SEC Draws Line at Commercial Competitors

I just got my hands on the SEC’s new Social Media Guidelines for fans at sporting events, and I believe the new language is clearer and ought to placate the fan base.

Specifically, you’ll find two paragraphs that more clearly delineate what the conference would deem a “threat to commercial interests and contracts:”

No Bearer may produce or disseminate in any form a “real-time” description or transmission of the Event (i) for commercial or business use, or (ii) in any manner that constitutes, or is intended to provide or is promoted or marketed as, a substitute for radio, television or video coverage of such Event. Personal messages and updates of scores or other brief descriptions of the competition throughout the Event are acceptable. If the SEC deems that a Bearer is producing a commercial or real-time description of the Event, the SEC reserves the right to pursue all available remedies against the Bearer.

Absent the prior written permission of the Southeastern Conference, game action videos of the Event may not be taken by Bearer. Photos of the Event may be taken by Bearer and distributed solely for personal use (and such photographs shall not be licensed, used, or sold commercially, or used for any commercial or business purpose).

The first paragraph explicitly mentions the intent of the publisher. So a Tweet from the stand that says “Touchdown LSU!  24-14!” would be perfectly fine… but an account that specifically tries to build audience for the purpose of replicating play-by-play would be out-of-bounds. (It’s not inconceivable that someone could create a closed Twitter account, and sell access subscriptions to other users.)

The second paragraph answer the question about friends who take pictures of each other at the games, and clearly mentions “personal use.” Such pictures could not be sold.

Here is the policy in full, and here is the short version that will appear on the backs of tickets.

Obviously, you could not fit the full language in the summary, but here is a sentence that might be problematic in the short term:

Additional terms and conditions governing use of this ticket are posted on the website of the SEC (www.secsports.com) and are incorporated herein by reference. By using this ticket, user agrees to be bound by such terms and conditions.

I spoke with a source in the commissioners office, and recommended the use of a URL that is not the main page; instead linking directly to the policy page. This could be done with a “/policy” or something of the sort appended to the link. I was told this would be too late for football season, but could easily be implemented for SEC basketball tickets and beyond.

It’s good to know the league is listening. Maybe the other conferences are too.