 45 seconds per day of video shot at a team’s facilities, including news conferences, interviews and practice-field reports.
The interesting thing about this policy is that it does not refer to game footage (which obviously would not be permitted), but rather only to other coverage mostly relegated to regional television channels. This rule makes the teams’ websites the only source for additional video footage.
Clearly, the NFL understands the power of online video. In the U.S., the NFL is the dominant sports league which allows it to have such draconian rules. Other sports league, like the NHL, are trying to promote themselves by lessening restrictions. I guess it is good to be king.
I’m not sure exactly how this would effect the ESPN NFL Channel, if at all.
