Media & Entertainment Law

Chinese Businessman Seeks Takeover of Liverpool

Posted on August 02, 2010
A Chinese businessman, Kenneth Huang Chairman of Hong Kong based QSL Sports Group and backed by an investment fund said to be one of the largest in the Far East, has reportedly made a bid for Liverpool in the range of  237 million pounds.  He has been talking to the club's bankers and would purchase the club's debt from them as his vehicle to buy the club...

Online Poker Bill Passes House Committee

Posted on July 31, 2010
Earlier this week, HR 2267, the bill which will repeal UIEGA, the Unlawful Interstate Enforcement Gambling Act and permit, regulate and tax online gaming.  The gaming allowed is primarily poker - sports betting is specifically excluded thanks to the lobbying efforts of the NCAA, NFL  and the major professional leagues...

Friday's Links

Posted on July 30, 2010
Here are a few links for your weekend reading pleasure.  What else are you reading this weekend? Jaguars sell naming rights to  Jacksonville stadium to EverBank for relatively cheap $16.6 million over 5 years (Times-Union) video of announcement hereCould this be why A-Rod is having trouble hitting number 600?Is rebranding the Pac-10/12, of which this new logo is a part,  just a prelude to an attempt to form a Pac10/12 Network in 2011 when its current media contracts expire?Tim Tebow follows up his Focus on the Family ad with an endorsement deal with Jockey underwear, oh, and not to be left out signs his Broncos contract for good measure.

IMG Buy ISP; Moves to Control Collegiate Sports Marketing

Posted on July 29, 2010
If you are a college sports fan, you have probably paid money to IMG sometime in the past year, likely without realizing it.  IMG, which is more commonly thought of as a large sports and entertainment management firm, representing Tiger Woods, Arnold Palmer and Roger Federer, among others...

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Cardinals Knock Red Sox from Cable TV Lead

Posted on July 27, 2010
There must be at least a dozen different ways to gauge the popularity of a major league sports franchise. If we're talking about a European soccer team, the easiest way may be to look at the value of its jersey deal - how much is it getting paid to wear its sponsor's name on the front of its jersey...

Sunday Links

Posted on July 25, 2010
Here are some links to kick off your week:Real Mallorca, co-owned by Rafael Nadal, barred from the Europa Cup due to finances (Guardian)Competitive cheerleading held not to be a sport for Title IX purposes by US District Court in Conn. (NYTimes)Despite dropping $9 million due to his "troubles", Tiger still leads the US athlete money list by a whopping $30 million over Mickelson (SI...

Latest Reatlity Show: American Footy Star

Posted on July 19, 2010
Were you one of the thousands who couldn't sleep at night and tuned into ESPN's late night live broadcasts from Down Under of Aussie Rules Football?  Ever thought you could play it if given the chance?  Now is your opportunity, thanks to the creative mind of one Miro Gladovic, Melbourne native, former Footy player, and FIFA player agent...

Iroquois Unable to Play in World Lacrosse Championship

Posted on July 17, 2010
The 2010 World Lacrosse Championship is currently talking place in England and the Iroqouis Nationals, a team composed of members of the Native American tribes that make up the Iroquois Confederacy whom are credited with inventing the sport, have been denied entry to the UK in a passport dispute...

Senate Candidate Gets His Action Figure

Posted on July 15, 2010
In what surely must be one of the biggest surprises of this or any other year, unemployed Army and Air Force veteran and virtual unknown Alvin Greene captured the Democratic primary for election to the US Senate from South Carolina.  Greene had spent little money, had not campaigned at all and trumped the Democratic Party's preferred candidate retired judge Vic Rawl, who spent $250,000 by 100,000 votes...

Espana Campeones Del Mundo

Posted on July 12, 2010
ARTICLEURL It was a well-deserved and historic win for Spain, even if the game was not one of the more artistic World Cup finals on record. For that we have to thank both the Dutch with their non-stop running at Spanish legs and the English referee who handed out yellow cards like candy...

Weekend Links

Posted on July 10, 2010
Sorry for my absence from the blog this week.  I came back to the Bluegrass from a brief visit to Chicago to visit relatives and immediately upon returning to the Ohio Valley Steamroom was felled by some ailment caused no doubt by the thick layer of ozone that has been hanging over the Valley for the last couple of weeks...

England's Costly World Cup Gamble Backfires as Nationwide Drops Sponsorship

Posted on July 05, 2010
Nationwide, the UK's largest building society, has been the sponsor of the English national soccer team for the last eleven years.  Prior to the World Cup, Nationwide was reportedly ready to sign a new four year 20 million pound sponsorship agreement...

Hot Dog Eating Update

Posted on July 05, 2010
It seems that Kobiyashi just couldn't help himself.  Just because he had become a competitive eating free agent and was no longer going to participate in the Nathan's Famous Contest didn't mean he could pass it up.  No, those competitive juices were flowing too great to miss it, so he showed up in the crowd wearing a black T-shirt with "Free Kobi" on it and slipped on stage after the contest ended (with Joey "Jaws" Chestnut earning his fourth straight championship)...

Will Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest Go Off Without Kobayashi?

Posted on July 04, 2010
This week's sign of the apocalypse, with apologies to SI, is the sudden appearance of a free agency dispute in the world of competitive eating.  As today is the July 4, we celebrate not only the 234th birthday birthday of the Republic, or more accurately the 234th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, but the annual  appearance of the Nathan's Coney Island Hot Dog Eating Contest...

FIFA Now Open To Talks on Goal Technology

Posted on June 30, 2010
It really must be a cold day down under, and I don't mean Australia or South Africa.  Sepp Blatter the major domo of FIFA has finally had enough of a World Cup plagued by inexcusably poor officiating and blatantly missed goals being disallowed.   Blunder masters Uruguayan referee Jorge Larrionda of the missing English goal against Germany and Italian Roberto Rosetti of the missed offsides allowing an Argentine goal to stand against Mexico have been let go for the balance of the tournament...

Chris Henry Had Trauma-Induced Brain Damage

Posted on June 30, 2010
Chris Henry, the Bengals running back who died during a domestic dispute last year, has been  identified as the first player to have trauma-induced brain damage while still active in the NFLCARTICLEURLHenry was only 26 and is the youngest player to be diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the progressive brain disease that I wrote about yesterday, which experts have now tied to the effects of playing football...

Penetrating Look at Football and Brain Injury

Posted on June 27, 2010
We've discussed the long-term effects of repetitive concussions on brain health here before and the concerns of the NFL retired players about the relatively cavalier treatment that the NFL had been giving to the issue. Fortunately, the message seems to finally be getting through to the NFL...

FIFA Drops All Charges in the Case of the Orange Miniskirts

Posted on June 23, 2010
It's all peace and love in South Africa now as FIFA and Bavaria have kissed and made up.  FIFA and the South African police have agreed to drop all charges against the Dutch brewery and the two miniskirted glad girls accused of guerilla marketing campaign...

Citi Gives Up Rose Bowl Sponsorship

Posted on June 22, 2010
Citi is out as presenting sponsor of the Rose Bowl after seven years.  Citi becomes the second BCS bowl game sponsor to give up its sponsorship following ESPN's takeover of the selling of all marketing and advertising inventory around the game as a part of its newfour year $495 million deal to carry all of the BCS games made earlier this year...

Golden State Warriors Adopt New Logo

Posted on June 20, 2010
The Golden State Warriors, in a nod to a more successful past, have adopted a new logo and new uniforms to come based on the new logo, and a return to the royal blue and gold color scheme of the '70s  and not coincidentally, the nearby University of California, Berkeley Golden Bears...

FIFA Files Criminal Charges in Guerilla Marketing Case

Posted on June 18, 2010
I'm sure most of you are familiar by now with the orange miniskirt wearing blonde beauties that FIFA had unceremoniously removed from the World Cup match between the Netherlands and Denmark.  Sure, the girls were an ambush marketing scheme by Bavaria, a Dutch brewer, but they were blondes in bright orange miniskirts so what's the harm, right?  Anheuser Busch InBev's Budweiser is the official beer of the World Cup and FIFA is sworn to protect...

Will Arlington Park Be Open in a Year?

Posted on June 18, 2010
Churchill Downs Inc. (CHDN) conducted its annual meeting yesterday and the most interesting bit of news to come out of the meeting was not the resignation of Susan Packard as a director.  Nor was it anything that was actually discussed during the meeting itself...

Texas Turns Down Pac-10; Big XII Survives

Posted on June 15, 2010
The Great Conference Realignment appears to be a small shift by three schools at least for now.  With Nebraska going to the Big Ten, Colorado to the Pac-10 and Boise to the Mountain West being the only moves for the time being, armageddon in college sports has been avoided and everyone can thank TExas for that...

Xbox Live to Steam ESPN3

Posted on June 15, 2010
As if the Worldwide Leader wasn't ubiquitous enough already, comes word that Bristol has cut a deal with Microsoft to stream ESPN3 (formerly known as ESPN360 if you're scoring at home) through Xbox 360 consoles free to subscribers of Xbox Live.  The deal is exclusive so if the only device in your house is a Wii or Playstation, better hope your cable company carries ESPN3.

Early World Cup Ratings Strong

Posted on June 14, 2010
ESPN should be happy with the ratings it is receiving so far for its vast World Cup investment, whose production costs have been estimated at greater than $300 million.  Early returns show ratings are at least double what they were for Germany2006...

NCAA Smacks USC for Bush, Mayo - Was It Stiff Enough?

Posted on June 11, 2010
After a seemingly interminable investigation, the NCAA handed down its ruling on USC yesterday and found the Trojans guilty of major violations, including the real "biggie" in the mind of the NCAA  - the dreaded lack of institutional control.  The Trojans were hit in three sports, but most of the focus has been on football, where the most visible violations occurred...

Big XII Now Officially On Death Watch

Posted on June 10, 2010
This morning's papers were full of the stories that broke yesterday announcing Nebraska's imminent move to the Big Ten, a move which  no doubt filled the DeLoss Dodds and the other folks in Austin Texas with a mixture of glee and sadness.  Glee that at long last they were rid of the Huskers continual whining about the bad deal they were getting from the Big XII anad sadness that Texas' sweet deal is about to end...

World Cup According to Goldman Sachs

Posted on June 09, 2010
With the start of the World Cup just days away, take a look at the surprisingly extensive yet readable guide to the economics of the World Cup that Goldman Sachs has put together.  It is not, as the title might lead you to believe, a report on the dollars and cents (or rands) being generated at the World Cup or being paid in tribute to FIFA, but an outlook on the tournament using economics as a predictive guide...

Strasburg Debuts with the Nats

Posted on June 08, 2010
The long awaited debut of the Nationals number one draft choice, phenom Steven Strasburg took place tonight in Nationals Park.  Unfortunately, due to some difficulties I was experiencing as a result of DirecTV pushing out its 3D technology to my set-top box last night, I was finally able to turn into the broadcast just in time to catch the post-game wrap-up...

MLS in Talks with Versus

Posted on June 07, 2010
Apparently Don Garber hasn't learned any lessons from Gary Bettman and his disastrous hitherto disastrous television deal with Versus.  Granted, the deal has looked substantially better since the playoffs began, but that hardly makes up for a regular season in which the league was essentially MIA on television...

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