Whilst an Australian study in a recent issue of the international journal "Addiction" was alleging a direct correlation between alcohol sponsorship in sport and the levels of drinking by athletes - apparently showing that half of those surveyed received sponsorship which included free or discounted drinks and that when free alcohol was provided levels of drinking increased substantially - in the UK the Portman Group was asserting that sports sponsorship by the alcohol industry is safe from government interference for the foreseeable future. This is an assertion that has been endorsed by the European Sponsorship Association.
After recent reports of the government's intention to review the list of sporting events which have to be broadcast on free-to-air television a fresh factor which may have to be taken into consideration has come to light with news that the International Olympic Committee has rejected the bid from the European Broadcasting Union (the umbrella body of mainly public service broadcasters) for the rights to the 2014 Winter Games and 2016 Olympics and it now looks likely that the rights will instead be sold on territory-by-territory basis.
The new World Anti-Doping Code, which came into force on 1 January 2009, faced eleventh hour opposition from European data protection regulators who queried whether the safeguards proposed by the World Anti-Doping Authority (WADA) to prevent unauthorised disclosure by national anti-doping organisations (ADOs) of tested athletes' personal data is compliant with European data protection laws. As a result some European governments are currently refusing to sign up to the new Code.
As we predicted in our autumn 2008 e-bulletin, yet more sports rightsholders are turning towards video content websites as an authorised channel for exploitation of their footage. Most recently, UEFA, European football's governing body, has entertained the possibility of working in tandem with YouTube so that it can reap the rewards of increased exposure of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup matches on the site.
The European Commission (EC) is planning to review the practice of European based sports governing bodies and sports rightsholders selling broadcasting rights to their sports events on a country by country basis. Any resultant changes in European law may have huge implications for all content holders, who currently rely on maximising their ability to commercially exploit their sports event or tournament by carving up the territorial licensing of such rights.
With the world on the brink of financial meltdown, every corner of our lives has been or will be touched by the chaos in the money markets and the recession widely proclaimed by economists, financiers and politicians.
The sports industry will not be immune and certainly not in the UK where we have already seen three Premier League football clubs lose shirt sponsors (West Ham and XL (although recently replaced by SBOBET), West Bromwich Albion and T-Mobile and Aston Villa and 32Red).
A number of sports ministers of the European Union attended an informal meeting in France at the end of November 2008 with delegates from the IOC, FIFA, UEFA and a number of other international sports bodies to discuss the ongoing debate over the "specificity and autonomy of sport".
Gerry Sutcliffe, the UK sports minister, was recently successful in his bid to prevent the creation of a Europe-wide super-regulator that could have resulted in a dramatic shift of power away from the English Premier League.
A High Court judge has granted a temporary injunction in favour of Sheffield United which, for the time being, prevents West Ham from appealing the previous ruling of an arbitration panel in relation to the Carlos Tevez affair to the Court of Arbitration for Sport ("CAS"). In the meantime, reports are circulating that Fulham Football Club is considering bringing a claim for compensation against West Ham.
Find out what Harbottle & Lewis' Sports Group have been working on since the last Sports eBulletin.
In October last year the Sports Group was delighted to announce the arrival of Paul Cairns as a partner in the firm's Sports and Interactive Entertainment Groups.
