USA Law and Practice Contributed by: Irwin A. Kishner, Daniel A. Etna, Joel Wagman and Barry Werbin, Herrick, Feinstein LLP
ownership and are used only as permitted. Addition - ally, among other things, these agreements usually set out how the success of the sponsorship will be meas - ured, such as by establishing key performance indica - tors, specifying the data to be collected, and detailing the frequency and format of performance reporting. 2.3 Broadcasting Rights Sports rights-holders structure and package broad - casting rights to maximise investment from broad - casters. These packages are specifically tailored to appeal to both regional and national broadcasters, with agreements often distinguishing between local coverage and broader, nationwide exposure. Strate - gies such as traditional advertising during live events, subscription services for premium content and licens - ing agreements that allow content to be distributed across interactive media platforms enable sports rights-holders to reach diverse audiences while opti - mising the value of their broadcast inventory. Traditionally, sports rights-holders package broad - cast rights by the season. Different broadcasters bid to secure the right to broadcast a specific number of games within each season. Often, these packages are split between regional and national broadcasters, with regional broadcasters acquiring more games while national broadcasters purchase only select high- profile games. This split not only maximises revenue but also ensures a team’s wider access to larger audi - ences. Sports rights-holders are increasingly retaining digital broadcasting rights to enhance audience reach and potential profits. Teams have a longstanding prac - tice of using league-specific broadcast services such as NFL Game Pass or NBA League Pass to distrib - ute their content to fans. Building upon this, teams have extended broadcasting rights to major streaming platforms such as Hulu, Apple TV+, Amazon Prime and Netflix. Recent developments include exclusive rights deals, such as Apple TV acquiring specific MLB games as well as Amazon Prime and Paramount Plus broadcasting NFL games, and NBA games being broadcast on certain premium Hulu packages. The trend of broadcasting live sports on streaming plat - forms continues to accelerate, marking significant milestones in audience engagement and reach.
Broadcasting arrangements provide not only for fees, but also for certain access rights and IP concerns. Broadcasters need to bargain for the rights to access venues where sports occur, to ensure that their cam - eras and media equipment are present, alongside their announcers and commentators in commentary booths and on the field or court. IP rights are crucial, as broadcasters retain rights over their final broad - casts while using them to showcase trade marks and other IP of the sports rights-holders.
3. Sports Events 3.1 Proprietary Rights and Event Management
In the United States, sports events are primarily organised and governed by private entities, includ - ing national governing bodies (NGBs) for Olympic and amateur sports, professional leagues and collegiate associations. These organisations establish rules for participation, eligibility and event management. The United States Olympic & Paralympic Commit - tee (USOPC), empowered under federal law (36 USC §§ 220501–220529), oversees the NGBs for Olym - pic sports, while professional and collegiate athlet - ics operate under their own independent governance structures. Event organisers are required to follow rules established by the relevant governing bodies, and athletes and teams must meet the eligibility and conduct standards set by such organisations. Proprietary rights – including IP, broadcasting, media and commercial rights – are generally protected, enforced and controlled by event organisers, leagues or governing bodies. For example, professional foot - ball, baseball and basketball team trade mark-protect - ed team names and logos are owned by the teams, but those trade marks are registered, enforced and licensed by the respective leagues under complex revenue-sharing models. 3.2 Duty of Care and Liability Sports events organisers generally owe a duty of care to both participants and spectators to ensure that the stadium and playing field are reasonably safe, and to avoid creating dangerous conditions. If a person is injured at a sporting event, whether that person has a
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