SEC Banning Social Media

[TexasTerror]

Restrictions for media. Banning of social media (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, etc)...?? What the hey, SEC? Are you banning your schools from using it during contests as well?


The SEC, one of college sports' biggest, richest, most prominent conferences, earlier this month sent to its 12 schools an eye-opening new media policy. It places increasingly stringent limits on reporters and how much audio, video and "real-time" blogging they can do at games, practices and news conferences.

But even more interesting is that the policy also includes rules for fans in the stands. No updating Twitter feeds. No taking photos with phones and posting them on Facebook or Flickr. No taking videos and putting them on YouTube.

A conference spokesman said this policy was meant to try to keep as many eyeballs as possible on ESPN and CBS — which are paying the SEC $3 billion for the broadcast rights to the conference's games over the next 15 years — and also on the SEC Digital Network — the conference's own entity that's scheduled to debut on SECSports.com later this month.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/science/personaltech/for-sec-tech-savvy-fans-might-be-biggest-threats-to-media-exclusivity/1027680

[GannonFan]

How exactly do they plan on stopping fans from doing any of the actions they spell out?

[TexasTerror]

Here we go...

http://www.tidesports.com/assets/pdf/TL1766887.PDF

[Hoyadestroya85]

woww.. i wanna go to an sec game and just tweet from the stands the entire game

[Head Cat]

This sounds about as stupid as the NCAA kicking a media out of a press box for blogging during the college baseball tournament a couple of years ago. When will some of these entities get a clue about new media? Pretty short sighted IMO.

[griz8791]

Wow. Unfortunately, I see this as part of a trend where the people who can afford to pay that kind of money to "own" various types of entertainment insist on imposing ever-more stringent conditions on the consumers of that entertainment.

[bonarae]

And now... bringing of cameras by fans is also prohibited.

http://www.mstateathletics.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=16800&SPID=11006&SPSID=105453&KEY=&DB_OEM_ID=16800&DB_LANG=&IN_SUBSCRIBER_CONTENT=


A recent policy announced by the Southeastern Conference, which limits media photographer and videographer use of images taken during the game, also impacts, and makes it impermissible, to bring cameras (video or still) into the game by fans. It is a rights holder issue and the university is benefiting from that association between the conference and the outside organization. That agreement occurred too late for it to be included on the back of the ticket, and is a change from past practices. We just ask for your patience in cooperating with the new policy.

[blukeys]

And now... bringing of cameras by fans is also prohibited.

http://www.mstateathletics.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=16800&SPID=11006&SPSID=105453&KEY=&DB_OEM_ID=16800&DB_LANG=&IN_SUBSCRIBER_CONTENT=

Are they going to ban cell phones? Most have some sort of camera and the quality has improved a good deal in the last few years.

[GeauxColonels]

This is compete BS. They way I read it, I can tweet about the game if I feel the coach made a dumb move and post my OPINION online...but I can't say, "5 yard pass, 1st down."

Idiocy.

[CopperCat]

Does anybody else see this as a violation of freedom of speech?????

[tribe_pride]

Does anybody else see this as a violation of freedom of speech?????

Nope because the SEC is not the government. Not saying I agree with the policy but it's not a violation of freedom of speech. It's the same as AGS saying you can't post certain things.

[Go...gate]

Does anybody else see this as a violation of freedom of speech?????

It's stupid, but I think they can get away with it unless we can prove it is some kind of "state action", but that seems doubtful, since I guess a football game is some form of entertainment which is open to the public subject to certain restrictions (check the back of most any sports ticket stub these days).